Asbestos Exposure

Malignant peritoneal (abdominal) mesothelioma is a very difficult disease that can involve  many different sites in the body. Its main known cause is asbestos exposure, and sources may include unsafe work environments, living near a source or mining or manufacturing, or living with someone who is exposed to asbestos elsewhere.

A recent study was designed to assess the various ways in which symptoms of mesothelioma unpredictably appear in various patients. Patients almost always had ascites (fluid buildup), abdominal pain, breathlessness and fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, abdominal mass, fever, diarrhea and vomiting in some combination and in different intensities.

Tumors were found  in a surprisingly wide range of locations. Some patients were found to have colorectal cancer. Others had developed cancer of the cheek, the testes, the tongue, bladder or thyroid.

Even some of the standard tests, such as fluid diagnosis,  did not uniformly reveal that the person had mesothelioma, though they did indicate malignancy.

In short, this dread disease can come disguised as dozens of other conditions. That’s why it’s so important to exercise extreme caution when choosing your doctor and choosing your medical care team.  They must be knowledgeable about this condition and willing to work with you as long as necessary to determine the correct diagnosis…because early detection is critical for you to receive the best possible treatments. Don’t be satisfied with less than total dedication to your case.

When you're dealing with a serious illness, like Mesothelioma, it’s natural to want to search for every legitimate possible treatment or therapy to fight the progression of the disease.

There is research going on all over the world to improve mesothelioma treatment. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, one recent trial recruiting participants is going on at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. In this particular clinical trial, patients must have a histologically confirmed diagnosis of epithelioid, sarcomatoid, or mixed-type malignant pleural mesothelioma that is not amenable to surgery.

As described on the website www.clinicaltrials.gov , a service of NIH, the purpose is to determine the rate of clinical benefit (i.e. rate of complete or partial response plus stable disease) at 16 weeks for patients with malignant mesothelioma treated with everolimus as second or third line therapy. [ Time Frame: 16 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

The clinical trial description also includes the following secondary measure, among others:
• To determine the response rate, time to progression and overall survival for patients with mesothelioma treated with everolimus. [ Time Frame: 2 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
If you or someone you know is dealing with the horrific effects of asbestos exposure, find out what your rights are to hold the manufacturers and users of asbestos responsible.
Contact us at 1-800-443-6353, or learn more about our mesothelioma practice at www.hendlerlaw.com .

The risk of school children being exposed to asbestos fibers is a serious and legitimate concern. Inhaled asbestos fibers can cause serious health problems including mesothelioma, a deadly form of lung cancer.  The effects of lung cancer, particularly on children, are devastating.

Because of this asbestos risk, Congress passed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) in October 30, 1986.  The act is designed to protect school children and school employees from exposure to asbestos in school buildings.  AHERA required EPA to develop regulations for dealing with asbestos in public and nonprofit private elementary and secondary schools. 

The peak years of asbestos use in schools were from 1939 until the 1970s.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are asbestos-containing materials in most of the nation’s primary, secondary and charter schools. Asbestos is most commonly used in schools as insulation and in building materials. 

The AHERA schools rule requires all public school districts and private schools to conduct an asbestos risk assessment in all school buildings; to develop plans to manage asbestos in schools; and to carry out the plans in a timely fashion. The rule also provides an opportunity for parents, teachers, and other school employees to be informed about the asbestos risks in their children’s schools and become familiar with and involved in their school’s asbestos management program. School officials are required to notify parent, teacher and employee groups about asbestos-related activities.

The EPA developed steps that detail the proper way to deal with asbestos materials in public schools in order to minimize asbestos exposure. Upon finding asbestos in a school building, school officials can develop and carry out a special maintenance plan to ensure that asbestos containing materials are kept in good condition. This is the most common method when the materials are in good condition at the time of initial inspection.  School officials can also repair damaged pipe or boiler covering, which is known as thermal system insulation.  Another option is to spray the material with a sealant to prevent fiber release – a process called encapsulation.  Further, school officials can decide to place a barrier around the materials, which is known as an enclosure.  The last option is to remove the asbestos – under special procedures.  Only an AHERA-accredited management planner – an asbestos professional with proper training, qualifications, and experience – is authorized to advise school officials on which response action is appropriate for a particular situation. The final selection of the proper method is up to school officials after they receive the advice of the school’s accredited management planner.

Of course, if a child or school official is diagnosed with mesothelioma, the affected parties should consult a mesothelioma asbestos law firm for legal advice.  Because of the nature of the disease and the law surrounding asbestos, mesothelioma litigation is very specialized and complex.  It is important that the affected parties consult a mesothelioma cancer attorney. 

Imagine that the home you grow up in, that same home that shelters you and your family, causes more than half of the members in your family’s premature death.  That is exactly what happened to a Winnipeg, Canada woman.  Raven ThunderSky’s parents and four siblings all succumbed to mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity, caused by the asbestos that had been used extensively in the construction of their house. 

