So I've been wondering this since my diagnosis in December. Like, I worked with brake pads for thirty years, 1970 to 2000, and then did some home reno work with old insulation and ceiling tiles. But my buddy Rick worked the same job for almost as long and he's fine, far as I know anyway.
My oncologist said there's no real threshold, like you don't need X amount of exposure to get it. Some people get a ton and nothing happens and some people get a little and boom, meso shows up. It's kinda like how some guys smoke their whole lives and live to 90 and other guys get lung cancer at 55. Your body just decides to be mad about it I guess.
I read somewhere that heavy exposure like shipyard workers or military guys have higher rates, but even that's not a guarantee. And light exposure can still do it, especially if you were exposed as a kid or something when your lungs were still developing.
My surgeon said the latency period is usually 20 to 50 years which tracks with me. I was messing with that stuff in the 70s and 80s and didn't get diagnosed till 2025. Wild.
Anyone else wonder if they got unlucky or if they just got exposed more than they thought?