Mesothelioma was arguably one of the first viral internet phenomena, seeming to come into existence only moments after online advertising itself. Even offline, just about every other legal commercial depicts some lawyer wanting to make money off of your mesothelioma. So what is it and why does it seem to be so popular?
As the Wikipedia page explains, it’s just a form of cancer. Those of you who recognized the ‘-oma’ suffix probably put that together already. It typically affects the lungs and tends to be rather aggressive and severe in terms of life expectancy following diagnosis. Still, it’s not immediately clear why people seem to care so much; mesothelioma is not the most interesting cancer, most common, most rare, or most anything except it is one of the most profitable cases for lawyers to take on.
The vast majority of diagnosed cases involve adult men who worked in some sort of construction or industrial arena for much of their life. This is because it’s all about asbestos. Formerly used widely as insulation in any number of applications, asbestos was eventually found to be very dangerous for people to be around. Even in popular culture like comedy television shows, asbestos is made fun of as being the easy-to-find cancer-causing dust.
Lawsuits occurred, precedents were set, and it became a largely open and shut case. As long as your doctor diagnoses you with mesothelioma and you have even a little bit of work experience involving some sort of industry or construction, then you’ve got a one-way ticket to cash town. Of course, you also have a horrible disease that will most likely kill you in half a dozen years or less.
The morally reprehensible part of all this involves the lawyers who simply want to fill out your paperwork for you so they can get some percentage of your death money. Even if they wanted to do something truly good for you, which is quite laughable, lawyers nor anybody else have any ability to cure mesothelioma. All they want is money, regardless of your actual health status or quality of life.