Common Secondhand Exposure
- Contaminated water
- Environmental exposure
- Asbestos on parents work clothes
- Contaminated products
- Commercial hairdryers
- Washing laundry and work clothes
- Contaminated soil
Women and Mesothelioma
Asbestos was in its highest use in the United States from 1950-1970. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common strain of mesothelioma within women.
Mesothelioma in women was thought to be impossible because, at the time, women did not hold jobs that were at risk of asbestos exposure. Doctors didn’t know that mesothelioma could be transferred second-hand as well. Because women were thought to be exposed to asbestos, mesothelioma is often misdiagnosed. Another way women receive asbestos exposure is through talc powder. Talc powder is found in baby powder, makeup powder products, feminine hygiene products, and condoms. Talcum powder is the fifth leading cause of women’s cancer-related deaths in the United States.
