Asbestos Exposure
New York, the third largest state in the nation in terms of population after California and Texas, has an estimated population of 19.5 million. It has been a transportation hub since the founding of the nation and a manufacturing center since the early 1800s.
By the 20th Century, New York was home to several robust manufacturing centers. The Upstate had manufacturing plants like Bristol-Meyers in East Syracuse, General Electric in Auburn, Eastman Kodak in Rochester, and Alcan and Lockheed Martin in Oswego; and the Southern Tier was home to IBM, Lockheed Martin, Whirlpool and Valvoline plants near Binghamton. Elsewhere in the state, manufacturers like Bethlehem Steel, Ciba Geigy-Hercules, General Electric, General Motors, International Paper, Nabisco, Nestle Foods, Northrup Grumman, Xerox and many others employed tens of thousands of New Yorkers into the 21st century.
Asbestos is inexpensive and is an extremely durable, pliable and fire resistant material, making it popular for use in construction and industrial materials. According to the U.S. EPA, because of its fiber strength and heat resistant properties, asbestos has been used for a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials. Uses include roofing shingles; ceiling and floor tiles; paper products; asbestos cement products; friction products such as automobile clutch, brake, and transmission parts; heat-resistant fabrics; packaging; gaskets; and coatings.
Given the type of work that occurs in manufacturing and industrial plants, asbestos was used throughout New York in factory buildings, lab equipment, bench tops, and safety clothing. Asbestos was useful for safeguarding against fire damage and in protecting lives from extreme heat, but it exposed workers to serious health risks such as mesothelioma.
Malignant mesothelioma very often takes decades to manifest. By the time a diagnosis is given, it is almost always at an advanced stage. New York shows up in databases that track asbestos use and identify subsequent hotspots which have a higher than average rate of occurrence.
Fortunately, New York is home to the nation’s top mesothelioma treatment center, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. Roswell Park is an excellent choice for treatment of asbestos cancer, including peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma. State-of-the-art equipment and doctors who keep well informed about new treatment options regarding asbestos-related diseases puts Roswell Park at the forefront of treating asbestos-related cancers. They are America’s first cancer center and the only upstate New York facility to hold the National Cancer Center designation of “comprehensive cancer center.”
Of great benefit to cancer patients in the region is the University of Rochester Cancer Center, named the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, a division of the University of Rochester Medical Center. The Wilmot Cancer Center, through association with the leading academic medical colleges in the area, allows for consistent collaboration between medical doctors and medical scientists, bringing treatments from the lab to the hospital in record time. Patients have access to numerous ongoing clinical trials that test new cancer drugs and therapies.
Other options for cancer and mesothelioma care in New York include the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, a division of the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester; St. Peter’s Cancer Care Center in Albany, which is among the first hospitals in the nation designated a “Blue Distinction Center for the Treatment of Complex and Rare Cancers”; and Lourdes Regional Cancer Center in Binghamton, a premier source of outstanding cancer care for more than 50 years.
New York’s medical colleges allow collaboration between doctors and medical scientists, which brings treatments from the lab to the hospital in record time. New York mesothelioma patients also have access to numerous ongoing clinical trials that test new cancer drugs and therapies.
