Melanoma?

Exhausted, Exhausted? Perhaps you are Reduced on Potassium

Potassium is just a mineral component required by all animals and plants to prosper and reside. It's required for the standard function of cells and tissues in the torso. Potassium is found in all meals, especially in fruits, veggies, and wholegrains. Pet resources, such as for instance meat and seafood, also include potassium, however the place-based substance is simpler to digest, and an excessive amount of protein isn’t section of any nutritious diet. Actually, a carnivorous diet is likely to be harmful to your wellbeing, creating an increase in acidity levels and wearing potassium levels. You'll realize if you end up encountering a general weakness that you're poor in potassium and be seemingly constantly tired. You are also prone to have trouble focusing on your everyday duties, and might have problem with physical control. Potassium deficiency can result in heart irregularities, hypertension, strokes, and high blood pressure issues, and perhaps even cancer. Therefore, if you should be missing power or believe anything of the type, please see your physician.

Melanoma?

Some alternate doctors keep that reduced degrees of potassium in the torso might be associated with melanoma. The idea is that the diet lower in potassium and saturated in salt encourages cancer development by altering the standard water stability and pH in individual tissues. More, in the 1930s, Max Gerson started creating a questionable nutritional cure for melanoma referred to as the Gerson Diet Remedy. The foundation of his diet was the usage of low-sodium consumption and potassium products. He stated the dietary plan might recover correct balance of water and sodium within individual tissues and avoid cancer development. I don’t unless directed by your physician suggest potassium supplements, while this can be a legitimate concept. An excessive amount of potassium is similarly prone to mean trouble, so unless your physician thinks supplements-are required, you'd be better-off simply hitting for another cantaloupe piece, another blueberry, a few more of bananas, and putting a pinch of turmeric to a lot of of one's prepared foods.
Some reports have discovered that in numerous places where there are large-potassium diets, melanoma costs are lower. These kinds of reports, nevertheless, can't since you will find different elements involved, show an immediate link. This might imply that individuals with an eating plan saturated in potassium are in lower-risk for cancer due to additional substances in these foods. It might be that substances besides potassium account fully for their useful results, because vegetables and fruits also have phytochemicals, vitamins, and additional antioxidants. In instances similar to this, I don’t need information-based proof; often you simply need certainly to opt for good sense. A diet saturated in lean protein and veggies, fruits and wholegrains is just a good sense diet for several.

Meso Day resolution passes in Senate, pending in House

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has issued a news release announcing the resolution introduced last week in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Patty Murray to designate September 26 as National Mesothelioma Awareness Day has passed! The resolution introduced simultaneously in the House of Representatives by Rep. Betty McCollum, designated as H.Res. 771, is still pending.

The Meso Foundation is urging the mesothelioma community to contact their House Representative to urge him or her to co-sponsor the bill. Representative McCollum still needs 13 more co-sponsors to complete the passage of National Mesothelioma Awareness Day in both the House and the Senate.

The news release quotes Chris Hahn, Executive Director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, “Thanks to the concern of Sen. Murray and Congresswoman McCollum, and their introduction of the federal ‘National Mesothelioma Awareness Day’ resolution, we hope that mesothelioma will finally become part of a broad national conversation about its tragic impact in our society and the critical need to fund reserch to develop treatments and, ultimately, find a cure for mesothelioma.”

Your help is urgently needed to encourage House Representatives to co-sponsor this resolution. Visit the Meso Foundation’s “Action Center” at www.curemeso.org/action to send an email to your congressional representative.

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Tags: Betty McCollum, Chris Hahn, Congress, House of Representatives, Meso Foundation, mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, Mesothelioma Awareness Day, National Mesothelioma Awareness Day, Patty Murray, U.S. Senate

This entry was postedon Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 pmand is filed under Events, Legal, News, People.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Minnesota mesothelioma study calls for more participants

University of Minnesota researchers made a call in mid-September for more participants in its study of a possible link between Iron Range taconite mines and mesothelioma. The five-year reserach program received $4.9 million in funding from the Minnesota state legislature in April 2008, and is being directed by the university in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health.

The study was conceived as a result of an unusually high incidence of mesothelioma in taconite mine workers. Mesothelioma is currently linked exclusively to asbestos exposure. To day, more than 58 Iron Range mine workers have been diagnosed with mesothelioma.

In July, researchers began health screenings of former taconite workers and their families. To date, a little more than 100 people have participated in the screenings, although reserachers hope to examine around 1,200 people during the course of the study.

