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Missouri jurors in two talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits recently handed down a pair of monumental awards for plaintiffs totaling $137 million between the two. This could spell bad news for the defendant, Johnson & Johnson, as there are an additional 1,200 more talcum powder lawsuits working their way through the courts.

While attorneys for the plaintiffs successfully demonstrated to the jurors the J&J talcum powder products were more than likely responsible for their plaintiff’s ovarian cancer, questions still remain as to what exactly the relationship is between use of talc and developing cancer. To help answer that, one has to examine where talcum powder comes from and whether it may contain any known carcinogens like asbestos.

What is Talcum Powder?

Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery may provide mesothelioma patients with a better quality of life. Aggressive cancers brought on by asbestos exposure like mesothelioma can be debilitating in more ways than one. Often times, patients may forgo surgery with the belief their quality of life may suffer after going under the knife. However, a recent study by Loyola University Health System revealed that some patients can benefit greatly from undergoing specialized surgery.

Known as pleurectomy and decortication (PD), the surgery helped increase the quality of life score for mesothelioma patients across the health spectrum. Utilizing the EORTC QLQ-C30 (performance status score) questionnaire, physicians graded the health of the 114 patients prior to undergoing treatment for mesothelioma.

31% of patients were classified as fully functional (score 0), 65% were in good enough health to perform light housework or office duties (score 1), and 4% were able to take care of themselves but could not work at all (score 2). The average age of the patient involved in the study was 70-years old but ranged in age from 50 to 88-years old.

Linking the History of Asbestos to Mesothelioma: Work-related exposure to asbestos has been linked to the rare cancer mesothelioma as well to lung cancer, colorectal, esophageal, pharyngeal and stomach cancer. Despite its toxicity, the history of the use of asbestos is a long one. If you are suffering from mesothelioma, lung cancer or other cancer as a result of your exposure to asbestos, contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Asbestos is group of fibrous minerals possessing properties of heat resistance, durability, and flexibility. In times of increasing industrialization, asbestos began to be used widely in the shipbuilding, construction, and automobile industries. While mesothelioma can tragically result from exposure to asbestos, the mineral itself is anything but rare. On the contrary, it occurs naturally all over the world. Surprisingly, there is evidence dating back all the way to Greek and Roman empires that links exposure to the minerals to respiratory illnesses.

So, why then, did asbestos continue to be used into the Industrial Age and beyond? In addition to the above-detailed desirable properties, asbestos is very cheap. With increasing industrialization, the minerals began to be more extensively mined – and in myriad locations. In every time and place from Greek and Roman days to the Middle Ages to nineteenth century mines around the globe, asbestos was linked to severe health ailments, yet its use and popularity persisted.

Mesothelioma Lawsuit and the Big Picture: The prospect of filing and preparing for a mesothelioma lawsuit can seem daunting, especially given the fact that you or the loved one you represent are in poor health. There is the gathering of health records and other evidence, determining the whereabouts and status of former employers, and proceedings in and out of court. Fortunately, you are not alone. A skilled and experienced mesothelioma attorney can handle every legal detail, fight for the compensation you are entitled to, and make sure you get the medical treatment and therapies you need for your health.

Your Mesothelioma Was Likely Caused By Work-Related Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos, a group of mineral fibers with properties of heat-resistance, durability, and flexibility, were used widely in the construction, automotive, shipbuilding, and other industries from the 1800s to the 1980s. In fact, the array of products and processes asbestos were utilized in is staggering. In the late 1970s, scientific evidence linked asbestos to severe respiratory problems, including mesothelioma. The symptoms of these illnesses, fatal in their malignant cancerous forms, are intense pain and shortness of breath. If you worked in one of the industries in which asbestos was widely-utilized, you may have inhaled or swallowed “friable” asbestos – fibers that were present in dust or other substances instead of being solidly mixed into or fixed into another substance. Because the lung cannot expel asbestos from the body, the fibers linger there, and sometimes in the abdomen.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you have suffered. The range of compensation is wide, from thousands of dollars to tens of millions of dollars. There is no one set amount and mesothelioma compensation will be dependent on each unique set of facts.

Still, certain factors are considered in every case. First and foremost is the seriousness of the injury you have suffered. This factor is actually highly complex because of the symptoms and characteristics of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma will arise and conclude within a relatively fixed, identifiable period of time. The window of time in which you might be exposed to asbestos and then become ill with mesothelioma can span from 20 to 50 years. The reason for this is the latency time between asbestos exposure and the presence of cancer in the body. If you are now in your later years, for example, you may have been exposed to asbestos from the 1940s to 1980s, but not become ill until recently. During the time between your exposure and succumbing to illness, you may have been in good health.

Alternatively, you may have experienced respiratory problems from the point of exposure. If your mesothelioma is present in malignant cancerous form, the illness will almost always prove fatal. As hard as this is to contemplate, it bears heavily on the amount of compensation you may be entitled to. How much you are suffering, how long you have and will suffer, the cost of your medical treatment, and impact on your loved ones – all these considerations are relevant to the issue of mesothelioma compensation.

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