Mesothelioma Help Cancer News

Families of Asbestos Workers At Risk of Mesothelioma From Exposure At Home

• Nancy Meredith
• Asbestos Exposure, Cancer, Mesothelioma

A report in a British newspaper describes the terrible legacy of asbestos disease that families of asbestos workers face. Asbestos is associated with scarring of the lungs and mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen.

According to a  Jan. 17 article in the Yorkshire Post,  eight adult children of Kora Leah, who was a foreman at Cape Asbestos in Hebben Bridge, Yorkshire, have been diagnosed with asbestos-related disease. The family has lost two siblings in recent months to mesothelioma.

When Marjorie King, one of Leah’s daughters died last July at age 67, a tumor was found on her right lung and asbestos particles were discovered in her lung tissue. Deputy Coroner Paul Marks concluded after an inquest that she died of mesothelioma.

Her sister, Maureen McGeogh, 73, of West Yorkshire, recalled that she and her siblings would play with their father when he returned home from work with his clothes still covered in asbestos dust. “I remember my mother shaking his overalls and dust going everywhere,” McGeogh recalled.

She said the children sometimes accompanied their father to work on Sunday and would play in the piles of dust. They were unaware of the danger of the asbestos dust.

Of the other siblings, Gerald, 78, has pleural plaques and emphysema while Cedric, 74, Rosalind, 71, Raymond, 69 and Glynn, 64, all have scarred lungs. Because of their secondhand exposure to asbestos they are at higher risk of developing mesothelioma.

The father Kora Leah died of lung cancer in 1958, 10 years after leaving Cape Asbestos, according to the newspaper.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there is evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma. The risk results from exposure to asbestos brought into the home on clothing, shoes, skin and hair.

When asbestos fibers get inhaled, they get trapped in the lung and remain there for a long time. The symptoms of mesothelioma typically appear 30 years to 50 years after initial exposure to asbestos. Possible signs of mesothelioma include shortness of breath and pain under the rib cage, pain or tightening of the chest, and a persistent cough that gets worse over time. It’s important to check with a doctor if you develop any of these symptoms and inform the doctor of any known exposure to asbestos.

Dying Woman’s Request For Canada to Stop Exporting Asbestos

• Nancy Meredith
• Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Patients

Just over a year ago, Rachel Lee, a South Korean woman diagnosed with advanced mesothelioma accompanied an international delegation to Canada to urge Quebec provincial officials to stop the subsidy and export of cancer-causing asbestos to Asian countries.

In December 2010, Lee met with Clement Gignac, Quebec’s minister of natural resources and wildlife and called upon the minister to commit to stop subsidizing asbestos production in the province including the shuttered Jeffrey Mine.

Canada is a leading exporter of chrysotile asbestos, a mineral fiber that causes respiratory diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen. According to the World Health Organization estimates, 107,000 people die each year of asbestos-related disease, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

South Korea banned asbestos imports in 2009. But prior to that date, nearly two-thirds of the asbestos imported into South Korea came from Canada. Lee had lived close to a factory that produce cement products made of chrysotile asbestos.

During the 2010 visit, Lee spoke emotionally at a press conference at the Quebec National Assembly about the prospect of dying of asbestos disease and leaving her children as orphans and her husband as a widower. On Dec. 21, 2011, Lee died of mesothelioma, according to The Tyee, a Canadian online newspaper.

Following Lee’s death, anti-asbestos activists issued an open letter to the Quebec cabinet minister, reminding him of Lee’s dying wish and urging the provincial government to take a stand against the mining and export of asbestos. The government has not responded to the request, according to the newspaper.

In the U.S. approximately 3,000 people a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma. Most are older workers, retired workers and veterans who were expose to asbestos decades ago. Mesothelioma has a long latency period, with  symptoms of mesothelioma typically appearing 30 years to 50 years after exposure to asbestos.

International Conference Brings Great Minds In Fighting Mesothelioma

• Nancy Meredith
• For Your Family

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) announced the details for the 8th Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference, Asbestos: An International Public Health Crisis, to be held March 30-April 1, at the Manhattan Beach Marriott in Manhattan Beach, California. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and is proven to cause mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

The affects of asbestos are typically not evident for decades after exposure. Most cases of mesothelioma, for example, are diagnosed 30 years or more after inhaling the toxic fibers. Often called “asbestos cancer,” mesothelioma is highly aggressive and is resistant to many standard cancer treatments. Currently there is no known cure for mesothelioma, and the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis.

This year’s conference, made possible with the partnership of the Environmental Information Association (EIA) and Independent Asbestos Training Providers (IATP), “brings together renowned experts and asbestos victims in a united forum to enhance asbestos awareness, education, treatment, and collaboration.”

