Asbestos spike in women

(Tasmania Mercury)- THE number of Tasmanian female mesothelioma victims is rising as more women join the renovation craze sweeping the nation.

Statistics showing how many people in each state are suffering from asbestos-related diseases are due out soon and Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia president Barry Robson said they could provide stark reading.

Mesothelioma has been viewed as a mostly male condition in the past because men, historically, have had the most exposure to asbestos in factories and within the home.

"But we have already seen an increase in the number of women affected by asbestos-related conditions over the past decade or so and that is increasing," Mr Robson said yesterday. Read more here…

UPenn receives a $10 million donation to study mesothelioma and other rare diseases

(Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center)- The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has received an anonymous donation for the sum of $10 million, which it will use to the Penn Center for Orphan Disease Research and Therapy.  The new center will focus on discovering novel treatments for rare diseases.  There are a nearly 7,000 rare diseases, yet only 200 of them currently have any effective treatments.

Mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen that is caused exclusively by prolonged asbestos exposure, is considered an orphan disease.  Like so many of these diseases there is no known cure, and current therapies are palliative rather than curative.  What makes malignant mesothelioma so difficult to treat is the fact that it doesn’t become symptomatic until it reaches stage three or four.  By that time, standard mesothelioma treatment, which includes some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, only tends to add between six months to a year to a patient’s life expectancy. Read more here… 

Mesothelioma Victims Center Offers Unequaled Free Services Including Treatment Options & The Best Mesothelioma Lawyers For A Diagnosed US Navy Veteran or Individual

(San Francisco Chronicle)- If you are a US Navy Veteran, an individual, or a family dealing with a mesothelioma diagnosis, the Mesothelioma Victims Center offers an unparalleled free service, that provides a customized treatment options report, for this rare form of cancer, and they will provide a mesothelioma victim, or their family with the names of the most successful mesothelioma lawyers, or trial law firms in the nation. No other group, or organization in the United States offers anything close to this type of personalized service, or offers this type of resource. The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, "Our free service to victims of mesothelioma, or their families has no equal in the United States.  Read more here…

Law firm highlights rise in asbestos-related deaths

(Liverpool Daily Post)- A MERSEYSIDE law firm is highlighting a rise in the number of people dying from asbestos-related industrial disease both nationally and across the North west.

The latest statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that, out of the thousands of people dying each year from work-related diseases due to past working conditions, asbestos is the biggest killer.

Out of about 8,000 cancer deaths in Britain each year caused by past exposure to cancer-causing substances, about half of these are asbestos-related, including those from the cancer mesothelioma.

Paul Currie, a specialist in asbestosis claims at EAD Solicitors, said: “The statistics really bring home the ongoing rise in the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma – nationally there were 2,249 deaths caused by mesothelioma in 2008 alone, with 1,865 being among men. The HSE is predicting that this will increase to peak at over 2,000 male deaths around the year 2016. Read more here…

Eleven Indicted in NY Asbestos Removal Project at Buffalo Housing Project

(AboutMesothelioma.net)- Three New York inspectors are among nine people and two companies indicted on criminal charges involving illegal asbestos removal at a Buffalo, N.Y. housing complex. Breathing asbestos causes life threatening diseases including mesothelioma and lung cancer so New York and federal laws strictly regulate the handling of asbestos-containing materials.

The 62-page federal indictment, handed down Aug. 4, focuses on work done by two companies that were hired to remove asbestos from the Kensington Heights housing project before its demolition. Johnson Contracting of WNY, Inc., was contracted to remove and dispose of an estimated 63,000 square feet of hazardous asbestos from each of six housing towers in the 17-acre complex. JMD Environmental Inc. was hired as a sub-contractor to monitor the asbestos removal work and do air sampling. Read more here…

It's Surprising Where Asbestos and Mesothelioma Lurk…

(Gordon Gibb)- Asbestos has served as the catalyst for many Asbestos Lawsuits, as victims come to terms with just what may have fostered exposure to the deadly carcinogen. However, as more and more people are diagnosed with asbestos disease from exposure that may have likely occurred as far back as thirty years ago or more, it remains surprising to note some of the circumstances that led to such exposure. Read more here…

Mesothelioma Verdicts Highlight the Asbestos Danger

(Surviving Mesothelioma)- Some large mesothelioma settlements this summer have resulted in more $25 million for victims of the disease from coast to coast.

In New Orleans, former shipyard worker Leopold Granier, Jr. won his $1.5 million suit against Union Carbide, Avondale Shipyards and Cajun Insulation, alleging that the companies were negligent in allowing his exposure to cancer-causing asbestos.  Granier worked at the Avondale shipyard, which was once the largest employer in the state of Louisiana.  The jury found that the companies named in the suit produced products that were a “substantial and contributing cause” of Granier’s mesothelioma.  The shipyard is slated to close in 2013 because of reduced business from the Navy. Read more here…