The call for more participants apparently raised some concerns among area residents about the program’s success. However, a report by KQDS Fox 21 News assures the public that the study is progressing as planned, and that the call for more participants is a natural part of the process.

The news report quotes Nancy Tekautz, who is a field supervisor for the taconite workers respiratory health study, as saying her clinic is nearly booked. “We believe the response has been very good and we just want to encourage it to continue,” she told KQDS.

KXMB News reports study director Dr. Jeffrey Mandel has sent about 300 letters to a random sampling of current and former Iron Range taconite workers, asking them to participate in the study. Participants will provide a medical and occupational history and submit to simple medical tests.

Researchers assure miners and their families that all study participants and individual medical information will remain confidential. For more information, visit the Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study web site, or call the University of Minnesota toll free at 1-888-840-7590.

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Tags: asbestos, iron range, Jeffrey Mandel, mesothelioma, Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota state legislature, Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study, Nancy Tekautz, taconite, University of Minnesota

This entry was postedon Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 amand is filed under News.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Participants sought for mesothelioma genetic study

Among the many wonderful speakers at the 2009 International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, presented by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in June, was Dr. Jill Ohar of Wake Forest University. She has been researching mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases for more than 20 years, and currently is heading a study to determine if there could be a genetic predisposition between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma.

Dr. Ohar told conference attendees that her goal is to try to discover why some people may be exposed to asbestos and never develop any type of asbestos disease, while others may develop asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma. She had already collected blood samples and DNA from 6,000 people exposed to asbestos for an epidemiologic study. Of that number, she said, 250 people developed mesothelioma.

“What is different in those people?” she wondered.

The next phase of the study is a genome study involving the 250 patients who did develop mesothelioma. In addition, Dr. Ohar is seeking additional participants.

A news release on Oct. 5 announced that FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a comprehensive health care network serving 15 counties in the mid-Carolinas, will partner with the Wake Forest School of Medicine to encourage participation in the study, which is investigating the development and progression of asbestos-related lung diseases and cancers. The FirstHealth Clinical Trials Department will work on this project.

Dr. Ohar is the study’s principal investigator. In the news release she says, “Families have been devastated by this disease, but what is surprising is that despite the strong association of asbestos exposure to mesothelioma, only a small number of people exposed to asbestos actually develop mesothelioma. Over years of research, we have determined that there is a strong tendency for mesothelioma to run in families and it tends to be associated with a family history of cancer, which suggests a genetic susceptibility.”

The mesothelioma study requires the collection of one ounce of blood from the participant and the completion of a tw0-page survey, both to be conducted at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital’s Chest Center of the Carolinas.

The study will examine associated environmental factors and genetic markers of people diagnosed with mesothelioma, basically identifying how frequently encountered environmental pollutants affect the body and determining the genetic factors that make some families more susceptible than others to mesothelioma and other forms of cancer.

If you or a a friend or family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma and are interested in participating in this study or have questions, please call FirstHealth Clinical Trials at 910-715-2200 or Dr. Jill Ohar at 866-487-2344 or 336-716-8426.

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Tags: asbestos, clincial trial, clinical study, Dr. Jill Ohar, FirstHealth Clinical Trials Department, FirstHealth of the Carolinas, mesothelioma, Wake Forest University

This entry was postedon Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 7:53 amand is filed under News, Research/Treatment.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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ADAO Bulletin calls for more urgency in fight to ban asbestos

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), has issued a special bulletin urging the mesothelioma community and U.S. citizens in general to step up the fight to ban asbestos in the United States. They have added a page on their web site, www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org, that provides specific information about the health hazards of asbestos, along with helpful links to educational resources, and sample Facebook and Twitter messages they are asking everyone to post who uses those social media sites.

ADAO has dedictated its National Asbestos Awareness Resource to the memory of June Breit, who is well known in the mesothelioma community, and who recently lost her battle with the disease, as well as to the thousands of other victims “silenced by asbestos.”

According to the information on the resource page, “Asbestos can cause cancer and irreversible lung damage. Asbestos has no warning properties — you can’t see it smell it or taste it. Avoid asbestos exposure, and consult the CPSC, EPA, NIOSH, ILO and WHO guidelines, regulations and laws.”

The resource page also includes information from a statement issued by Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Long in April, in commemoration of Asbestos Awareness Day, which outlines the health hazards of asbestos and which urges Americans to become more aware of these dangers and to protect themselves from asbestos exposure.

