No one – not even celebrities – is safe from the dangerous effects of asbestos. That could be the case with the late Penn State coach, Joe Paterno. The coach, who was fired amid moral controversy in November 2011, announced shortly after that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, but expected to recover.

Unfortunately, Paterno did not make a recovery. Because of the short time period between his diagnosis in November 2011 and his death in January 2012, Paterno and his time had little time to speculate of what could have caused the cancer. Now, doctors question whether Paterno’s illness was the result of asbestos exposure earlier in life.

The reason for the speculation is surrounding the specific type of lung cancer Paterno died of. The doctors at Mount Nittany Medical Center, where Paterno was a patient, stated that his cancer was only synonymous with smokers. Paterno, who was a non-smoker, may have developed the cancer as a result of asbestos exposure.

Apparently, the small-cell lung cancer that Paterno died is almost non-existent in non-smokers. Like mesothelioma – a rare cancer associated only with asbestos exposure – the cancer is extremely aggressive and offers a bleak outlook for victims. Paterno, himself, hardly had a chance to battle the disease, as the chemo treatments proved too hard on his body.

Asbestos in the U.S.

Asbestos is a mineral that was in high demand for manufacturing in the 20^th century. However, sometime mid-century, information began surfacing about the dangers of asbestos to the human body and about the deadly, aggressive cancers it was responsible for causing.

Asbestos remained a large part of U.S. manufacturing until the 1980s, when restrictions were placed on its usage. However, because of its long latency period (it can take several decades for illness to develop), it is often difficult for victims to trace the original source or sources of asbestos exposure. But in the past, those who did were successful in getting large settlements from the companies at-fault for careless exposure.

Paterno’s family has not commented on whether they will consider their legal options concerning the development of the beloved coach’s cancer and subsequent death. Only time will tell if they can prove that the cancer was caused by asbestos exposure, and if so, where that exposure came from.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 8:24 AM and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.