I think they are. Heath Ledger sustained wounds from shards of the World Trade Center while he was walking near the buildings when they collapsed. He died because the asbestos from the building shards leaked into his bloodstream and gave him cancer. He kept the cancer from killing him with chemo for seven years but then he died =( I'm a personal friend of his mother and that's what she told me. R.I.P. good buddy.

I lived in a college freshman dorm in 1995 and there were 36 girls on my floor (about 6 floors in the whole building). I have lost touch with most of them, but of those that I still keep in contact with, 4 have developed cancer. I am wondering if this qualifies as out of the ordinary, because it seems so to me! I have started wondering if there was some kind of hazardous material we were all exposed to in the dorm. The very next year the school demolished the building and rebuilt it, to modernize it. If it contained lead paint or asbestos, could either of these have contributed to the cancers? One woman developed brain tumors at age 22 and died at age 31. Another developed breast cancer at age 29 and she also died at age 31. The third developed eye cancer this year at age 32, lost that eye, and is stable. And the last one developed Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma this year at age 32, had chemo and radiation, and is stable. This is a grim list I know. Is it possible that this is just coincidence? It seems so unlikely for such a small group of young adults to have 4 severe cancers (that I know of). Any ideas why?

My dad is 49 and has mesothelioma in his abdomen. He just got surgery to remove the tumors and started his first treatment of chemo during surgery. What should I expect and what can I do to support/take care of him?

I really don't know how to explain this question, however, which method do doctor recommend first....Radiation, chemo or surgery?

I am doing an essay about cancer and really have to explain it.

Thanks