The ADAO is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to serve as the united voice for all asbestos victims, to unite asbestos victims and educate the public and medical community about asbestos-related disease, to support research that leads to early detection, prevention and a cure; to ensure equitable compensation for victims and their families, and to ban the use of asbestos.

For more information and to participate in this awareness outreach effort, please visit the National Asbestos Awareness Resource page today, and make use of the many tools available there!

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Tags: ADAO, asbestos, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Facebook, June Breit, mesothelioma, National Asbestos Awareness Resource, Steven K. Long, Twitter

This entry was postedon Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 9:16 amand is filed under News, Organizations.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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ADAO founder draws from personal loss to fight asbestos disease, raise awareness

“For every life lost to asbestos, a shattered family is left behind.” This is the motto and the message of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) co-founder Linda Reinstein. Linda, who now serves as ADAO’s executive director, became an activist on behalf of the victims of asbestos disease in 2003, when her husband Alan was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He passed away in May 2006.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, which Linda established in 2004 along with co-founder Doug Larkin,  is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving as the voice for all asbestos victims. Its mission includes education, outreach, networking for asbestos victims, and especially working to accomplish a complete ban of asbestos in the United States. ADAO has gotten a U.S. Senate resolution to officially declare April 1 as Asbestos Awareness Day, and hosts an annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference to increase awareness and help prevent future exposure.

This year, the Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson supported National Asbestos Awareness Week, the first week of April, and issued a statement about the deadly health hazard posed by asbestos.

Since co-founding ADAO, Linda has globally united countless individuals and families who have been affected by asbestos related diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis. She also has worked to produce awareness materials including a slide show called “Asbestos Kills,” and other educational materials including an internationally distributed online book, “Reflections,” which features articles from renowned global experts.

Last week, the ADAO launched a new resource center page on its web site, and issued a call to action for those of us in the mesothelioma community to push for a complete ban on asbestos in the United States by contacting our Congressional representatives.

There is an easy way to do it – just visit www.banasbestos.us and click on the link that says “Write Your Congressman,” which is on the home page. This will take you to a form you can fill out, and it will automatically send the message to your Congressional delegates. Remember, YOU shoud be THEIR voice on Capitol Hill!

“I need them to feel our pain,” Reinstein said. “Asbestos victims – patients, families, caregivers -  are turning their anger to action, across the nation, working for the difference we can make, together.”

Pictured above, Linda Reinstein with her and Alan’s daughter Emily. The flag is in recognition of Alan’s military service to his country.

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Tags: ADAO, asbestos, Asbestos Awareness Day, Asbestos Awareness Week, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, asbestosis, Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma, Steven K. Galson, Surgeon General

This entry was postedon Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 2:30 pmand is filed under Events, News, Organizations, People.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Tweet for asbestos ban!

If you have a Twitter or Facebook account, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization is calling on you to help raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and to call for Congressional ban of asbestos in the United States.

Here is a sample Facebook and Twitter message the ADAO is asking you to post. Ask your friends to re-Tweet, too!

Asbestos is a carcinogen. Ban asbestos now. Send your Congressional Representatives a letter from www.banasbestos.us. Please RT!

Mesothelioma and other asbestos-releated diseases are preventable! Raise awareness and help eliminate this deadly substance in the U.S.!

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Tags: ADAO, asbestos, asbestos ban, Facebook, mesothelioma, Twitter

This entry was postedon Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 7:00 amand is filed under News.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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California asked to find non-lethal official state rock

A story on the Cold Truth web site published Oct. 21 reported on a recent meeting of the Manhattan Beach, Calif., City Council, during which it passed a resolution to ask the State of California to find a new “official state rock.” The state’s current stone is serpentine, which usually contains asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes the deadly cancer mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, stomach and/or heart, as well as other deadly diseases including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs.

Cold Truth is an original investigative journalism reporting site created by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Andrew Schneider, who broke the story of the asbestos poisoning of Libby, Montana, among others. According to his report, serpentine was chosen as the state rock of California in 1965, “in order to promote the then-lucrative asbestos mining industry.”

The proposal to ask California’s government to change the official state rock was presented and supported by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which is headquartered in California. The organization has dubbed the effort the “Drop the Rock” Campaign, and urges statewide action while building awareness about cancer-causing asbestos.

According to a news release from ADAO dated Oct. 21, Resolution 6223 is “Urging the State Legislature to repeal the designation of serpentine, the host of asbestos, as the official state rock, in support of world eradication of asbestos for public health as urged by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.”

