Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer News
Halliburton Asbestos Settlement
Halliburton Co. agreed to pay as much as $4.2 billion in cash and stock to settle asbestos-related claims against several current and former units and wipe out future asbestos liability.
Smithsonian settles asbestos lawsuit
An outside consultant urged improvements in the Smithsonian Institution's handling of asbestos in its buildings, calling for changes in procedures and training, and inspections to locate the toxic substance throughout the sprawling museum complex.
How Asbestos Causes Cancer
Researchers addressed the paradox of how asbestos fibers that kill cells could cause cancer, since a dead cell should not be able to grow and form a tumor.
New Biomarkers Discovered for Mesothelioma Cancer
Ostroff and colleagues tested blood from participants to discover the biomarkers specific to those with cancer, which would then be used to identify these diseases at an early stage, where the potential for effective treatment is much higher than in disease that has progressed.
North Dakota Road Material May Increase Risk of Lung Cancer
New data shows that people exposed to the mineral erionite found in the gravel of road materials in North Dakota may be at significantly increased risk of developing mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer most often associated with asbestos exposure
Troublemaker Worker Told To Remove Asbestos Mask
The fight over the mask was the last straw, she said, so she quit. Days later, by the end of April, the Environmental Protection Agency had suspended the search for bone fragments because the roof was "not properly cleaned" and asbestos particles were discovered in the dust, officials said.
New York Asbestos Explosion Exposure Warning
The kind of incident that occurred yesterday demands proper clean up procedures and safety precautions, using the best our science has to offer for those near the explosion site to avoid potential health complications months or years from now – including deadly asbestos related diseases.
Drug Combination
Treatment Helps Beat Mesothelioma
In the drug study, patients receiving pemetrexed and cisplatin
- along with the vitamin supplements folic acid and B12 -
survived nearly three months longer than patients getting
cisplatin alone.
Rare Mesothelioma
Lung Cancer Cases Reported In Minninnesota Iron Range Miners
and Iron Ore Mine Workers
A rare form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure has been
found in another 35 miners on the Iron Range. One study would
focus on the health of mine workers in the region. The other
would assess the potential impact of airborne mineral fragments
created during iron ore processing.The cancer, known as mesothelioma,
is seen almost exclusively in people who have been exposed
to asbestos.
Health Concerns Associated With Mining Activity In Northeastern Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is proposing two new health studies addressing potential health concerns in northeastern Minnesota. One would focus on the health of mine workers. The other would assess the potential health impact of specific types of airborne mineral fragments generated by ore processing activity on the Minnesota iron range. MDH proposed the new mine worker study after receiving reports of additional mesothelioma cases in a group of mine workers who had been the subject of an earlier 2003 study.
Railway Man’s Mesothelioma Cancer Caused By Railway Asbestos
A former coach fitter died of mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos during his employment at the rail works, an inquest has heard.
Hospital Fined For Asbestos Violations
The penalties stem from a January incident at the Salem psychiatric facility that may have released hazardous amosite asbestos fibers into the air, a state pollution official said Monday. The problem surfaced when a contractor hired to install a new water line dug into an old, asbestos-insulated pipeline, the state Department of Environmental Quality says.
Justices order single hearings on asbestos cases
Asbestos is a fireproof substance that was often used in factories and home insulation decades ago. It is known to cause cancer, including mesothelioma, a slow-forming, but deadly disease of the lungs. Exposure to even small amounts of asbestos can cause cancer that shows up more than 20 years later, experts agree.
Recurrence in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Predicted By Gene Signature
According to an article recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a gene expression profile, referred to as the lung metagene model, can help predict which patients with early non–small cell lung cancer are at a high risk for recurrence.
Alimta Marketing By Lilly Draws FDA Warning
Alimta is used to treat mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer. It can also cause fetal harm to women who take the medication while pregnant.
New Drug Aids SA Fight Against Asbestos Cancer
Alimta (Pemetrexed), when used with cisplatin – another widely used chemotherapy drug – is the first and only drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Association for the treatment of patients with mesothelioma when surgery is not an option. Treatments such as this one are highly relevant in South Africa, where asbestos-related illnesses are painfully prevalent.
Workers Say Contractors Ignoring Asbestos Safety Rules
The health of laborers and the public are at risk because companies are skirting asbestos-handling laws while regulators look the other way, say workers engaged in the Coast's cleanup.
Promising Results For Advanced Lung Cancer Patients With Combination Therapy
Pairing the targeted therapy Tarceva with the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex increased response rates in lung cancer patients by about three-fold
Mesothelioma Hitting Japan Hard
Patients are praying for a cure, those exposed to asbestos particles are in a panic, and medical researchers are rushing to prepare for what many fear will be an explosion in mesothelioma cases.
RISK ASSESSMENT: Predicting Asbestos's Fallout
Millions of workers in the United States and other countries have now been exposed to asbestos. Many have developed asbestos-caused diseases, and millions of current and former workers are still at risk. Thousands of lawsuits on behalf of affected workers have been filed against companies that processed asbestos and made asbestos-containing products.
Asbestos Health Dangers Publicized By County Officials
Anyone remodeling a home or apartment built before 1980 must first have it tested for the presence of asbestos, which is still commonly found in vinyl flooring and acoustic “popcorn” ceilings.
Equal Lung Cancer Risk Same For All Nonsmokers
Women who've never smoked are not more likely to die from lung cancer than their male counterparts, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society that counters recent conventional wisdom about the disease.
