The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization released findings today reporting that mesothelioma–a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure–is affecting younger victims than in previous years. According to the ADAO, case reports from the past three years show a new median age of 51 for patients diagnosed with mesothelioma. Of these cases, nearly 50% are women. The Columbia University Mesothelioma Center in New York reports similar findings; the average age of their patients with peritoneal mesothelioma is 51.7 years.
In 1986, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the median age of mesothelioma patients was nearly 70; other studies reported that approximately eighty percent of patients with the disease were men. It is estimated that during the next decade, 100,000 Americans will die of asbestos-related diseases–averaging 30 a day.
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