According to the EPA, up until the 1970s, many types of building products and insulation materials used in homes contained asbestos. Common products that might have contained asbestos in the past include steam pipes, boilers, furnace ducts insulated with an asbestos blanket or asbestos paper tape, resilient floor tiles (vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and rubber), the backing on vinyl sheet flooring, and adhesives used for installing floor tile, cement sheet, mill board, and paper used as insulation around furnaces and wood burning stoves, door gaskets in furnaces, wood stoves, and coal stoves, soundproofing or decorative material sprayed on walls and ceilings, patching and joint compounds for walls and ceilings and textured paints, artificial ashes and embers sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces. Also, other older household products such as fireproof gloves, stove-top pads, ironing board covers and certain hairdryers. 

Breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer mesothelioma, and asbestosis.  The risk of mesothelioma lung cancer increases with the number of fibers inhaled over time. The symptoms of this disease do not usually appear until about 20 to 30 years after the first asbestos exposure. 

This is just one story of hundreds of thousands where lawsuits have been filed against asbestos manufacturers and users.  W.R. Grace and Co. has faced more than 270,000 mesothelioma lawsuits stemming from asbestos.

  HendlerLaw, a specialized mesothelioma cancer law firm has successfully litigated many asbestos lawsuits against W.R. Grace and Co. and many other manufacturers.   For more information, or help dealing with mesothelioma litigation, call us at 1-800-443-6353, or visit our resource site www.mesothelioma-advice.org or www.Hendlerlaw.com.
 

Doctors around the world are increasing the energy and research dollars in the search for better treatment of mesothelioma. A recent study focused on a series of new bio markers (substances naturally in the body) which will prove useful to facilitate early diagnosis of  mesothelioma. Officials of the 'European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer' (EORTC) suggest focusing research efforts on finding bio markers to predict how well Chemotherapy works with mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive pulmonary disease, which is caused by asbestos exposure. The disease is difficult to diagnose and has resisted traditional treatment options, since it identifies for the first time as a particular type of lung cancer. Asbestos was widely used in industry for decades, and mesothelioma has a very long period of latency — can appear up to 50 years after exposure to asbestos.  Because of that, the number of cases of MPM should continue to increase throughout the world for the next 30-40 years.. 

 It may be useful to find out if you are a victim of this disease because many employers intentionally concealed their knowledge of the dangers of exposure to asbestos fibers from their workers who breathed them every day of their working life. And since even a small dose of asbestos can cause asbestosis or mesothelioma, even the families of workers exposed to asbestos may be in danger. Mesothelioma litigation has picked up significantly as more evidence has come to light about what employers and manufacturers knew about the dangers of asbestos.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or feel you’ve been exposed to asbestos or other toxic substances on the job, first find the right medical help. Then, understand your legal rights. If you have questions or need help regarding a potential mesothelioma or asbestos-exposure lawsuit, you can visit our site, www.mesotheliomaadvice.org, www.hendlerlaw.com or  call us 800.443.6353. We have years of experience helping people just like you  and your family face this difficult time in your life.

Doctors are continually searching for new weapons to use in mesothelioma lung cancer treatment. One of the most recent drugs shown to give some benefit is carboplatin. Originally designed to help with cancer of the ovaries, it has been shown to help slow disease progression in patients with mesothelioma, the rare but aggressive cancer associated with asbestos exposure.

Carboplatin is often given in combination with other medicines--in the case of mesothelioma a common companion drug is Pemetrexed. Carboplatin can lower your resistance to infection and usually causes nausea and vomiting, sometimes severe. Carboplatin side effects can occur months after taking the drug and may include a host of symptoms such as bloody stool, rash, lower back pain, fever, and more. Carboplatin can also induce blood problems or numbness or tingling in fingers or toes, symptoms somewhat more likely in the elderly.

You should take this drug only under the close supervision of a medical doctor who is familiar with it and knows what to watch out for. Once you know your mesothelioma is being well cared for, be sure to talk with an experienced mesothelioma trial attorney. He or she will help you at no charge determine if you may have a case to obtain compensation for your  suffering by filing a mesothelioma lawsuit. Call us at 800.443.6353. Any one of the attorneys can give you sound mesothelioma legal advice.

Many public entities in Canada have come out against the country's continued exporting of asbestos to third-world countries. It's surprising to see, then, a carefully written current story in the Toronto Star news outlet about a guy--CEO of Canada's largest still-working asbestos mine--openly beating the bushes for money to keep mining and exporting the deadly mineral.

According to the Star, Bernard Coloumbe claims that chrysotile asbestos, the type found in this mine, is less dangerous than other types such as crocidolite. He also claims he won't sell to companies with "unsafe" manufacturing practices. But he admits there's no protection whatever for the people in the field who buy the manufactured asbestos products and cut and saw them to fit their projects.

Asbestos exposure is proven to lead to fatal lung diseases. Victims who've contracted mesothelioma--the asbestos-exposure-related lung cancer--often begin to suffer pleurisy-like symptoms, which include pain on breathing, dry cough, and shortness of breath. They may experience weight loss, muscle wasting, loss of appetite, and general debility (a constellation known as cachexia). They may develop abdominal fluid retention (known as abdominal ascites). Standard lung cancer treatment is seldom effective.

