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Missouri Jury Hears Mechanic’s Mesothelioma Lawsuit Against Ford
Ford Motor Company has repeatedly been accused of exposing workers to the asbestos that led to their malignant mesothelioma diagnosis. This week a Missouri jury is hearing testimony in a case filed by a former mechanic. He blames the asbestos in the company’s brakes for his fatal illness.
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Mesothelioma Victims Disappointed by Judge’s Johnson & Johnson Decision
After months of hearings and legal pleadings, a federal bankruptcy court has reached a decision that disappointed victims of mesothelioma who blame asbestos in Johnson & Johnson products for their illness. Judge Michael Kaplan gave the company a green light to move forward with their bankruptcy proceeding, effectively putting a halt to more than 38,000
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Unrealistic Expectations are Common Among Mesothelioma Patients
Mesothelioma specialists are all-too aware that the rare, asbestos-related disease is a terminal disease. But a recent study suggests that message may not be getting across to patients and their caregivers, particularly when patients are under the age of 70.
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Mesothelioma Victim Dies After Testifying Against J&J Bankruptcy Maneuver
As the public waits for a decision on whether Johnson & Johnson will be allowed to proceed with its controversial bankruptcy maneuver, those most affected by their decision continue to suffer the ravages of malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. One of those victims died earlier this month, just weeks after testifying about his use of
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Different States Have Different Takes on Second-Hand Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a fatal and rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. While the vast majority of those diagnosed with the disease trace their exposure to their work environment, there are also many victims exposed by living with people who carried asbestos fibers home on their clothing. People sickened by what is known as
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Experts Warn Asbestos Industry Minimization of Risk Will Lead to More Mesothelioma
While health advocates and mesothelioma experts continue their work to raise awareness and ban the use of asbestos, occupational medicine experts are warning that those efforts are being undermined by powerful asbestos industry experts. An article in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology highlights concerns that those who mine, manufacture, and sell asbestos are continuing to
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Mesothelioma Patients Can Benefit from Participating in a Support Group
When you’ve been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, your sense of time and the future shifts dramatically. While moments with family and friends immediately become even more valuable, there are certain emotions and experiences that they simply can’t understand, and that you may not want to share. That’s where joining a cancer support group can make
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Is Nivolumab/Ipilumab The Answer to Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma?
For years, mesothelioma doctors have cautiously reviewed data from the CheckMate 743 study evaluating first-line immune checkpoint inhibition of the rare, asbestos-related cancer. Last week the primary researchers on the investigation published their three-year follow-up on the use of nivolumab and ipilimumab, concluding that the drug combination continued to provide long-term overall survival benefit for
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Courts Offer Mesothelioma Victims Reasonable Benefit of Doubt in Naming Defendants
Malignant mesothelioma does not develop until decades after an individual has been exposed to asbestos, and this extended period of time makes pursuing legal actions a challenge. Identifying contaminated products encountered fifty years earlier can be difficult, especially when the victim is undergoing aggressive medical treatment. Fortunately, the courts have adopted compassionate rules that allow
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Libby Mesothelioma and Asbestosis Victims Cheered by $36.5 Million Verdict
In the long history of asbestos companies’ greed leading to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, what happened in Libby, Montana stands apart. The town is where the W.R. Grace Company operated a vermiculite mine that sickened thousands and killed hundreds. After years of pursuing compensation from the company, which declared bankruptcy, victims turned to its
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Unexpected Patient Death Puts Mesothelioma Clinical Trial on Hold
The hope for a cure for mesothelioma rests on the development of new drugs and treatment protocols. Clinical trials test the safety and effectiveness of these innovations. They are operated under tightly controlled processes with the approval and oversight of the Food and Drug Administration. One such test that was being run at the Memorial
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Boston Researchers Focus on Estrogen-Signaling Gene’s Role in Mesothelioma Survival
Though mesothelioma afflicts both men and women, it is far more prevalent in men, who have traditionally worked in fields with greater likelihood of exposure to asbestos. Still, women represent one in four cases of the rare asbestos-related disease, and in most cases experience longer survival times and better prognoses. Scientists investigating this phenomenon have
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Reuters Reveals J&J Plot to Limit Payouts to Mesothelioma and Ovarian Cancer Victims
The tragedy of mesothelioma is that many cases are a result of decisions made by asbestos companies. Though they knew of the dangers posed by asbestos, they put profits over people’s wellbeing and allowed them to be exposed with no warning, then argue against being held responsible. In a modern-day version of the same story,
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UK Study Explores New Approach to Malignant Mesothelioma
Researchers from the University of Leicester have just completed a phase 2 trial exploring a new approach to treating malignant mesothelioma. Their study tested abemaciclib, a drug that blocks the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply and grow into tumors. They wanted to see whether it offered safe and effective
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Do Women with Mesothelioma Suffer More Severe Treatment Side Effects?
A new study revealing that women may be at greater risk of serious side effects after cancer treatments is raising concerns within the mesothelioma community. The study, conducted by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, revealed a 34% increase of severe adverse effects in women compared to men.
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Court to Hear Bankruptcy Filing Meant to Evade Mesothelioma Claims Today
Today, a New Jersey judge will hear a case whose outcome will impact tens of thousands of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims. A federal bankruptcy judge will weigh Johnson & Johnson’s arguments for its subsidiary’s bankruptcy filing against the needs of people who blame the company’s talc-based products for their asbestos-related illnesses.
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Mesothelioma Victims Win Right to Consolidate Their Lawsuits
Malignant mesothelioma lawsuits seek compensation for negligence culminating in painful and deadly damages. Though these legal actions can ultimately bring justice, they are also time consuming. When two victims represented by the same attorney tried to have their cases consolidated, the asbestos companies involved filed objections and tried to stop them, but the judge in
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Mesothelioma Experts Hopeful After Reported CAR-T Success in Blood Cancers
We tend to think of cancer as a single disease, but there are significant differences between blood cancers like leukemia and cancers that form solid tumors like malignant mesothelioma. Treatment and outlook for the two broad types are very different, but success in one area may translate into the other. Oncologists are hoping that recently
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Senate Committee Hears from Mesothelioma Victim Over Bankruptcy Abuses
Though she is dying from mesothelioma, Kimberly A. Naranjo spent yesterday testifying to a Senate subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was joined by bankruptcy experts and others concerned about mass tort Chapter 11 cases that allow companies like Johnson & Johnson to evade their liability to victims of their negligence.
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Mesothelioma Fears Drive Chemical Company Warning
Last week’s steam line break at a Kingsport, Tennessee chemical plant blasted asbestos-contaminated materials into nearby neighborhoods, spurring fears that exposure could risk mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. The company’s management is warning neighbors not to touch the debris and is sending out a response team to evaluate its impact.
