Got the diagnosis in June after a routine VA screening and I've been trying to figure out if I should've known sooner. Doc said it takes decades but doesn't really answer the question of how much exposure it takes to get this thing.
I was on the Oriskany from 71 to 91 as a hull tech, so yeah, asbestos was everywhere. Insulation, gaskets, brake linings, the whole ship basically. But I'm wondering if there's actually a threshold or if any amount is basically a death sentence if you're exposed long enough.
My VSO mentioned something about cumulative exposure and latency period but nobody's given me a straight answer on whether there's a "safe" level. Seems like the answer might just be there is no safe amount but I'm trying to understand what actually happened to my lungs during those 20 years.
Stage II pleural, had the pleurectomy in August and recovering alright. Just trying to make sense of it.