Because mesothelioma is mostly diagnosed in people who worked in factories, power plants, auto repair facilities or in other similar industrial jobsites, it has a reputation as a "man’s disease". And to a great extent, this is true. Mesothelioma affects three to four times more men than women, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control. But women are affected, too. How do Women Get Mesothelioma? Women get mesothelioma the same way that men do – by inhaling or ingesting asbestos. While men were more likely to experience occupational asbestos exposure – breathing in asbestos fibers on the job – women faced environmental and secondhand asbestos exposure threats. One of the most common ways women were exposed to asbestos was through their contact with their husbands' asbestos-contaminated work clothes. When a wife washed the factory uniforms a spouse wore in an asbestos-laden jobsite, she became high risk for inhaling the fibers from the fabrics. Women can … [Read more...]