I'm asking this because in 2003, my dad died of lung cancer. He was an insulator and was exposed to asbestos for many years without knowing. We are still in the middle of a lawsuit and next month we have to go to court for something called Work-mans Comp. Some of the people my dad worked with are lying and won't admit that they too worked with asbestos at the time my dad did. They are afraid they'll lose their job because some of the men are still working for the company, so they are going to lie on the stand, even though one of the guys was the best man at my parents wedding. They are going to say he died because he was a smoker. The thing is, even though he was, the specialist who reviewed my dads Autopsy report said that the asbestos had something to do with it whether he was a smoker or not.

My mom is now older than my dad was when he died (he was 45) and she is still alive and she's a smoker, and so are many other of his friends who are his age and smoke. I was just wondering what age people usually die of lung cancer due to smoking? I think it could help with the case, but I'm not really sure. I'm just looking for all the answers I can get so I can kind of see if we have a good chance or not. We've been waiting five years for this to go through and we've been struggling to get by, especially with this economy. I would rather have my dad back, but he wanted this for us because he couldn't be here to support us. He wouldn't want my mom to struggle like she has. We are about to lose our house, so if we win, everything would be okay. I need advice or someone elses opinion on what might happen.

Thanks in advance

-Tammy
The lawsuit is separate from the Work-mans comp, sorry if I made it sound like it was just one thing. What I'm basically worried about is the Work-mans comp. I just wanted to clear that up, sorry.

From what I have heard, once you are exposed to asbestos dust, there is NO getting it out of your lungs. However, what are the best ways to TRY and get at least some of it out of your lungs, over a long period of time? Should one develop cancer, I know that intake of antioxidant-rich food can help rid the body of free radicals, to try and help out the situation, but just wondering about other ways to "cleanse" the lungs (if there is such a way).

Recently my father and I were ripping out insulation from our old 1920's home, and we think there's a darn good chance, the insulation was made from zonolite/vermiculite (dangerous dangerous stuff, as you may have heard about tonight, on CBC radio, if you live in Canada). Suggestions?