New Orleans Asbestos Blog

Natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes clearly pose a serious risk to anyone in the affected area and to the rescue workers who then come in to assist after the fact. However, outside of traditional risks like unstable structures and flooding, it is important to note that there is also a serious risk of asbestos exposure when older buildings are damaged or destroyed.

Asbestos is most dangerous when the particles are disturbed and it creates a potentially toxic dust. This can then be inhaled by unsuspecting individuals who may think it is just concrete dust or other minor particles.

If you are diagnosed with lung cancer, the best way to treat the disease may be through surgical removal of the affected tissue. There are four general types of surgery that doctors will consider. They are as follows:

1. Pneumonectomy. This procedure is used in serious cases, as the entire lung is removed from the patient.
2. Lobectomy. While this surgery does not remove the whole lung, it does remove one entire lobe. It is important to note that both lungs are not exactly the same. On the left lung, you'll find two lobes. On the right, there are three.
3. Segmentectomy. When doctors cannot use a lobectomy, they may choose a segmentectomy to get rid of some cancerous tissue from a specific segment of the lung. For instance, your right upper lobe has three different segments. Removal of one could leave the lung and lobe largely intact, while still eliminating the cancer.
4. Wedge resection. Finally, doctors may choose this procedure when they want to cut out specific tissue without doing a full removal of a lung, lobe or segment. They often do a wedge resection when treating or diagnosing metastasis.

No matter which type of surgery doctors decide to perform, this is a very significant procedure. It comes with extensive recovery times and high medical bills. It can change the rest of your life -- especially in cases where the entire lung gets removed. It may be a necessary procedure, but that does not mean it is an easy path to take.

We know now that asbestos is incredibly dangerous and complications are often fatal. However, for decades in the wake of World War II, Americans really did not know how hazardous this material truly was. Instead, they put it everywhere. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that more than 700,000 commercial or public buildings contained asbestos, along with more than 100,000 schools.

The reality is that asbestos does have many strengths as a building material. Some of them include:

• It does not decay over time
• It does not decompose
• It is essentially indestructible
• It resists heat incredibly well
• It resists water damage
• It resists chemical corrosion
• It comes in microscopic fibers that can be added to other materials

When looking at total annual deaths from cancer, it is clear that lung cancer is the deadliest type in the United States. Experts note that it takes more lives every year than breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer combined.

That is not to downplay the severity of these other types of cancer, but just to show the serious risk from lung cancer. A proper diagnosis is so important -- as is getting that diagnosis as early as possible -- if people are to have a better chance of surviving this dangerous disease.