Michigan Legislature Considers Asbestos Litigation Reform
According to Chicago-based PCI, Michigan has looked at the efforts of other states such as Georgia, Florida and Texas that have worked to cut down on frivolous asbestos lawsuits and tried to prevent companies that did not produce asbestos from being sued into bankruptcy.
Furor Over Asbestos Simmers
It has been 17 years since Ronald Bishop and his Webster neighbors first heard alarming reports that someone planned an asbestos dump in their midst. Fearing for their health and safety.
20% With Mesothelioma Have A Positive Response To Chemotherapy
Hackler, battling asbestos-caused cancer, goes each Sunday to a room set aside for prayer and before he enters receives a rose from a member of the Presbyterian Women.
New Charges Over Asbestos - Company Targets Treatment Clinic
Grace, a producer of chemicals and building materials, voluntarily pays for most of the medical treatment at the clinic. In recent months, the company's medical plan administrator imposed new rules that have made reimbursement more lengthy and involved, and pushed the clinic, its administrators say, into a cash-flow crisis.
Lung Cancer Patients Who Never Smoked Respond Better To Chemotherapy
The researchers found that patients who never smoked had a better response to the chemotherapy; developed less disease progression during therapy; and showed improved survival over former and current smokers.
New Product Makes Asbestos Disposal Safe
The Asbestoclear™ products consist of two different disposal packs (mini and maxi bags) each contain working instructions, Personal & Respiratory Protective Equipment and asbestos disposal sacks.
Mesothelioma History, Mesothelioma Hazards, And Mesothelioma Dietary Advice
There are four main types of asbestos; Amosite (brown fibers), Anthophyllite (gray fibers), white Christie, and blue Crocidolite. Chrysotile has curly fibers while the other three have rod like fibers. These fibers fragment into dust quite readily and waft into the air. They can adhere to skin or clothing and are easily swallowed or inhaled.
Vitamins No Link To Lung Cancer Risk, Says Meta-Analysis
The link between intakes of the vitamins A, C, and E and folic acid, has been reported by some studies, but not by others. The new analysis, led by Eunyoung Cho from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, sought to clarify the situation by pooling eight prospective studies with a total population size of 430,281 participants.
Mesothelioma Cancer Risk Faced By US Tunnel Workers From Asbestos Exposure
Workers who work in the Capitol, the seat of US Congress in Washington, tunnels say they risk a slow death from asbestos-related disease. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, linked to lung cancer and to mesothelioma, a cancer caused only by asbestos exposure. It causes other health problems, including asbestosis.
Contractors Accused Of Improperly Handling And Disposing Of Asbestos
Two contracting companies and their project managers have now been indicted by a Monterey County grand jury for allegedly releasing asbestos into the ventilation system of the Salinas Courthouse.
Reduce Dyspnea in Patients with Mesothelioma
Researchers affiliated with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Lung Cancer Group and the National Cancer Institute of Canada have reported that the combination of Tomudex (raltitrexed) and Platinol® (cisplatin) or Platinol alone decrease dyspnea in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).
Asbestos Advisor Interactive Asbesots Compliance Assistance Tool
The Asbestos Advisor is an interactive compliance assistance tool. Once installed on your PC, it can interview you about buildings and worksites, and the kinds of tasks workers perform there. It will produce guidance on how the Asbestos standard may apply to those buildings and that work.
Common Asbestos Questions
The Asbestos NESHAP regulations protect the public by minimizing the release of asbestos fibers during activities involving the processing, handling, and disposal of asbestos-containing material.
High Lung Cancer Rate Seen in North Toledo, Ohio
Lung cancer is high in North Toledo's Lagrange Street area, according to a presentation yesterday at Toledo Hospital by one of the Ohio Department of Health's top officials.
Mill Workers Sue Asbestos Makers And Asbestos Suppliers
Two former paper mill workers diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease have filed separate lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers and suppliers. James Crowley, who worked at the former Oxford Paper Mill in Rumford for three years in the 1960s, and Emile Richard, who worked at International Paper in Jay from 1952 to 1987, filed the suits in Androscoggin County Superior Court. Their wives also are named as plaintiffs.
Supertex Asbestos Found In Seven Locations
Chrysotile is known as the least noxious of all types of asbestos but becomes a health issue if it is old, deteriorating and breaking up. An Occupational, Health and Safety Amendment Regulation banned it, along with all other types of asbestos in December 2003, according to WorkCover's website.
Search Engine for Mesothelioma Launches
The site is offered as a public service for those looking for information related to medical and legal information on mesothelioma lung cancer, or asbestos lung cancer for which there is no cure and is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers or asbestos dust.
$9.3 Million Asbestos Verdict Against Georgia- Pacific
Jurors in the case heard how Mr. Bostic was exposed to asbestos while working with his father as a child and teenager in the 1960s and 1970s. Witnesses testified that Mr. Bostic frequently used an asbestos-containing joint compound manufactured by Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp.
France Embarrassed Over Asbestos-Laden Death Ship
When it first took to the seas nearly 50 years ago, the aircraft carrier Clemenceau was the crown jewel of the French navy. Today, it is a decommissioned albatross amid an uproar over the toxic materials inside it.
Hardie hopes backdated tax law will help fill asbestos black hole
JAMES Hardie Industries hopes new tax laws introduced this week could help fund its $1.6 billion settlement payout to asbestos sufferers. The laws, which are backdated to apply from July 1, 2005, could give Hardie millions of dollars in tax breaks on the payout agreed to in December.
The Senate fails on asbestos
The U.S. Senate came tantalizingly close Tuesday night to approving a $140 billion trust fund that would help people stricken by asbestos-related diseases, but the move failed
Laundry caused 84-year-old Womans's asbestos illness
Anita O'Connell claims Bondex International and Georgia-Pacific were negligent for injuries she received from asbestos fibers that became airborne while she shook out her husband's work clothes before washing them.
