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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Australian doctor researching radiotherapy for treatment of pleural mesothelioma

One of the many mesothelioma community members on Facebook posted a question today about a clinical trial being conducted at the Mesothelioma Center, located at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. MyMeso discussed this clinical trial in a July post. The clinical trial is a program of targeted radiation and chemotherapy protocol for pleural mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the lung’s lining almost always caused by asbestos. In response to the Facebook thread, meso survivor and awareness advocate (read: warrior) Debbie Brewer, who many of you know from her story and updates here (thanks Debbie!), mentioned a similar study currently ongoing in Australia.

Debbie provided a link to a story published in November 2009 by ABC News that outlines the work of specialists at Austin Health Centre in Victoria. The treatment, spearheaded by Dr. Malcolm Feigen, a radiation oncologist at the Centre, uses high doses of radiotherapy, concentrated on specific areas of the lining of the lungs to target mesothelioma tumors.

According to the ABC report, 13 patients participated in a pilot program to test this new targeted radiotherapy treatment. Most had some surgery prior to the radiotherapy treatment, and some also had chemotherapy before or after the treatment, although Dr. Feigen believes the patients showed the most benefit primarily as a result of the radiotherapy regimen.

Participants in the U.S. clinical trial at the Mesothelioma Center receive a multi-modality therapy that incorporates surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy in combination.

Listen to the interview with Dr. Feigen about the Australian research, which was broadcast on ABC’s AM morning current affairs program.

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Tags: asbestos, Austin, Austin Health Centre, Australia, chemotherapy, Debbie Brewer, Dr. Malcom Feigen, Facebook, mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Center, New York, pleural mesothelioma, radiation, radiotherapy

This entry was postedon Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 1:44 pmand 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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