Mesothelioma Victim Believes Asbestos on Father's Clothes Caused Illness

St. Louis, MOMesothelioma is a disease typically associated with older people who worked industrial jobs that involved asbestos. So how does one account for a 39-year-old battling the rare and deadly cancer?

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Julie Gundlach believes her mesothelioma was caused by the asbestos on the work clothes of her father, reports KSDK.

"He worked around and with asbestos all the time," she told the news provider. "As a commercial electrician he spent days crawling through insulation and ceilings and just becoming coated with it."

Gundlach was surprised to receive her diagnosis. "When I first got sick, what I thought was mesothelioma happened to people who worked with asbestos, and it seemed like the craziest thing," she said.

Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma, a cancer that attacks the thin membrane that lines a number of the internal organs as well as the chest and abdomen.

In addition to mesothelioma, asbestos can cause asbestosis and lung cancer. The World Health Organization estimates that 107,000 people die each year worldwide from such asbestos-related diseases.