Asbestos managers may draw prison time
The charges include disposal and storage of asbestos at an unauthorized site, reckless disposal and storage of a hazardous waste resulting in risk or injury, failure to take safety precautions and reckless emission of air contaminants, which endangered the public.
Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution (FAIR)
Exposure to the fire-retardant mineral is known to cause of mesothelioma, a virulent cancer that can attack the lungs, heart or stomach; lung cancer; and asbestosis, scarring of the lung tissue that can be fatal.
West Virginia University asbestos testing approved
Under the settlement, about 5,600 current and former WVU employees would be eligible for lung tests and other exams to detect asbestos-related illnesses.
Chicken: Prevents cancer?
Those who had consumed diets higher in processed meats showed a greater risk of developing recurrent colorectal adenomas. Those with diets high in certain white meats, like chicken, were less prone to this risk.
Libby asbestos cleanup grinds on
Long after the EPA and its contractors pull out of Libby, the community will continue dealing with asbestos removal. Asbestos can be found in insulation, boiler lining, fire protection, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, decorative surfacing, linoleum and even the mud between sheet rock.
Asbestos litigation needs reforming to aid America's suffering veterans
Veterans were disproportionately exposed to asbestos because of the government's widespread use up until the 1980s. But unfortunately, they now lack avenues for seeking compensation.
Kubota Apologizes For Asbestos
At Sunday's meeting, Hatakake was quoted as saying it "cannot be denied" that asbestos fibers might have escaped from the factory premises. However, he said the causal relationship between that and mesothelioma has not been fully confirmed. He bowed in apology anyway, saying: "We did not fully recognize the risks. I feel moral responsibility as an operator (of such a facility)," according to the residents.
Blacks' lower rate of lung cancer surgery not just due to access to care issues
Designed to identify the causes of racial discrepancies in lung cancer treatment in the United States, the research ruled out unequal access to medical care as the sole explanation. It did show that blacks were somewhat less likely to be offered lung cancer surgery, and were slightly more likely to refuse it than were whites.
Time to take action and fight asbestos
The Evening News has reported on a number of deaths due to people working or coming into contact with poisonous asbestos. Mesothelioma is one of several types of respiratory disease which is a direct result of asbestos exposure.
Hana Biosciences Announces Positive Interim Results From a Phase I Trial of Talotrexin (PT-523)
Hana Biosciences (AMEX:HBX), a South San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing cancer care, announced today positive interim data from an ongoing, multi-center Phase I clinical study evaluating single agent Talotrexin (PT-523) in relapsed or refractory advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Rare Cancer Drug Alimta Released
US-based Eli Lilly announced over the weekend that it has introduced Alimta, the world's first medication to treat the asbestos-related malignant pleural mesothelioma, or MPM, a cancer of the chest and abdominal linings.
Cancer Prevention Backgrounder: Toward the Future of Cancer Prevention
Debate exists on how many cancer deaths are preventable in principle -- estimates range from 50% to 80% -- but most researchers agree that tobacco use (mostly smoking) accounts for the majority. Today, cigarette smoking claims about 438,000 premature deaths in the U.S. annually. It is responsible for up to one-third of all cancer deaths and accounts for 20% of annual U.S. mortality due to all causes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Legal win for dust disease victims
The symptoms of asbestosis and other asbestos-related illnesses sometimes do not appear for 40 years, but the disease can claim the lives of victims within six months of being diagnosed.
Reading X-Rays in Asbestos Suits Enriched Doctor
Litigation involving asbestos, and more recently, silica, has grown into a huge business. Over the last 30 years, more than 700,000 claims have been filed involving inhalation of asbestos, a fire-retardant material that can cause a particularly pernicious form of lung cancer, and more than $70 billion has been spent on asbestos litigation - $49 billion as compensation, according to the Rand Corporation
Nightline Focuses on Cities at Risk for Asbestos Shipments
The story focused on asbestos victims in Libby and how officials at the W.R. Grace company, who now face criminal charges, knowingly exposed millions of people to dangerous tremolite asbestos particles and were involved in a massive cover up. Hundreds have perished in Libby from asbestos-caused diseases including asbestosis and mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by asbestos.
Fujirebio Diagnostics Honored with Pioneer Award from MARF for MESOMARK
The MESOMARK test is a manual enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that works by identifying biomarkers called soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP). These proteins are released into the bloodstream by malignant mesothelioma cells.
Newly identified protein may help improve treatment for lung cancer
Researchers hope that a newly identified protein can one day help improve treatment for lung cancer. The findings are reported by researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Learn the Signs and Symptoms of Lung Cancer
This year, nearly 175,000 Americans will learn they have lung cancer. Smoking is the greatest known risk factor for lung cancer, although being exposed to second-hand smoke, radon, asbestos and other chemicals can also increase your chances of developing the disease.
Celebrity cases spur demand for lung cancer test
If a simple, painless test can find the world’s deadliest cancer when it is smaller than a pea – and such a test does indeed exist – shouldn’t people who are most at risk have one?
C.A.R. Arms Businesses with First Tool to Determine S. 852's Asbestos Tax Burden
Today, the Coalition for Asbestos Reform (C.A.R.) launched an easy-to-use online calculator that will allow businesses to estimate their share of the $140 billion in new taxes mandated by S. 852, the so-called "Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005," scheduled for the Senate floor this fall.