The resolution from Manhattan Beach represents the first official request to the California legislature to remove the rock. ADAO notes that Chrysotile asbestos, which is often found in serpentine, causes cancers and respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

“California has the dubious distinction of being the state with the highest recorded number of asbestos-related deaths and the death toll will continue until the United States Congress passes legislation banning asbestos,” said ADAO Executive Director and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein in the news release. “We have a strategic plan in place and look forward to working with asbestos victims and their families, the John McNamara Foundation, the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, and political leaders as we move throughout California to repeal serpentine as the state rock.”

The ADAO news release quotes Manhattan Beach Mayor Portia Cohen as saying, “It is unthinkable to have Serpentine as the State Rock of California when more than 7,000 people in our state alone have died from asbestos since 2007.”

Read Resolution 6223.

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Tags: ADAO, asbestos, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, asbestosis, California, Drop the Rock Campaign, Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma, Montana, serpentine

This entry was postedon Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 8:38 amand is filed under Events, News, Organizations.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Video shows effects of asbestos in the lungs

9 Nov 2009by Wendi Lewisunder News

A video that demonstrates the effects of asbestos in the lungs was recently brought to my attention by two sources. Our friend Debbie Brewer posted it to her Facebook, and then Linda Reinstein from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization sent me a link, which I’m planning to post on my Twitter feed. This is one of the best dramatizations I’ve seen yet about how asbestos fibers enter the lungs, and how they can cause such conditions as asbestosis, pleural plaques, and mesothelioma.

If you have a Twitter account and would like to share this video, please re-Tweet

Debbie remains upbeat as she undergoes radiotherapy

Everyone following Debbie Brewer‘s story on this site knows that last December it was determined she was in remission from mesothelioma – a miracle! – following successful chemoembolization treatment in Germany. Then, in September, she received a worrying report that appeared to show growth in a lymph node in her chest, which showed up on a CT scan. Subsequent tests revealed that there was growth, which would require treatment.

This week, Debbie started radiotherapy on the lymph node. She tells me that the radiotherapy treatment is a 3-week course, Monday to Friday, and depending on how the lymph node responds could go to 5 or 6 weeks.

Doctors also did a biopsy on her right groin area, which was the site where Dr. Vogl introduced the chemoembolization procedure. There is some question about whether the mesothelioma could have seeded at the induction site. Debbie says Dr. Vogl – who is pioneering the chemoembolization treatment at the University in Frankfurt – is hopeful and optimistic that this is not the case. However, the treatment is still experimental, so it is hard to know what to expect, she says. The chemoembolization treatment was done six times, each time in the same area.

The biopsy was done on Tuesday, with doctors taking two samples. Debbie is now waiting on the results.

She is in good spirits and keeping a positive outlook, so I’m sure she’d appreciate the continued well wishes and encouragment. She promises to let us know when she receives the results. You can also read more about Debbie’s story, and the other goings-on in her life, at her own blog, Mesothelioma & Me.

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Tags: chemoembolization, Debbie Brewer, Dr. Vogl, mesothelioma

This entry was postedon Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 9:38 amand is filed under Events, People, Research/Treatment.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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ADPH calls for ban on asbestos, warnings for workers

In a news release yesterday the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) applauded a recent decision by the American Public Health Association (APHA) to strengthen its policy against asbestos. The APHA has adopted a resolution calling on Congress to ban the manufacture, sale, export or import of asbestos containing products. ADAO co-founder Linda Reinstein says she hopes this is one more step forward in finally securing a total ban of asbestos in the United States.

According to its web site, the ADPH is the largest, oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world, and has been working to improve public health since 1872. The association “aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States.”

“We can’t let history repeat itself,” Reinstein said in the news release. “APHA renews our optimism that a federal asbestos ban is imminent.”

The APHA resolution for the elimination of asbestos includes a brief history of the known links between asbestos and adverse health effects, including malignant respiratory disease, including asbestosis, lung and other cancers, specifically mesothelioma. It also states that the organization opposes legislation that would limit the right of victims of asbestos disease to recover damages from asbestos manufacturers, and supports the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.

In order to strengthen its stance on asbestos, the resolution not only calls for the complete ban on the manufacture, sale, export or import of asbestos-containing products, but also recommends the U.S. Congress should direct research funding to identify public health hazards resulting from asbestos mining or excavation of minerals that occur naturally with asbestos. It urges the U.S. Surgeon General to warn and educate people annually about the public health issues related to asbestos exposure (building on a similar warning issued in April this year) and to “disseminate widely and annually its asbestos warning to all federal and state health, consumer, labor and environmental protection agencies.”

