Mesothelioma and Asbestos Blog

According to recent research conducted at Columbia University, resection, intraperitoneal, chemotherapy, and whole abdominal radiation therapy are effective to treat malignant peritoneal mesothelioma when they are combined.
Hopeful Findings
Reports show that peritoneal mesothelioma is less common that pleural mesothelioma, making up only 20 percent of all cases.
However, this is still great news for researchers, patients and families of patients suffering from this potentially fatal illness.
Looking for Effective Treatments
The latency period for abdominal mesothelioma is reportedly 20 to 30 years.
Since this type of cancer is so rare, controlled trails of involving different treatments are not readily available.
Though, the most common treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma is surgery, followed by systematic and/or intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Study Conducted
A study was recently conducted which analyzed 27 patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.
The regime given to the patients involved surgical debulking, four intraperitoneal courses of cisplatin combined with four intraperitoneal courses of doxorubicin, four doses of intraperitoneal gamma interferon, and a whole abdominal radiation therapy.
Researchers found that there was a median survival rate of 70 months among the patients in addition to a three year survival rate in 67 percent of the patients.

The senate has announced that beginning this year, the first week of April will be dedicated to informing Americans about asbestos and the risks associated with the material.

They have decided to designate this time of the year as “National Asbestos Awareness Week.�

The week has been specifically set aside as a public health warning and the government hopes that people will become better educated on the dangers of asbestos and the risks that are associated with this carcinogenic substance.

ADAO Conference
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on aiding asbestos victims and their families.
The organization is going to be holding their fourth annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference the first week of April.
At this conference, those who have become victims of asbestos exposure will be honored and attendees will be informed of the latest news and advances being made in terms of asbestos and diseases linked to asbestos.
Conference Details
At the conference, Lisa Reinstein, the co-founder of the organization, is going to be joined by world renowned experts on asbestos.
The conference is going to be at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, and will take place at the beginning of Asbestos Awareness Week.

A settlement was recently reached in the case against W.R. Grace for the asbestos issues that have been plaguing the town of Libby, Montana.
The chemical company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 because of asbestos claims and has reportedly agreed to pay the government $250 million.
Highest Asbestos Settlement in History
The Department of Justice claims that the settlement is the highest in the Superfund programs history.
The money from the settlement is meant to reimburse the federal government accrued costs from the investigation and the cleanup that has been ongoing at the contaminated mining sites in Libby.
Community Faces Asbestos Problems
Since 2000, the DOJ has been working to remove soil is infested with asbestos in the small mining town.
According to reports, the federal government filed a suit against W.R. Grace in 2001 to help cover the cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
In 2003, the district court gave the EPA over $54 million for the cleanup costs needed for that year.
During this time, the company went bankrupt and those costs never got paid.
As a result, officials hope that this week’s settlement will cover cleanup costs for the future of the contaminated schools, homes and businesses in the town.