Category: For Your Family
Asbestos Trust Fund Established for Navy Veterans With Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Diseases
Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, affects nearly 3,000 Americans each year. However, over one-third of the victims are military veterans. Due to the extended latency period of the disease some veterans exposed to asbestos between the 1950s and 1970s are just now exhibiting symptoms, and are dealing with their mounting medical bills. Financial relief will soon be available for some of these veterans through the formation of a fund designated for compensation to Navy veterans who were harmed by asbestos disease.
Under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan, Leslie Controls, Inc, a manufacturer that supplied asbestos-containing gaskets and valves to the U.S. Navy from the 1940s until the 1980s, has established an “Asbestos PI Trust” available to Navy veterans.
According to the plan, Leslie’s parent company, CIRCOR, made a contribution of $74 million to the trust on behalf of itself and other CIRCOR-related parties. Leslie contributed $1 million with a yearly 5% interest payment.
The plan includes a pay level based on the medical issue affecting the claimant. Currently, a “powerhouse and below-deck Naval station claim” of mesothelioma will be awarded $100,000 with a maximum value of $350,000. Any “construction and maintenance claims” for mesothelioma will receive $25,000 with a maximum value of $125,000. Amounts are also established for lung cancer and asbestosis.
Asbestos was used as insulation around steam pipes and valves and led to the exposure of hundreds of thousands of Navy veterans to the cancer-causing mineral fibers over the decades. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has been linked to respiratory diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The symptoms of mesothelioma can be managed through chemotherapy and radiation. There is no cure for the disease.
Claims may be filed with the trust starting in March 2012. All claims are subject to review and approval by the trust committee.
FDA Addresses Drug Shortages Impacting Mesothelioma Patients and Young Cancer Patients
In November, President Obama issued an executive order to address the drug shortage that has affected mesothelioma and other cancer patients. Now, the EPA is taking action to bring relief to some patients that have not been able to receive critical treatments for their cancers due to the lack of two key drugs, doxorubicin and methotrexate. Methotrexate is used to treat childhood leukemia. Doxorubicin is one of many platinum-based drugs used to fight mesothelioma, as well as ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma.
The FDA announced Tuesday that it will allow temporary imports of Lipodox as a replacement for doxorubicin. The FDA anticipates the influx of the drug will “fully meet patient needs in the coming weeks.” The FDA noted that temporary importation of unapproved foreign drugs is only considered in rare cases when the shortage cannot be met with existing FDA-approved drugs.
The Agency has approved a new manufacturer to supply methotrexate that is “expected to further bolster supply and help avert shortage of this lifesaving medicine.”
“A drug shortage can be a frightening prospect for patients and President Obama made it clear that preventing these shortages from happening is a top priority of his administration,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “Through the collaborative work of FDA, industry, and other stakeholders, patients and families waiting for these products or anxious about their availability should now be able to get the medication they need.”
The FDA also reiterated the requirements for both mandatory and voluntary notifications from drug manufacturers to provide quicker notice of impending shortages and to improve communication with the government agency in order to address supply issues early.
Mesothelioma, a rare, asbestos-caused cancer is typically treated with chemotherapy drugs. The drugs are usually given in combinations of two or more during treatment, with the preferred combination being gemcitabine and cisplatin for mesothelioma.
Are Mesothelioma Patients Getting the Straight Story From Their Doctors?
The results of a recent survey of doctors found that an alarming number of them believe it is okay to tell a patient an “untruth” or to put a positive spin on a patient’s prognosis. This is counter to the trust that mesothelioma patients place in their physicians to act in their best interest. When facing life-threatening diseases, such as mesothelioma, patients believe they are presented with the complete, honest facts about their prognosis, disease progression and treatment options so they can take an active role in their treatment plan.
