Sponsored by the Prevent Cancer Foundation, National Cancer Prevention Month 2025 aims to bring awareness to the avoidable causes of cancer and what people can do to live healthier, happier, safer, and longer.
Each year, more than 600,000 Americans die from cancer, making it the second-leading cause of death right after heart disease. What’s even more troubling is that an estimated 50% of these cancer deaths are likely preventable.
Take lung cancer, for example. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), lung cancer results in around 130,000 deaths each year. As federal health organizations like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have preached for decades, “Cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer.”
In the U.S. alone, cigarette smoking is linked to 80-90% of all lung cancer deaths, which shows that, with better choices, the disease can at least be mitigated — or even prevented.
Find out more about the preventable causes of cancer and the steps you can take to protect your health.
Why We Fight for Cancer Prevention
At Sokolove Law, our mesothelioma law firm also seeks to bring awareness to a preventable cancer that kills thousands of Americans each year: mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that most commonly forms in the pleural lining of the lungs. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral mined from the earth and used to make certain products.
For decades, asbestos was known to industry giants as a “miracle mineral,” because of its natural strength and fire-resistance properties. As a result, asbestos-related companies incorporated the mineral into countless products from brake pads to ceiling tiles to building insulation.
The problem is that when asbestos is accidentally inhaled or ingested, it can be incredibly deadly, causing mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and more. When inhaled, asbestos fibers can lodge themselves into a person’s pleural lining, causing the slow development of mesothelioma over the next 20-50 years.
Worse, by the time mesothelioma is discovered, it’s already too late, and victims only have a few months left to live.
Asbestos-Related Cancers Are Preventable
Similar to cigarettes, cancer caused by asbestos is preventable — but where it differs is choice. Companies that were involved in the manufacturing of asbestos-containing products knew the truth about the mineral: It could cause cancer and lead to death. Still, they continued to make asbestos-containing products and sell them.
In the process, generations of Americans were exposed to asbestos. While the heyday of asbestos came and went in the mid-20th century, asbestos-containing products are still present in a majority of homes and buildings across the country.
Sokolove Law fights for asbestos exposure victims who developed cancer. Our firm believes that people who developed an asbestos-related disease had the right to be warned — and got sick through no fault of their own.
The companies that knew the dangers of asbestos should have never used the mineral in the first place. Since the dangers of asbestos have become widespread public knowledge, many of the companies responsible have been brought to justice through mesothelioma lawsuits.
“The reason why we're able to bring claims against the manufacturers who used asbestos in their products is because they knew it was dangerous. It's not your fault, and it should never have happened to you.”
– Ricky LeBlanc, Managing Attorney at Sokolove Law
Working to Prevent Cancer This Month
This month, we hope to advance our push for cancer prevention by bringing awareness to asbestos, mesothelioma, firefighting foam, and other toxic chemicals and substances that harm ordinary Americans.
You can offer your own assistance in this fight by promoting cancer awareness and by learning about and spreading knowledge of the preventable causes of cancer.
To protect your health, the Prevent Cancer Foundation recommends the following:
- Know your family health history and get recommended cancer screenings
- Don’t use tobacco
- Protect your skin from the sun
- Eat a plant-based diet
- Avoid or limit alcohol
- Maintain a healthy weight and be physically active
- Practice safe sex and avoid risky behaviors
- Get vaccinated against HPV and hepatitis B
Whether it's mesothelioma, lung cancer, or some other type of cancer, one of the best ways to beat cancer is with early detection. Even better? Knowing and avoiding the direct causes of cancer in the first place.
Our firm also stands proudly with advocacy groups that call for asbestos disease prevention and those who seek to fully ban asbestos in the U.S. once and for all.
Who Is At a Higher Risk for Preventable Cancers?
Some groups are at greater risk of preventable cancers due to exposure to toxic substances in their workplace. Recognizing these risks can empower individuals to take protective measures and make informed decisions about their health.
Those at a higher risk of cancer may include:
- Anyone who worked with asbestos: Jobs that worked with or around asbestos-containing materials — like construction workers, shipbuilders, mechanics, and factory workers — may be at risk of developing cancers like mesothelioma decades later.
- Agricultural workers: Farmers and other agricultural workers face a greater risk of certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This may be due in part to exposure to toxic pesticides like Roundup.
- Firefighters: Due to on-the-job exposures to toxins like PFAS in firefighting foam and asbestos in older buildings, firefighters are 9% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer, 14% more likely to die from cancer, and 50% more likely to get mesothelioma.
- U.S. military veterans: Around 56,000 veterans are diagnosed with cancer each year. Those who served in the military may have been exposed to hazardous substances that put them at risk. Veterans, for example, are 25% more likely to develop lung cancer. Around 33% of mesothelioma cases can be linked to asbestos exposure in the U.S. Navy or shipyards.
Every American deserves to work in a safe environment, free from exposure to toxic substances that could eventually lead to a cancer diagnosis.
Companies must be held accountable for the products they make and the working conditions they provide, ensuring that harmful substances are kept out of job sites and employees are given the necessary protective equipment.
Sokolove Law: Support for Cancer Victims Nationwide
For more than 45 years, Sokolove Law has stood for and with the victims of asbestos-related diseases. We believe the companies responsible for a person’s cancer should and must be held accountable. We believe that mesothelioma was and is preventable.
Safer alternatives to asbestos exist, but the companies who chose to use asbestos did so because of its relative abundance, its cheap price, and its potential to drive immense profits.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact Sokolove Law now. Compensation from mesothelioma claims has helped many families afford treatment and life after cancer.