The resolution also recommends that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issue an annual statement to alert workers in high-risk occupations to the dangers and adverse health risks associated with asbestos.

Other recommendations address testing existing structures for the presence of asbestos, and asking the government to take a harder stance against asbestos manufacturing, sale and exportation by other nations, as well as by corporations, calling for a global ban on asbestos.

The ADAO news release quotes Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, who is Chair of the ADPH Occupational Health and Safety section, as saying, “With this new policy, the ADPH is joining the World Federation of Public Health Associations and other international organizations calling for a global ban on asbestos mining and manufacturing, and the dangerous practice of exporting asbestos containing products.”

Read the ADAO News Release.

Read the full APHA Resolution.

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Tags: ADAO, American Public Health Association, APHA, asbestos, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma, U.S. Congress

This entry was postedon Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 3:31 pmand is filed under Events, News, Organizations.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Awareness, educational materials available from Meso Foundation

There are tons of new educational, outreach and awareness materials now available from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. If you do not already subscribe, the latest issue of the Foundation’s “Breath of Hope” newsletter is available. The latest issue provides a recap of activities during the International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, which was held in Washington, D.C., in June. The newsletter includes photos from the event and a wealth of information about research and advocacy, as well as personal stories from mesothelioma patients and their families and caregivers.

This issue is available to download online. If you are having trouble downloading the newsletter, or just want an original hard copy, please let me know. I have some extra copies of the newsletter graciously provided to me by the Meso Foundation that I would be happy to send to you. You can also subscribe by visiting the Meso Foundation online at www.curemeso.org. There also is an archive of past newsletters on the site.

Another exciting resource available at the Meso Foundation web site is a video library of presentations from the Symposium. There were so many great speakers, and this is a truly valuable resource for excellent educational information. The video library also provides access to the slides used by conference speakers. There really is a fantastic amount of information here on topics ranging from Advocacy & Advancing the Mission, to Integrative Medicine, Nutrition, Cancer and the Immune System, Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Pleural Mesothelioma, Clinical Trials and much more.

While on the Meso Foundation web site, please join their online Mesothelioma Community, which will allow you to exchange information with others through a Bulletin Board, as well as read a number of blogs touching on a wide variety of topics. You can also subscribe to an e-newsletter that will keep you informed about all the great work the Meso Foundation is accomplishing in its mission to find a cure for mesothelioma.

If you have any questions or need assistance, you may call the Meso Foundation at (805) 456-7272 or call them toll-free at 877-END-MESO.

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Tags: Breath of Hope, International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, Meso Foundation, mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, newsletter, peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, video library, Washington

This entry was postedon Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 2:45 pmand is filed under News, Organizations.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Registration now open for ADAO Sixth Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization has announced registration is now open for its Sixth Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference. The conference is scheduled for April 9-11, 2010 in Chicago, Ill. This annual event brings together renowned doctors, scientists, researchers and asbestos victims and their families in a united forum for asbestos awareness, education and collaboration. Each year the event coincides with national Asbestos Awareness Day, April 1.

In addition to providing educational information, advocacy support, a special remembrance ceremony and networking opportunities, each year the conference honors individuals or organizations that have demonstrated outstanding work and dedication to asbestos awareness related activities. ADAO has announced this year’s honorees:

The Honorable Richard Durbin, United States Senator – Tribute of Hope AwardDr. Hedy Kindler – Selikoff Lifetime Achievement AwardCenter for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD), Libby, Montana – Tribute of Unity AwardFernanda Giannasi – Tribute of Inspiration AwardJune Breit (posthumous) – The Alan Reinstein Memorial Award

At the conference, the ADAO also will announce the recipient of the Warren Zevon “Keep Me in Your Heart” Memorial Tribute.

“I’ve received countless requests for my father’s song, ‘Keep Me in Your Heart,’ to be used at memorials for asbestos victims,” said ADAO Spokesperson Jordan Zevon. Jordan is the son of Warren Zevon, acclaimed singer and songwriter, who died of mesothelioma in 2003. “You can imagine how proud it makes me to know that my father’s Grammy winning song has touched so many families, but it is bittersweet because of the nature of those requests. In his honor, I will continue to work with ADAO to ban asbestos to spare future generations from the same fate.”