Empowering patients to take charge of their treatment is an important step in cancer care. “You are in charge of your own health, and you are your best health advocate,” says Elizabeth Cohen in her book, “The Empowered Patient: How to get the Right Diagnosis, Buy the Cheapest Drugs, Beat Your Insurance Company, and Get the Best Medical Care Every Time.” However, taking charge could lead a patient down the wrong path if that patient is not fully informed.
Mesothelioma is a fatal cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen that has been directly linked to asbestos exposure. Treatment often includes chemotherapy and radiation, but researchers have recently begun focusing on patient-centric care with treatments targeting the patients’ unique characteristics. Personalized mesothelioma care optimizes the potential for success. An effective personalized plan requires full disclosure from both the patient and the physician.
Data recently compiled from a 2009 survey of 1,891 U.S. physicians, and published in Health Affairs, found “behavior that is in conflict with at least some of the tenets of the Charter on Medical Professionalism,” according to an article in News @JAMA. In the survey, the doctors were asked questions regarding honesty as laid out by the Charter. The Charter, according to the survey authors, “requires openness and honesty in physicians’ communication with patients.”
The survey found that more than half of physicians in the previous year had described a patient’s prognosis in a more positive manner than warranted. In addition, 20% of the physicians surveyed did not completely agree that a doctor should always tell the truth. In fact, 10% admitted to telling a patient “something untrue” in the previous year.
The authors concluded that their findings “raise concerns that some patients might not receive complete and accurate information from their physicians, and doubts about whether patient-centered care is broadly possible” unless physicians focus more on open, honest communications.
Study lead, Lisa Iezzoni, MD, MSC, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, admitted that there are different reasons for doctors to not be fully truthful. However, she said, “at the end of the day, patients need accurate information about their health.”
In January 2011, the American Society of Clinical Oncology published guidelines encouraging physicians to discuss a patient’s treatment options and preferences immediately after their terminal diagnosis so the treatment can be individualized from the start. The guidelines pointed out that physicians should assess a patient’s options, goals and preferences early in his treatment. This conversation cannot happen if the doctor has not given the patient an honest prognosis.
Close to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States. Although there is no cure for mesothelioma, it can be treated with varying degrees of success through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation. The prognosis for mesothelioma patients is usually grim, with the average survival time varying from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis.
Sources :
- Health Affairs
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/2/383.abstract - News @JAMA
http://newsatjama.jama.com/2012/02/08/survey-some-physicians-not-always-honest-or-frank-with-patients/
British Family Painful Reminder that Mesothelioma Can Develop from Secondhand Asbestos Exposure
While most cases of mesothelioma affect individuals who were directly exposed to asbestos in the workplace, men who worked around asbestos, and brought the fibers home on their clothing, shoes and in their hair, may have inadvertently exposed their children and spouses to the hazards of the deadly toxin. One family in England is now dealing with this phenomenon as eight siblings, whose only exposure came from contact with the fibers that adhered their father who worked with asbestos products, battle mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and is proven to cause lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma, a serious cancer caused by breathing in the asbestos fibers that then become lodged in the thin membrane that lines and encases the lungs, and other respiratory diseases. Even small amounts of asbestos and infrequent exposure can create a risk for contracting mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.
According to the Yorkshire Post, two sisters in the family just died of mesothelioma caused by secondhand exposure they had to asbestos decades ago. The other siblings suffer from pleural plaques, emphysema and scarred lungs. They are also still at risk of developing mesothelioma. Their father worked at Cape Asbestos in Hebben Bridge, Yorkshire from the 1930’s through 1958. He died of lung cancer 10 years after leaving the company.
The family recalled that they 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,” said one sibling. She added that as children they would sometimes accompany their father to work on Sunday and would play in the piles of asbestos dust.
Most cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed 30 years or more after exposure. Currently there is no known cure for mesothelioma, and the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis. According to Professor Julian Peto, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Institute of Cancer Research, the UK now has the highest death rate in the world from mesothelioma, with over 2,000 deaths a year.
International Conference Brings Great Minds In Fighting Mesothelioma
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.
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