Book "Asbestos and Fire" Explores Risk Trade-Offs
Asbestos has saved thousands of lives in the short run, but in the long run it has serious health risks. As a result, asbestos has triggered billions of dollars in litigation costs, says Rachel Maines, Cornell University visiting scholar, in a new book.
Sawmill fire aftermath: Asbestos confirmed
When flames leveled an abandoned building at the old lumber mill site near Play Ball Park on Tuesday morning, a flurry of ash and debris fell over neighborhoods a half-mile to the west, as far as Reserve Street. On Wednesday, tests on the ash came back positive for chrysotile asbestos.
40-year Asbestos-like Amphibole Fiber Debate Renewed
In Minnesota's most famous environmental battle, courts ruled that the amphibole fibers in the tailings may cause human and environmental health problems. The company was forced to dispose of its tailings in an on-land, contained basin -- Milepost 7 -- and to treat water leaving the basin before it goes into the Beaver River and, eventually, Lake Superior.
New Mesothelioma Treatment Options May Extend Life and Decrease Symptoms
New drug treatment options and recently improved procedures are providing a glimmer of hope for modest improvements in both life expectancy and quality of life for patients with mesothelioma, one of the most challenging cancers that patients can face.
W.R. Grace lawyers want trial moved from Montan
Six years of inflammatory press coverage, including 1,900 print articles, two books and two film documentaries, have biased potential jurors in the criminal case against W.R. Grace and Co., according to court documents filed by the company's lawyers, who argue that the trial should be moved out of Montana.
Moisture helps control asbestos in 'orange soil'
State Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) sponsored a bill in June that requires public disclosure of asbestos areas and demands local governments account for them when they make land-use decisions. Developers would have to report on the presence of asbestos before breaking ground.
Iressa and Erbitux drugs hit same lung cancer target, but only one is effective
Although both drugs killed cells containing a normal but overactive EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) molecule, only gefitinib (Iressa) killed lung cancer cells containing a mutated EGFR molecule. The monoclonal antibody drug cetuximab (Erbitux) had little effect on the mutant signal, evidently because it strikes at a different part of the EGFR molecule.
Elevated Blood Levels of Osteopontin Protein are Linked to Asbestos-induced Cancers
Researchers at New York University School of Medicine and Wayne State University have found a molecule that reveals the early stages of pleural mesothelioma, a chest cancer caused by asbestos. The finding opens the way to a blood test for the disease, according to a new study published in the Oct. 13 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine
Targeted Therapies and New Drugs Offer Hope in Battling Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the No. 1 form of cancer that kills both men and women, but new drugs that target tumors and advances in radiation and chemotherapy are helping patients live longer. When Connie DeWitt was first told that she had lung cancer, two words popped into her head: death sentence.
Recruiting Patients for Study Sorafenib in Treating Patients with Malignant Mesothelioma
Sorafenib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth and by blocking blood flow to the tumor. This phase II trial is studying how well sorafenib works in treating patients with malignant mesothelioma
UK:CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE OF PRESCRIBED DISEASES - ASBESTOS-RELATED DISEASES
Asbestos-related diseases includes conditions such as asbestosis, mesothelioma (a cancer affecting the lining of the lung cavity), lung cancer and pleural thickening (thickening of the lining of the lung cavity).
Workers Exposed To Libby Vermiculite Ore Have High Rate Of Chest Wall Abnormalities
More than one-quarter of tested workers at an Ohio manufacturing plant historically exposed to asbestos-containing vermiculite ore exhibited signs of scarring of the chest wall lining, a study by researchers from the University of Cincinnati has found.
Asbestos law plea
An asbestos victim's widow yesterday pleaded with the State Government to stop protecting big businesses at the expense of families hit by lethal asbestos-related disease.
Asbestos Victims Raise The Dust
The manufacturers and suppliers of the silica, asbestos, strontium chromate, coal tar pitch, lead, tri-butyl tin oxide and other hazardous chemicals in protective coatings knew the dangers they presented to workers who inhaled them
Mouse model paves way for lung cancer studies
Now, cancer researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a strain of mice that readily develops lung tumors with the same genetic mutations found in human lung tumors. Moreover, the mice are especially sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke.
New Website for International Mesothelioma Program
The International Mesothelioma Program (IMP) at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA is both a clinical and research program geared toward developing more advanced treatment strategies for mesothelioma patients.
Government Officials Looking into Asbestos Reports at Northshore Mining
Federal investigators have come to a conclusion that asbestos levels at the Northshore Mining Co., a Minnesota based taconite plant, were higher than allowed in other industries, however, they did not exceed the Federal limit established for mining companies. Over the past several years, the U.S Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued two asbestos level warnings to Northshore Mining.
Hurricane Katrina EPA Asbestos Warning
EPA Urges Avoiding Problems from Airborne Asbestos and Lead Dust -- Elevated concentrations of airborne asbestos can occur if asbestos-containing materials present in many older homes are disturbed. Pipe or other insulation, ceiling tiles, exterior siding, roof shingles and sprayed on-soundproofing are just some of the materials found in older buildings that may contain asbestos.
Treating Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma Clinical Study Is Currently Recruiting Patients
Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some block the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Others find cancer cells and help kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them. It is not yet known if combination chemotherapy works better with or without bevacizumab in treating malignant mesothelioma.
Malignant Mesothelioma – A New Genetic Revelation
Malignant mesothelioma is a very aggressive tumor which is found resistant to most of the treatment, which is increasing in frequency throughout the world. The main causative agents for the development of Malignant mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, recently a virus, simian virus 40 (SV40) is also found to be a causative agent for development of this tumor.