“As we get closer to a full asbestos ban, we are encouraged, yet simultaneously reminded that the reverberations of asbestos exposure can last decades,” said Linda Reinstein, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ADAO. “Our annual conferences drive home the importance of the need for increased awareness, education and research.”

Additional conference details are available on the ADAO web site, and online registration is available at http://www.adao.eventbrite.com.

The International Asbestos Awareness Conference is made possible with the support and collaborative efforts of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS).

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Tags: ADAO, asbestos, Asbestos Awareness Day, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, CARD, Center for Asbestos Related Diseases, Chicago, Dr. Hedy Kindler, Dr. Irving Selikoff, Fernanda Giannasi, International Asbestos Awareness Conference, International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, Jordan Zevon, June Breit, Libby, Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma, Montana, Richard Durbin, Tribute of Hope Award, Warren Zevon

This entry was postedon Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 7:00 amand is filed under Events, News, Organizations.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Startling statistic revealed during UK pleural plaque debate

There is an ongoing debate in the United Kingdom about whether the country’s Labour department is responsible for compensating workers suffering from pleural plaques. In 2007, the Law Lords ruled that pleural plaques did not qualify for worker’s compensation. Pleural plaques are areas of fibrosis, or scar tissue caused by exposure to asbestos. They are usually found on the inside of the diaphragm.

A champion for the rights of workers who have developed pleural plaques as a result of exposure to asbestos in the workplace is Jarrow MP Stephen Hepburn. In a meeting at the House of Commons on Nov. 27, he argued the issue of pleural plaques is “immensely important” to workers and pensioners, and insisted it is the duty of members of both sides of the House to overturn the “disgraceful and unjust decision by the Law Lords to bar this terrible illness from classification as a designated illness for compensation purposes,” according to a report in The Chronicle.

Hepburn also told the Commons that pleural plaques sufferers are 1,000 times more likely to develop a more serious form of asbestos-related cancer. Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the chest cavity and lungs (pleural) or the lining of the stomach (peritoneal). It may also rarely affect the lining of the heart (pericardial). There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

During the heated debate, The Daily Mirror reports that statistics were revealed that show mesothelioma rates in the UK have nearly doubled in 10 years. According to the news source, hospitals treated 7,349 cases of mesothelioma in the past year, compared to 3,773 cases during the timeframe of 1998-99. The Mirror calls mesothelioma an “asbestos timebomb,” citing the disease’s long latency period.

The Mirror quotes Hepburn as saying, “We’re seeing the legacy of workers exposed to asbestos in the 1960s.”

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Tags: asbestos, House of Commons, Law Lords, mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, pleural plaques, Stephen Hepburn, UK, United Kingdom

This entry was postedon Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 11:33 amand is filed under Legal, News, People.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Montana newspaper series takes a look at Libby today

A series of stories in the Daily Inter Lake, which serves Northwest Montana and which initially broke the story about widespread asbestos contamination of the town of Libby, Mont., in 1999, is featuring a series of stories about the town. The feature is related to a recent town hall style meeting organized by the University of Montana, which is seeking to get clarification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about just how much toxicity remains in the town.

The town hall meeting, which was held Dec. 6, featured a panel discussion about the deadly fallout from town’s vermiculite asbestos mine, which was operated for years by W.R. Grace & Company. Even those who didn’t work in the mine were exposed to asbestos, as dust from the mine covered the surrounding area, railroad tracks and roads used to transport the materials. Asbestos was even used as filler for gardens and ballparks.

According to the Daily Inter Lake report, more than 300 deaths have been linked to asbestos exposure from the vermiculite mine. A special health clinic established by the EPA after the story broke about the widespread asbestos disease affecting Libby area residents is currently treating about 2,800 patients with varying levels of asbestos disease.

Dr. Brad Black, who oversees patient care at the clinic, called the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD), says it’s impossible to really determine how many people have been affected by asbestos in Libby, because around 80,000 people “came and went in Libby while the mine was operating,” the paper reports.

Because of the long latency period of asbestos disease – which includes conditions such as asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs that impedes lung function and limits breathing, and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs or, more rarely, the abdomen or heart – which is sometimes as long as 30 or 40 years, Black estimates cases will continue to emerge well into the future, through the year 2030.

Since the asbestos contamination of Libby was brought to light, it has been a roller-coaster ride for area residents. The EPA has spent more than $206 million to date to clean up residential and commercial properties. In June, Libby was declared a public health emergency, which is the first time the agency has made such a determination under the 1980 Superfund law. This will allow more money to be put into the town’s cleanup efforts.

