Asbestos is the silent killer, once inside the body it damages the membrane around the organs, the mesothelium, which can lead to cancer, known as mesothelioma. One of the common areas this occurs is in the lungs, from asbestos inhalation. The specific name in this case is pleural mesothelioma. This is a particularly nasty form of cancer, as there is no single large mass that can be removed, but numerous smaller masses distributed around the internal organs.