Asbestos deaths stalk DIY workers
A NATIONAL addiction to home renovation has been blamed for a surge in cases of the killer asbestos-caused disease mesothelioma. Renovators are being warned that even small jobs can be fatal as new figures in Victoria show mesothelioma cases have more than quadrupled since 1982.
Asbestos bill fatally flawed
Asbestos victims suffer from mesothelioma — a form of cancer — asbestosis and other lung diseases caused by years of inhaling the asbestos fibers as they worked in buildings, in mines, in shipyards and at factories.
Agilent Technologies' New Genome Analysis Technology Set to Accelerate Australia's Fight Against Mesothelioma
Due to its active mining and manufacturing of asbestos in the mid-1900s, Australia has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world. Rates of the disease have tripled in the past 20 years and are expected to peak about 2010. Diagnosis of this type of cancer is difficult, and patients are often not identified until the condition is quite advanced.
Sierra gravel roads may bite the dust Gravel roads kick up cancerous dust
Many dusty byways of California's countryside could be headed for the past with mounting evidence that common road gravel made of the state rock can create invisible clouds of cancer-causing asbestos.
Mesothelioma sufferers in Alimta plea
The chemotherapy drug Alimta was rejected for inclusion in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) last year despite trials showing it could prolong survival time, reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for mesothelioma sufferers.
Abbott urged to subsidise asbestos disease drug Alimta
The president of the Asbestos Diseases Society in Perth, Robert Vojakovic, says the drug Alimta has been shown to prolong, and give a better quality of life to people dying from mesothelioma.
Seniors to Congress: An Asbestos Trust Fund is the Only Answer to the Current Broken Asbestos Litigation System
Specter's bill is expected to include a trust fund that would pay asbestos claims on a no-fault basis, and take the current backlog of asbestos cases out of the court system. The trust would be financed by asbestos defendant companies and their insurers.
Libby residents included in bill
Federal legislation intended to compensate victims of asbestos exposure will include coverage for Libby residents poisoned by asbestos from a defunct vermiculite mine there
Asbestos Stocks Rise As Deal Approaches
Asbestos is linked to a number of lung diseases, including cancer and asbestosis. Legal claims against employers have driven many companies into bankruptcy, and the legislative effort to create a trust fund has been closely watched by insurers, labor groups and defendant corporations.
Resurfacing Recommended for Asbestos-Laden Roads
Crushed or broken serpentine in gravel roads and driveways can release cancer-causing asbestos fibers into the air. The health concern is serious enough for the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control to now recommend those roads be resurfaced.
EPA Needs Questionnaires from Residents Living Near Dearborn W.R. Grace Asbestos Site
Vermiculite is a natural occurring mineral compound composed of shiny flakes. Asbestos can cause health problems when breathed into the lungs and over time may result in lung diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma.
Business Group Seeks Probe of Asbestos Claims
Asbestos victims and labor groups say the real problem is an epidemic of asbestos-related disease caused by exposure to the lung-scarring mineral, in widespread use for decades as an insulator and fire retardant, and illnesses including cancer.
Asbestos link to renovators
RECORD numbers of South Australian asbestos victims are being diagnosed with the killer disease mesothelioma as more deaths are linked to exposure to fibres in the home.
Lung cancer reality on the evening news
For lung cancer, the best treatment options are available when the cancer is discovered at an early stage, before the tumor has spread. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of lung cancer typically comes after the tumor has become so advanced that surgery has little chance of eliminating the cancer.
Bionic Nose Sniffs Out Lung Cancer
Called Cyranose, the device can pick up the scent of volatile organic compounds contained in human breath, including such compounds as penzane, isoprene acetone, and benzene. These are known to occur in uniquely altered patterns in the breath of lung cancer patients.
Schools asbestos death traps
Two Queensland female teachers have died from the asbestos disease mesothelioma while a school cleaner has made a WorkCover claim after suffering an illness following an asbestos clean-up.
Asbestos claims could top $150m
In 2003 99 new claims, including 48 for mesothelioma, were accepted by ACC. That number was expected to increase, particularly among people with lung cancer who were exposed to asbestos at work and were heavy smokers.
Workers win test case over asbestos cash
The insurance companies had tried to persuade the court they should not have to pay compensation to people with the condition. But those diagnosed with pleural plaques are at a far greater risk of contracting one of the many terminal illnesses associated with asbestos, such as mesothelioma, a terminal cancer of the lining of the lungs.
Proposals would limit asbestos lawsuits in Texas
He's there this week to ask lawmakers to consider proposed changes to Texas' legal system involving the asbestos litigation system. After working in Houston chemical and power plants for 22 years, Kramer has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal cancer whose only known cause is asbestos.
Custodians file suit against UNLV
The men have been diagnosed with asbestosis, an incurable scarring of the lung tissue known to cause shortness of breath and persistent coughing. It can lead to cancer such as mesothelioma, a cancer only caused by asbestos exposure.
SV40 not implicated in mesothelioma
The possibility that SV40 might be this secondary cause came to light when it was discovered that polio vaccines widely used in the 1960's were contaminated with the virus. Recently, many studies have found low levels of SV40 in mesothelioma tumors.
Northeast homes being checked for asbestos
EPA workers began knocking on doors Monday in the city's northeast end, asking residents whether they were exposed to the asbestos-laced vermiculite from the former W.R. Grace Plant on Henn Street.
Truck plant cancer timebomb
Workers who were based at the plant before it closed almost 20 years ago are being advised to check for symptoms of the disease. The warning comes as four former employees diagnosed with mesothelioma - a cancer which is linked to exposure to asbestos - pursue cases for compensation.
