Is asbestos cancerous? Should I see a doctor if I have been exposed to asbestos?
How do I know if I have been exposed to asbestos? If you have worked for any length of time in a shipyard building or repairing ships, in a factory manufacturing asbestos materials, or as an insulation installer, a construction worker , or in automotive brake lining repair, you may have been exposed to asbestos on the job. The National Cancer Institute and other governmental agencies are informing workers and their families that job-related exposures to asbestos can result in certain diseases, particularly asbestosis and lung cancer. What are the symptoms of the various asbestos caused diseases? Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease whose signs and symptoms result from permanent changes in lung tissue. The earliest and most prominent sign is shortness of breath after exertion. Lung cancer has a cough or change in cough habit as its most common symptom. Chest pain is the second most common. Blood streaked sputum, coughed up from the lungs, is the first symptom in a small number ...