ASBESTOS TESTING
Health care services for military veterans at the Des Moines, Iowa, Vet Center

Contact information for military veterans to test for exposure to asbestos: Des Moines, Iowa, Vet Center, 2600 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Des Moines, IA 50310. Phone: (515) 284-4929.

Do you think you're at risk for asbestos exposure? Look at the details below and find out more about this deadly substance. These individuals are people who: have had contact with asbestos through a "burst exposure" i.e. a very heavy concentration of asbestos for short periods of time, irregular breathing patterns, long-term dealings with asbestos, or friends or relatives of people who have labored in asbestos-related environments even if the person who worked with asbestos has no evident exposure signs.

Four specific diseases have been linked to asbestos exposure: lung cancer, asbestosis (a serious, chronic, non cancerous fibrous hardening and scarring of the lungs), mesothelioma (a cancer of the thin membranes lining the thoracic and abdominal cavities and surrounding internal organs), and pleural plaque and thickening (scarring of the lining of the lung).

The main indicators of asbestos-related diseases are coughing, coughing blood, shortness of breath, chest pain and weight loss. Unfortunately, the detectable signs of contact with asbestos can appear up to 25 years after initial exposure. Annual or even semi-annual asbestos detection tests are recommended.

If you don't understand your doctor's explanation, get him or her to explain it in a way that you can understand. It is crucial that the initial testing is an x-ray (side and front view of your chest.) Further tests may include a pulmonary function test, blood work, a CT scan and/or biopsy. Doctors sometimes speak a language unintelligible to the layman. All citizens who have participated in the American Armed Forces should receive the benefits they deserve.

Weitz & Luxenberg is committed to making this happen. This includes compensation for deadly diseases that are caused by exposure to asbestos, such as lung cancer.

Contact with asbestos can negatively impact your health. Weitz & Luxenberg understands this and wants to help. For a free consultation, fill out the form on this page.

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