Bay Area rests atop a slumbering threat - Asbestos
Federal environmental and health officials now talk of another potentially fated place — the rapidly growing Sacramento suburb of El Dorado Hills — where test after test are showing elevated concentrations of cancer-causing amphibole asbestos in soil and air in parks, a playground, athletic fields, roads, the back yards of homes.
EPA to begin asbestos cleanup
Asbestos is hazardous to humans when it is inhaled and can increase the potential for negative health effects including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Those in danger of exposure include employees, people who lived with those employees, those who lived nearby and those who brought the vermiculite to use at their homes.
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Recognizes First Asbestos Awareness Day
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an organization dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims, today launched the inaugural Asbestos Awareness Day - to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and asbestos related diseases.
Asbestos issue is coming to a head
Asbestos fibers are still used in many consumer products, but in the last 30 years exposure has most commonly affected shipbuilders, steelworkers, autoworkers, firefighters, home remodelers (through insulation in older homes) and their families.
Asbestos Awareness Day - Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation Calls for Commitment to Cure
Mesothelioma or "meso" has been known since the 40's and its connection to asbestos exposure known since at least the 60's. It kills several thousand Americans each year, its incidence is growing, and dangerous exposures are still occurring.
'From Crisis to Cure' for Deadly Asbestos-Related Cancer
This research is critically needed. Mesothelioma ("meso") is a severely painful, usually-lethal cancer related to asbestos exposure. The prevalence of asbestos, especially through the mid-70's, has put millions of Americans at risk. Hardest hit are U.S. veterans and workers who were exposed occupationally or in Navy ships and shipyards.
Police union targets problems at firing range
The union's OSHA complaint states asbestos poses a health risk because airborne fibers can cause asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Since the contamination is within a place of business, the complaint stated OSHA has the authority to order a cleanup of the area.
'Safe' school gutter wiped before check
In his review, Dr Adam found the roof did not present a health hazard to children or staff. But leading lung specialist Maurice Heiner said asbestos fibres on the school gutter and in the roof space could become airborne and cause asbestos-related disease in those below.
Cleanup of Dearborn W.R. Grace asbestos site Begins
The cleanup will address asbestos-containing waste material from W.R. Grace(s production of vermiculite, an ingredient used in residential attic insulation and potting soil. EPA has identified contamination at the former Grace plant (now owned by another business) and is investigating the possibility that some of the material may be in nearby yards or was used as fill in driveways.
Pure asbestos in Qbn homes
The amosite or "brown" asbestos is 100 per cent pure, and is in loose- fibre form. It is many times more dangerous than fixed asbestos contained in fibro sheeting, and poses a serious long-term health risk to people who come into contact with it. Exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis and mesothelioma, both potentially fatal, and a host of other lung diseases.
Local CPA oversees asbestos trust fund
Asbestos trusts are governed by 1994 amendments to the federal bankruptcy code. They allow companies facing crippling asbestos claims to survive bankruptcy while paying those who develop health problems because of exposure to asbestos.
Teacher death fuels schools' asbestos dust fears
A NORTH Queensland teacher died from the deadly asbestos disease mesothelioma after dust fell from the roof cavity on her desk on a windy day.
Mesothelioma deaths to peak by 2015, UK
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer in the lining of the lungs or the lining of the abdomen. It is thought that the majority of cases are the result of exposure to asbestos, but the disease can take up to sixty years to develop.
Miles Lord calls for halt to taconite projects
The Minnesota Health Department says northeastern Minnesota has nearly twice the rate of mesothelioma as the rest of the state. That's a very rare form of cancer that's only known to be caused by asbestos. The Health Department says most of the miners who got mesothelioma were exposed to commercial asbestos as well as to taconite dust. For many years, asbestos was used in insulation around boilers and pipes.
Key ONCONASE(R) Findings Presented at AACR Special Lung Cancer Conference
ONCONASE(R), Alfacell's lead investigational drug candidate, is currently being evaluated in a confirmatory Phase IIIb study as a treatment for malignant mesothelioma (MM), an asbestos-related cancer.
High Court Turns Away Philip Morris
Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc., a subsidiary of Loews Corp., has paid at least half a dozen settlements and judgments to people who contracted mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, after smoking Kent cigarettes during a period in the early 1950s when its patented Micronite filter contained a particularly dangerous form of asbestos.
Surviving Mesothelioma, a Terminal Cancer: Paul Kraus' Remarkable Story
For anyone faced with a dire prognosis of cancer or any other disease, the following interview will inspire you. In the annals of cancer, mesothelioma is one of the worst possible types of cancer to have. In the words of oncologists it has a "dismal therapeutic outcome"¹ and is "an aggressive incurable tumor."
Asbestos test results are above acceptable levels
Holy Trinity School will remain closed today after more than double the amount of asbestos deemed safe by the state Department of Public Health was found in the air on the third floor of the building, officials said Tuesday.
Deadly dust caused death of man who cut asbestos
A NEWBURY joiner died after years of prolonged contact with sheets of asbestos which he would cut "like planks of wood".
7th Grace executive last to plead not guilty
While many former employees have developed asbestosis as a result of their direct exposure to the mine, their family members also suffer, since the tiny asbestos fibers were brought home on workers’ clothing.
Mesothelioma and Asbestos Information
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body's internal organs. Most people who develop mesothelioma cancer have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles
Outside View: The asbestos answer
About 2,000 people each year develop the hideous lung disease mesothelioma, a form of cancer that causes unbearable pain.It has only one known cause: asbestos exposure.
Asbestos cancer victims 'ignored'
People with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer which is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos, often die within a year or so of diagnosis. The disease can take years to develop after exposure to asbestos.