Speakers at the conference include keynote speaker Matt Peacock, award-winning journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, mesothelioma patients Debbie Brewer, Larry Davis and Paul Zygielbaum, ADAO staff, environmentalists, physicians and scientists.

Honorees this year include U.S. Representative Steve Cohen receiving the Tribute of Hope Award, Dr. Richard Lemen receiving the Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award, and Debbie Brewer will be recognized with The Alan Reinstein Award.

ADAO was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure. ADAO is the largest independent organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases.

Mesothelioma Patient Celebrates Remission of Asbestos Cancer

• Nancy Meredith
• Cancer, Mesothelioma, Patients, Treatments

Sherrie Moore, a 55-year-old Missouri woman, hopes to live to see her grandchildren grow up. As 2012 begins, Moore is marking more than just the new year. She is celebrating the remission of her mesothelioma for more than a year.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen caused by asbestos exposure. But it can be difficult to detect as Moore’s circuitous path to a diagnosis shows.

Four years ago, Moore, who lives in Carl Junction, Missouri, was experiencing fatigue, an elevated heart rate and eventually pain in her right side that extended into her back. She assumed it was caused by the stress and physical exertion of caring for her husband Ed who had prostrate cancer.

According to an article in Cancerwise published by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Moore underwent a series of medical tests that revealed a low hemoglobin count. A colonoscopy showed normal results as did a CT scan of her liver and pancreas. The doctor who performed a CT scan thought something looked abnormal about her lungs and referred her to a pulmonologist.

A pulmonary specialist did an x-ray and discovered a small volume of fluid in Moore’s lung and put her on antibiotics. Fluid in the lungs, also called pleural effusions, is one of the common symptoms of mesothelioma reported by many patients. When Moore returned at the urging of the pulmonologist, she had another CT scan that revealed nearly two liters of fluid in her right lung. She underwent an outpatient procedure and biopsy that were inconclusive.

The cancer specialist to whom she was referred recommended an open lung biopsy. The surgeon who performed the procedure in November 2008 found 15 tumors in Moore’s right lung and diagnosed Moore with stage IV mesothelioma.

The doctor recommended that she seek treatment at M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Texas.

With patients with cancer limited to one lung, doctors may remove the cancerous lung and surrounding tissue and perform chemotherapy and radiation. But Moore had mesothelioma in both lungs so she had limited treatment options.

Moore underwent 28 chemotherapy treatments that lasted until December 2010. Before the treatments concluded, there was no active sign of mesothelioma. Moore’s physicican, Dr. Anne Tsao, director of the mesothelioma program at M.D. Anderson, informed Moore that she was the first of her patients to achieve full remission.

Approximately 3,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Many are older workers, veterans and retirees who were exposed to asbestos in the workplace decades ago. Typically, mesothelioma symptoms appear 30 years to 50 years after initial exposure to asbestos.

For more information about mesothelioma, click here.

Ten Facts About Asbestos Exposure, Asbestosis and Mesothelioma

• Nancy Meredith
• Asbestos Exposure

The end of the year and start of the new year are a time for list making. As we welcome 2012, here is a timeless list of important facts about asbestos and mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by inhaling asbestos:

1. When a person inhales asbestos fibers, most of the fibers are expelled, but some can penetrate deep into the lung and remain lodged there for a lifetime. Asbestos fibers can cause inflammation and scarring, which can affect breathing and gradually lead to disease.
2. People are more likely to experience asbestos-related disorders when they are exposed to high concentrations of asbestos, are exposed for longer periods of time or are exposed more often.
3. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
4. Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs due to retained asbestosis fibers, as well as malignant diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.
5. The health effects of asbestos exposure may continue to progress even after a person is no longer exposed to asbestos.
6. Smoking together with exposure to asbestos greatly increases the likelihood of lung cancer.
7. Fluid around the lungs (known as pleural effusion) and changes in the lining of the lung such as thickening, plaques and calcification may be early indicators of past asbestos exposure. Pleural effusions may be an early symptoms of mesothelioma.
8. Most cases of asbestos are diagnosed 30 years or more after a worker was first exposed to asbestos. In some cases, asbestos disease appears after 40 or 50 years.
9. Asbestos-related disease has been diagnosed in asbestos workers, family members, veterans and in particular Navy veterans, people who lived near a factory that used asbestos-containing materials and many trades workers who were exposed to asbestos dust. Many older buildings in New York City contain asbestos building materials and the asbestos may be released into the air if the asbestos is disturbed.
10. Approximately 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the U.S. The number of people diagnosed with mesothelioma has been increasing in recent decades.

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