Coloumbe is quoted in the story: "If everything goes well...we will be working in the underground mine and starting to produce in 2010. I can tell you, not just the Indian customers, but the big users of the world – Mexico, Venezuela, Pakistan, Vietnam. They're waiting for us."

At this time there is no cure for mesothelioma. Most major countries have banned the use of asbestos. And the fact that Canadian asbestos manufacturers are looking the other way as they send out their products to cause certain disease and death around the world is truly frightening.
 

Should Have Known Better?

The Smithsonian Institution, one of the most important museums in the world, is at the center of a mess concerning asbestos exposure and mesothelioma lung cancer.

Richard Pullman worked for 25 years as an exhibit specialist at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.  During that time he often drilled into interior walls to install exhibits, not knowing the walls housed an asbestos containing joint compound.  The Smithsonian had known of the asbestos since 1992, but Pullman did not learn of it until 2008, the same year that he was diagnosed with asbestosis.  He was 54 years old.

Pullman first filed a series of safety complaints, after which he was disciplined.  He then filed a complaint under the Whistle Blowers Act and an asbestos lawsuit.  His complaints led to an internal review, to a Congressional hearing, and perhaps even more significant, to the Steamfitters Union bringing forward charges that asbestos was mishandled in 2007 during the renovation of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Pullman’s complaint and outside consultants have alleged that the Smithsonian failed to follow federal guidelines and “Best Management Practices.”  Specifically, the Smithsonian is accused of failing to use the most reliable methods of asbestos testing, and failing to re-inspect buildings every three years.

What Does Asbestos Look Like?

Most important, though, is the charge that the Smithsonian failed to keep a complete record of asbestos containing material.  Workers had inadequate information on the locations of asbestos and how to get around it.  



asbestos fibers

 A 1992 report on the Air and Space building found 1-5 percent asbestos in joint compound used in the walls.  Any material above 1% triggers worker-safety requirements, but Smithsonian acknowledged that warnings were rarely made.  Instead, construction and plan specifications over the years often failed to warn contractors of the more than 1% asbestos containing wallboard compound, and in a project in 2007 incorrectly informed that the compound constituted “less than one percent.”

A similar failure occurred in 2007 during the National Museum of American History’s $85 million renovation.  The Steamfitters Union members contracted to work at that site expected to encounter 50 asbestos locations, but stumbled upon 250.  The result was asbestos dust filling the air while air circulation machinery continued to run, carrying asbestos dust through the museum. Symptoms of mesothelioma, the signature disease of asbestos exposure, have yet to be reported, though the disease will most often take many years to manifest itself.

The Smithsonian defended itself against Pullman’s complaint saying there was no proof that asbestos had been released in the Air and Space building.  Smithsonian’s testing showed no asbestos while some of the dust samples Pullman had secretly collected showed high levels of asbestos.  Last month, the Air and Space Museum initiated an asbestos clean-up.  Pullman has recently settled with the Smithsonian for a reported $233,000.  As part of the deal, the two parties have agreed to not further disparage one another.

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough explained last month in a congressional hearing that the failure to provide asbestos employment training was an oversight that has since been corrected.  This was the secretary’s first public comment on the issue.  Clough explained that since 1990 the Smithsonian has spent $15.5 million on lead and asbestos abatement throughout the complex.

The Smithsonian Institution operates from a trust enacted by Congress.  It is funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines.  Two-thirds of its employees, more than six-thousand, are employees of the federal government.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation considers it a milestone in the quest for better mesothelioma treatments.  

The U.S. Department of Defense is continuing a recent trend on its part to fund treatment-related research for patients who suffer from mesothelioma lung cancer. 

MARF made the announcement today, signaling its feeling that the U.S. government is finally paying attention to its advocacy for veterans and other military service personnel who have suffered from asbestos exposure during their service to our country.

We've long known that when workers in any industry came home in asbestos-dust-covered clothing, besides the danger to their own health their spouses and family members were put at risk. Now it appears their future children may have been unwittingly exposed to the potentially life threatening substance.

In cases where workers were or are affecting their families, researchers have found asbestos fibers lodged not only in the lungs and the linings of both the pleura (lungs) and the peritoneum (abdomen) of family members, but also in the human ovary. A recent study has also identified some cases where asbestos fibers have been found in the placenta of both live and stillborn babies whose mothers were exposed to asbestos at different periods of their lives.

Mesothelioma is the deadly lung cancer that develops as a result of asbestos exposure. Because of the rising number of cases being reported around the world, more and more studies are focusing on finding new methods of mesothelioma treatment and also on how far-reaching these lung cancer effects might be.

If your family has had a child diagnosed with a gestational trophoblastic disease, or you’ve lost a child to such a condition, be sure to speak with your doctor about the possibility of asbestos exposure as a cause. If your regular doctor isn’t familiar with it or isn’t willing to discuss this very real possibility, look for a specialist who knows about the connection between asbestos exposure and this type of disease.

Once you learn there may be a connection, call a qualified mesothelioma cancer attorney as soon as possible. He or she will help you go through your family’s history and find out whether you might have a case against an employer who wrongfully denied you information about the dangers of asbestos.

We are available day or night to answer your questions at no cost to you. Call us at 800.443.6353.