West Block is 'a health risk': report
Golder Associates Ltd., in collaboration with several other firms, also conducted a risk analysis and found that Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer which affects the protective membrane covering most of the body's internal organs, was considered to be the most likely illness to arise from the current potential asbestos exposure patterns in West Block. The report ruled out asbestosis and lung cancer.
Asbestos work killed my father
A grieving daughter today spoke of her family's distress at how her fit and healthy father died painfully and suddenly because of his work with asbestos more than 50 years ago.
New treatment options for some difficult cancers improve survival and quality of life
Peritoneal cancer, cancer of the lining of the abdominal wall, is a very common cause of death in patients with cancers in the abdomen. Surgery alone has proven to have limited effectiveness, as has radiation therapy and systemic chemotherapy.
"There are not a dozen of those men alive"
Both men worked for a now-defunct plant in Hamilton that made attic insulation by processing vermiculite ore from a mine in Libby, Mont., that contained a rare, naturally occurring form of asbestos called tremolite.
Adding insult to injury
ACC accepted last year that Angell, 69, has mesothelioma (a cancer of the lung lining) as a result of dealing with asbestos as a carpenter from 1951 to 1972. He recalls spraying asbestos in firebreaks in Auckland buildings without wearing masks as it was not then known what effects the substance could have.
Factory soil a `threat' from asbestos
The soil around the former W.R. Grace & Co. factory here that produced attic insulation for decades was contaminated with such high levels of asbestos that federal environmental regulators recently declared it an imminent and substantial threat to current workers at the site and the surrounding community.
Face of asbestos campaign tells of his own scare
In Canberra yesterday as the public face of the ACT Government's new asbestos awareness campaign, the TV presenter revealed for the first time he had been diagnosed with an asbestos cloud on his lungs as a teenager. While it hasn't affected his health yet, contracting mesothelioma or another form of asbestosis is an ever- present concern for the former host of the long-running Burke's Backyard.
Worker spent 20 years breathing in deadly asbestos dust
NEWBURY man Bernard Danks' inquest heard in his own words how he was exposed to lethal asbestos dust during a 20-year career as a pipe fitter. In a statement made for a compensation claim, 70-year-old Mr Danks, of Kiln Road, Newbury, had listed three jobs that he held between 1954-1975 where he breathed in asbestos.
Egyptian Asbestos Workers Dying of Cancer
Union officials say the company took them to a specific doctor who they knew would agree with them. But Egyptian government backed up the employer saying there was no proof the worker’s asbestosis was related to their work in an asbestos factory.
Girl died because father was covered in asbestos dust
Each lunch break, William Harknett would come home to steal some time with his youngest daughter, Sylvia. Little did he know that, after mornings spent grinding blue asbestos at work, poisonous dust was sinking into his overalls. Mr Harknett died of an asbestos-related illness in 1978 and his daughter, whose married name was Sylvia Tapley, also contracted asbestos-related cancer.
The Asbestos Answer
To be sure, there are real victims of asbestos, and the extent of their suffering is hard to comprehend. About 2,000 people each year develop the hideous lung disease mesothelioma, a form of cancer that causes unbearable pain. It has only one known cause: asbestos exposure.
Cancer fear drove man to strangle sick wife
Several months before their deaths, Mr Lewis learned he was suffering from mesothelioma, also known as asbestos cancer, a legacy from his days as a welder at a number of power stations around the country.
Blocking Estrogen Critical to Lung Cancer Survival?
Stopping or slowing the spread of lung cancer may depend on the addition of drugs that block the effects of estrogen, according to two new studies in the current issue of Cancer Research.
New Clues to Lung Cancer Drug Resistance
Lung cancer researchers have new insight into why some lung cancer patients stop responding to the drugs Tarceva (erlotinib) and Iressa (gefitinib).
Hardie facing US death lawsuits
The California Superior Court website lists James Hardie Building Products Inc, and other Hardie subsidiaries in the US, as defendants in the wrongful death case filed in July 1997 for Ronald Brown. Brown worked at IBMI from 1964 to 1976, and died of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
New wave of death emerges
WHEN farmer Max Waters was diagnosed last August with mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused lung cancer, he and his wife Angela were at a loss to work out where his exposure had occurred.
Grand Jury Indictment: W.R. Grace Lied About Dangers of Asbestos Exposure
Officials from Columbia, Md.-based W.R. Grace & Co., which operated a vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont., from 1963 to 1990, were well-aware that the asbestos-tainted vermiculate products they were profiting from were endangering the lives of mine workers
Solbec makes progress with new drug, Coramsine
Solbec Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:SBP) today announced that it had completed a second stage of its Phase I trial of Coramsine in the treatment of advanced solid tumours.
More will die, says fed up surgeon
Prof Morris said he believed more people on waiting lists for cancer treatment such as mesothelioma and pseudomyxoma peritonei would die unless a solution was found to the chronic waiting list problem.
In the long fight against asbestos, a legal first
Ozonoff said medical literature showed by 1930 that asbestos caused the disabling lung disease asbestosis; by 1949 that it caused lung cancer; and by 1960 that it caused mesothelioma, a rare and deadlier cancer. Asbestos makers knew even more, he said, but have been let "off the hook" by declaring bankruptcy.
A particularly lethal asbestos
Asbestos can cause ailments including mesothelioma, a lethal tumor of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities; asbestosis, a widespread scarring of the lungs; and lung cancer.
