January 18, 2009
A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
Just a link today but, be warned, these photographs of asbestos victims that appeared in a Scottish Sunday newspaper last week make strong viewing. The photographs depict asbestos sufferers from around the world in distressing detail.
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 04:21 AM | Permalink
January 15, 2009
Teachers at High Risk of Mesothelioma
Tragic though it is, we are all used to hearing about the high occupational risk of asbestos-related disease endured by the likes of fire fighters, plumbers, and heating engineers. One working group that we rarely see mentioned, however, is teachers.
Among the most common structures in which asbestos was used were municipal buildings like schools. Sustained exposure in these buildings to staff, such as teachers can actually be harmed by older asbestos fixtures.
Food for thought eh?
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 01:49 PM | Permalink
January 14, 2009
Asbestos Hits the Proverbial in Vermont
Now here's an oft-forgotten side effect of asbestos - property prices.
Last November, health officials warned that living near an Eden asbestos mine could have serious health implications, including an increased risk of asbestosis and lung cancer. The officials reported that they had found a small but statistically large number of people living within 10 miles of the mine who had either died from or been hospitalized for asbestos-related conditions.
Residents of Eden are angry because they feel the report was presented without enough supporting research; indeed lung cancer is no longer a concern for health officials. Wendy Davis, the local Health Commissioner said, "the lung cancer association was, in retrospect, an error." She went on to say that what is not known is how lung cancer and asbestosis victims were exposed to asbestos, or even whether there is currently a health risk for residents.
Two meetings were set up to allow residents to discuss the issue with health officials. At the first meeting on Monday night, Wendy Davis apologized to residents for flaws in the studies. That apology was not enough to stem the flow of frustrated anger from residents, who say that the apology is not enough to repair the damage that's been done to the community's property values, their sense of safety, and their pride.
Officials say they will continue their research, and they hope residents will stay away from the mine.
Residents would like the state to do the same. "Leave the piles alone," said one, "leave them alone."
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 03:47 AM | Permalink
January 13, 2009
Alimta Inventor Donates $1 million to Chemistry Studies
Edward C. Taylor, the inventor of Alimta, which is, so far, the most effective pharmaceutical treatment for mesothelioma, has, along with his wife, donated $1 million for chemistry research at Hamilton College.
Taylor arrived on the Hamilton campus in 1942 to study in the wartime accelerated program and he let the flip of a coin decide whether he should study biology or chemistry. As luck would have it, chemistry won.
More than 60 years later, the student who arrived at Hamilton with dreams of becoming a writer is professor emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University. He is also the inventor of one of the most successful cancer drugs in the world. "I owe my lifelong fascination with chemistry to Hamilton which is why I gave my gift to the chemistry department," he explained.
Alimta, developed in cooperation with Eli Lilly, is approved in 92 countries and is the preferred drug treatment for mesothelioma; it is currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of breast, neck, thyroid and head cancer.
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:22 AM | Permalink
January 08, 2009
Did Experimental German MesotheliomaTreatment Save British Woman?
Two years ago, Debbi Brewer from Plymouth in South West England was told she had mesothelioma. The lethal disease came as a consequence of hugging her father when she was a child. Her father who died from mesothelioma in the same year Debbi's illness was diagnosed, worked at Devonport Dockyard for the Ministry of Defence.
Having seen the suffering of her father, Debbi decided to try out a pioneering treatment in Germany and, since the treatment begun, has seen her cancer go into remission. She had her $7,000 a-time treatment, known as chemoembolisation, at the University Clinic in Frankfurt.
The treatment, which is usually used to fight liver cancer, involves inserting a catheter into the lung to administer drugs directly to the tumor Debbi has been told that her tumor is now less than half its original size and that it will not return.
Debbi refers to the treatment as her 'little miracle.'
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 05:46 AM | Permalink