However, there are still lingering questions about just how effective these cleanup efforts really are. The EPA has divided the Libby Superfund site into eight geographical units, and has so far only completed cleanup on two of those units. However, some scientists argue that the type of asbestos affecting Libby – amphibole – is much more toxic than chrysotile asbestos, and that cleanup efforts are being conducted using old research on the wrong type of asbestos.

The Daily Inter Lake reports that EPA officials have admitted they are using toxicology assessments from 1985 data on less toxic asbestos, not Libby asbestos. This is despite a more recent study completed in 2003, which “established exposure benchmarks for mesothelioma and lung cancer based on asbestos epidemiologic studies,” the news agency reports.

According to the paper, federal government risk assessment standards say cleanup efforts are necessary when there is evidence of one death per 10,000 people. In Libby, where the population is around 10,000 people, there have already been 31 deaths just from mesothelioma. This doesn’t even take into account the suffering and death from other asbestos-related diseases.

The asbestos contamination also has been a see-saw on the legal front. In May, W.R. Grace & Co. and several of its top leaders were acquitted of criminal charges related to the widespread asbestos disease affecting its residents. Nearly 800 people still have pending civil suits against the company, which have been delayed by bankrupcy claims on the part of Grace. The company is expected to emerge from bankruptcy in January.

Testimony resulting from the bankruptcy trial in October revealed that there is a 59 percent probability of death for Libby residents exposed to asbestos dust.

“No other place on the planet has that,” the Daily Inter Lake quotes attorney John Heberling, who is representing asbestos clients.

This is a fascinating and tragic series of stories, and I encourage you to visit the Daily Inter Lake online to read the full series. It includes a feature on Gayla Benefield, who, along with compatriot Les Skramstad, began the campaign to expose the Libby contamination and lobby for justice for the town. Here are just a few of the links:

What is a safe dose for Libby?
What’s next for Libby?
Asbestos victims try to stay upbeat
Advocate’s work for asbestos victims spans 35 years
Grace lawsuit claimants still in limbo

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Tags: asbestos, asbestosis, CARD, Center for Asbestos Related Disease, chrysotile, Daily Inter Lake, Dr. Brad Black, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Gayla Benefield, Les Skramstad, Libby, mesothelioma, Montana, Superfund, vermiculite, W.R. Grace & Co.

This entry was postedon Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 10:16 amand is filed under News.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Florida overpass construction halted to test for asbestos

The construction of a large overpass project in Fort Myers, Fla., area has come to a halt while Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) investigators test suspicious materials found on the worksite. The Summerlin Road overpass in Lee County is Southwest Florida’s largest road project, according to NBC-2 News. During a recent site visit, county transportation leaders spotted the material, which they believe contains asbestos, an environmental hazard. Asbestos fibers can cause serious illness, including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the chest and lungs, or, more rarely, the abdomen or heart.

NBC-2 quotes John Iglehart from the FDEP as saying, “We take asbestos very seriously because it is such a human health threat.”

The suspected asbestos-containing material was observed among some filler materials on the work site. It is believed the material is leftover water pipes recycled from another project. If the pipes contain asbestos, it will mean they ought to have been properly disposed of, using protective measures in handling a hazardous material. It is illegal to recycle these types of materials and use them in other projects.

According to NBC-2, the project’s lead contractor, Posen Construction, may have improperly disposed of the pipes and then used them in the recycled fill material. The news agency says this is not the first time Posen has been cited for such environmental violations. In fact, they report, Posen Construction has been cited at least 24 times since July 2008 and fined at least $12,000.

The Florida DEP is currently testing the chunks of suspicious material obtained from the job site, but a FDEP investigator says a surface inspection reveals fibers consistent with asbestos. Asbestos becomes dangerous when it is released into the air and inhaled, which is a possibility if the materials on the site are crushed or broken.

Until FDEP makes a final determination, the $25-million project is on hold. If asbestos is found, NBC-2 reports, “the next step will be determining who is responsible, how it happened and most immediately – cleaning it up.”

Read the full story and watch a video of the news coverage.

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Tags: asbestos, asbestosis, FDEP, Florida, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Fort Myers, Lee County, mesothelioma, Posen Construction

This entry was postedon Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 7:00 amand is filed under Legal, News.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Bionomics set to begin Phase II clinical trial following initial success of cancer drug

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that biotechnology company Bionomics is set to begin a Phase II clinical trial of its anti-cancer drug, BNC105, at up to 12 cancer treatment centers across Australia. The company plans to include 60 mesothelioma patients in the drug trial.