Petition Urges Congress to Fund Mesothelioma Research
Mesothelioma (meso) is an asbestos-related cancer that invades the lining of the lungs, abdomen, heart or testicles, causing excruciating pain and death. Government and industry have known about the disease for half a century, and legal disputes over liability have consumed billions of dollars.
Solbec announces pre-clinical study to confirm findings into the effect of Coramsine combined with CpG in the treatment of murine mesothelioma
Melanoma is typically regarded as an immunogenic cancer that is able to provoke an immune response without additional immunotherapy, whilst mesothelioma is not.
Asbestos trust fund hurts victims
This inference then leads to the statement that thousands of people are losing their jobs, doctors are being forced out of business (relevance?), and shareholder values are being decimated. The true victims are and always have been the thousands that were exposed to asbestos and are now trying to get rightful and due compensation.
Asbestos Litigation: Is U.S. Government Involvement A Solution or Just a Waste of Money?
Over the past six years this analyst has witnessed the impact of asbestos litigation on companies, such as Honeywell in the U.S. and various domestic subsidiaries of European firms, such as Hanson Plc and Smiths Group Plc. It has become apparent that in many cases a vigourous defense of asbestos claims has resulted in lower costs and, perhaps more importantly, lower cash outlays with regard to asbestos litigation.
Father and Son Sentenced For Environmental Crimes
Father and son owners of asbestos abatement companies in New York State, have been sentenced to serve the two longest federal jail sentences for environmental crimes in U.S. history.
Roch Lanthier, the anti-asbestos warrior is no more
Roch Lanthier of the Asbestos Victims Association of Quebec (AVAQ), Canada is no more. Roch was deeply concerned about the plight of asbestos victims in Quebec and India. Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) and AVAQ had plans of pursuing the asbestos interests in close collaboration in order to expose them.
Asbestos Plaintiffs Ordered to Prove Residence
Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard has given about 8,000 plaintiffs 20 days to say where they live and where they were exposed to asbestos. More than 10,000 plaintiffs overall have sued in Jefferson, Copiah and Claiborne counties, alleging injuries from asbestos.
Another reason to enjoy pecans
The form of vitamin E found in many plant seeds -- but not in most vitamin pills and supplements -- might halt the growth of prostate and lung cancer cells, according to a Purdue University study.
People Exposed to Asbestos Show Early Signs of Autoimmunity
Exposure to toxic amphibole asbestos may contribute to autoimmunity, potentially laying the groundwork for future autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, according to a study published today in the January issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).
Asbestos Claims Solution Sought
Meanwhile, 100,000 more asbestos-related lawsuits were filed in 2003, and about 600,000 claims are pending, according to the Rand Institute for Civil Justice and Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, a consulting firm. Asbestos, tiny silicate fibers once widely used in fireproofing homes, buildings and ships, can be easily inhaled. Once in the lungs, it causes a number of ailments, including mesothelioma, a rare but almost always deadly cancer.
Bush will begin push for tort reform in county infamous for lawsuits
Restricting the scope of class-action suits in which lawyers corral large groups of people to sue a company over a harmful product.Curbing lawsuits against makers and sellers of asbestos-filled products. Such litigation has become a cottage industry in its own right, forcing some firms into bankruptcy.
Halliburton asbestos chapter closed
Halliburton's $US4.17 billion ($A5.4 billion) settlement of thousands of asbestos claims has been finalised, the company says.
Living with lung cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women. This year in Colorado, an estimated 1,740 people were diagnosed with lung and bronchus cancers, and an estimated 1,610 will die from lung and bronchus cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.
Making a Scarlet Letter of Asbestos Crime
Raul and Alexander Salvagno owned a contracting business near Albany that operated for 10 years. Their failure to follow safety standards makes it very likely that some of their workers will develop asbestos-related cancers and other illnesses, according to the testimony of Dr. Stephen Levin, the medical director of the Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Asbestos lawsuit plaintiffs ordered to prove Mississippi ties
Some 13,000 plaintiffs in three Mississippi courts have been ordered to show they either live in Mississippi or were injured here or face the chance their lawsuits will be dismissed. Asbestos is a white, flaky substance routinely used a half century ago for insulation and in shipbuilding. It has been known to cause lung cancer and a lung-scarring disease called asbestosis.
Asbestos: Housed in controversies
ARE chrysotile asbestos (or white asbestos) products hazardous to health? The Chrysotile Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association (CACPMA) asserts that they are not.
Job Exposure to Pesticide Linked to Lung Cancer
Scientists at the National Cancer Institute found that among the more than 54,000 farmers and insecticide applicators they followed for six years, those with the highest chlorpyrifos exposure had twice the risk of developing lung cancer as did those who did not work with the pesticide.
New treatment for lung cancer patients
A NEW combined treatment for patients with inoperable lung cancer could increase life expectancy from months to years, researchers said today. The normal life expectancy for a patients after being diagnosed with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for around 60% of all cases, is around eight months.
Red Wine protects against male lung cancer
There is good news for the lovers of red wine. If taken in moderation, it might help protect against the development of lung cancer in men. No other type of alcohol seemed to have the same effect, suggests a recent research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Thorax.
Lung Cancer Patients May Benefit From More Time Without Life-Threatening Chemotherapy Side Effects
The results were gathered from a Phase III global clinical trial that showed Alimta provided survival comparable to that of Taxotere, the only other drug approved in this patient population, but with a more favorable side-effect profile in previously treated patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.
Success of lung cancer vaccine brings hope of a breakthrough
A VACCINE for treating lung cancer has shown very promising results in a trial, according to results presented yesterday.
The trial adds to optimism that vaccines against cancer will work and that one day they will be used alongside surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as standard tools in the cancer clinic.
|
