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How long does it take to get mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos? Hi. I'm Joe Williams.
I'm a mesothelioma trial attorney in New York City and to answer this question we have to
talk about the concept that doctors and scientists refer to as latency. And what latency basically
means is the time from exposure to a known carcinogen to the time when that patient is
diagnosed with cancer. And to illustrate the point, I want to give you an example. Let's
say that I have a cough and I cough into my hand. I now have those germs on my hand. I
then go and I meet -- I meet you -- socially and say "Hi. How are you? I'm Joe Williams,
nice to meet you." And we shake hands. I then transfer -- unfortunately for you -- those
germs to your hand. You then wipe your face or your mouth and the germs go into your system.
Well, not surprisingly, three days later you start coughing. Well that cough (that cold)
had a three day latency period. It's very similar when we talk about mesothelioma. The
difference is the timeframes involved and it's widely accepted by doctors and scientists
throughout the world that there is a very significant latency period from mesothelioma.
From the time of exposure; perhaps a powerhouse worker, working at a powerhouse in the 50s
or a machinist mate on an aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy in World War II could today
be diagnosed with mesothelioma. The latency period -- again, widely accepted by the entire
medical community -- could be that long. Anywhere from 15 or 20 years from the time of that
exposure to asbestos to the time when that diagnosis of mesothelioma is made. Now, why
is that important? It's important because the nature of this disease requires us to
journey back and evaluate those exposures that occurred decades (sometimes many decades)
ago. And it's important to be able to take a thorough occupational history to figure
out all the possible exposures to asbestos for a mesothelioma victim. Now you may have
many more questions about latency as it relates to mesothelioma and I can provide the answers.
I'm Joe Williams and in our firm we deal with these issues every day. We represent victims
of mesothelioma every day and we can answer your questions and we'd be happy to do that.
So look at the number below and call our office and we'll answer your questions. Thank you
very much for watching. I hope this was informative.