According to the Herald report, this Phase II study comes on the heels of a successful Phase I clinical trial of Bionomics’ BNC105, which was administered to patients with advanced cancers at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Western Hospital, Austin Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Bionomics has contacted the Australasian Lung Cancer Trials Group (ALTG) and the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (CTC) to conduct the clinical trial. No date has yet been set for the trial start.

BNC105 is described as “a novel anti-cancer agent which is both a vascular disrupting agent (VDA) and an inhibitor of cancer cell proliferation.”

For more information about the Phase II clinical trial of BNC105 for mesothelioma patients in Australia, email clinicaltrials

Join ADAO in lighting a candle in memory of those lost to mesothelioma

On Monday, December 28, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) will continue a longstanding tradition of lighting a candle in memory of those loved ones lost to mesothelioma. This is actually the first of two candlelighting ceremonies. The second will be held Monday, January 4, 2010, in honor of all the mesothelioma “warriors” still battling and conquering this devastating disease.

You are invited to add the name of your loved one to ADAO’s master list, either in memory or in honor of someone you love. This project is conducted in conjunction with the Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR). View the list, or email acor

Make a resolution to help cure mesothelioma

29 Dec 2009by Wendi Lewisunder News, Organizations, Research/Treatment

As 2009 draws to a close, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation would like to remind those of us in the meso community that there is still much work to be done in the quest for a cure. The Meso Foundation has created a powerful two-minute video featuring the testimonies of mesothelioma victims and their families, including heartbreaking stories of loss, but also triumphant declarations of success against this dreaded cancer.

Please share the following video with your family and friends, and fellow mesothelioma warriors, and help raise awareness about the many lives touched by mesothelioma.

You can visit the Meso Foundation online to make a donation to help this organization fund mesothelioma reserach and continue providing patient services, or mail your contribution to:

Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
P.O. Box 91840
Santa Barbara, CA 93190-1840

You may specify a loved one in whose memory the contribution is made, which will be acknowledged on the Tribute Wall, displayed at the annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma in June 2010. Contributions over $100 also will be acknowledged in the Meso Foundation Annual Report. There is much more information online about how you can help. Please visit them today!

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Tags: Meso Foundation, mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation

This entry was postedon Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 7:00 amand is filed under News, Organizations, Research/Treatment.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Future tied up in past as asbestos deaths continue in Libby

As part of its look back at the year 2009, the Missioulian newspaper spoke with residents of Libby, Montana, the “poster child” for mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. Libby and its people have been decimated by asbestos exposure from the vermiculite mine that for generations operated in the town. Even those who did not work in the mine were affected, as asbestos dust blanketed the town, spilled from trucks and railway cars, and asbestos particles were used as landfill throughout the town.

W.R. Grace & Company operated the mine. In 2009, the company and several of its officers were brought up on criminal charges, but a jury returned a verdict of “not guilty.” Many following the trial closely said the government botched its case against the company, and others argued Grace’s deep pockets simply outpaced the efforts of a handful of government lawyers.

The aquittal was another in a long line of emotional blows for Libby residents, who hoped to see W.R. Grace finally brought to justice for the devastation of their hometown, their families and loved ones. Generations of Libby residents have already died of mesothelioma, and many more are currently suffering from mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and a host of other ailments caused by longterm exposure to asbestos.

On June 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally declared a public health emergency in Libby. This designation – the first of its kind in American history – will allow the government to increase funds to provide for medical treatment for Libby residents, and for research into asbestos disease. According to the Missoulian, Libby has already received $6 million, which is designated for patient screening and care, and the town is set to receive an additional $2 million for health care and home care assistance. The paper reports the asbestos health care clinic – the Center for Asbestos Related Diseases (CARD) – and the local hospital are planning expansions.

At the beginning of December, a series of town hall meetings were held, hoping to address important questions about safety and health, including whether or not the government’s clean-up efforts are truly making any difference.

For residents who already have seen husbands, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives die terrible deaths from asbestos disease, it is too little too late. They try to remain strong, but they are angry, and sad, and it’s hard to hold onto hope.

Read the full article by Missoulian reporter Micheal Jamison.

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Tags: asbestos, asbestos disease, asbestosis, CARD, Center for Asbestos Related Diseases, Libby, lung cancer, mesothelioma, Missoulian, Montana, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, vermiculite, W.R. Grace & Co.

This entry was postedon Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 7:00 amand is filed under News.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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