So my dad was exposed to asbestos back in the late 70s when he worked at a manufacturing plant in St. Paul, and he didn't get diagnosed until last month. That's over 40 years. I'm trying to understand the timeline because it's making me angry that he had no idea this was coming and now we're dealing with Stage III.
From what I've read the latency period is usually 20 to 50 years but I'm seeing some cases where it's shorter and some where it's way longer. His oncologist said it depends on the amount of exposure and how much fiber he inhaled and honestly that doesn't really help me understand what we should have been watching for.
Did anyone else have a long gap between exposure and diagnosis? I'm trying to figure out if there were warning signs we missed or if this is just how the disease works and there's nothing you can do about it anyway.
Also trying to get a timeline together for his settlement claim so if anyone knows how this affects the legal side of things let me know.