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New Approach to Drug-Resistant Tumors Could Work for Mesothelioma Too
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Like many other solid tumors, it has proven to be particularly resistant to traditional treatment approaches. But an innovative dual-pronged attack being tested on the most common types of solid tumors may hold the key to improved outcomes.
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FDA Approves Application for Phase 1 Study of Novel Mesothelioma Treatment
Though physicians treating malignant mesothelioma work hard to extend their patients’ survival and improve their quality of life, the treatments currently available have proven no match for the challenging, fatal form of cancer. Researchers are turning to next-generation treatments using state-of-the-art technology, and the latest of these, a T-cell immunotherapy treatment, just received FDA approval
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As Mesothelioma Diagnoses Rise in 9/11 First Responders, Millions are Withheld from FDNY Health Program
On the 19th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the head of the FDNY 9/11 World Trade Center Health Program has revealed that nearly $4 million has been siphoned away from the program, which treats firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses like mesothelioma and other cancers. According
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Mesothelioma Advocates Take Positive View of Lawsuit Against EPA
It has been decades since the Environmental Protection Agency first acknowledged that asbestos causes malignant mesothelioma and other illnesses, yet in all that time the agency has failed to ban its use. Advocates had hoped that would change under the authority granted to the agency in the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but it still
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No Consensus on Radiotherapy as Standard Treatment Before Mesothelioma Surgery
Creating a treatment plan for patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma is a challenge. Though patients expect a standard course of treatment with proven results, the reality is that each patient is unique, and responds in different and unpredictable ways to different protocols. One example of this can be found in performing radiotherapy before mesothelioma
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COVID-19 Telemedicine Experience May Permanently Change Mesothelioma Palliative Care
The global pandemic has introduced countless changes to our way of doing things, and not all are bad. One positive has been the greater acceptance of telemedicine in the delivery of palliative care, and it is likely that this will have a permanent impact on the way that mesothelioma patients and their families receive this
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Unsafe Asbestos Levels Confirmed As Widower Wins Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Widower William E. Robaey was recently awarded millions of dollars in a mesothelioma lawsuit that he filed against Felt Products Manufacturing after his wife, Marlena Robaey, died from the rare and fatal form of cancer. Though an appeals court vacated an earlier jury award as deviating from reasonable compensation, the same court upheld the overall
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Mesothelioma Victim Faces Off Against Honeywell Over Brake Pads
Ricardo Ocampo spent 1991 though 1997 working as a car dealership maintenance worker, and he blames asbestos dust from brake pads used there for his recent diagnosis with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Despite complications and challenges posed by conducting a jury trial in the midst of a pandemic, his $70 million personal injury lawsuit against the
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Johns Hopkins Research May Explain How Mesothelioma Spreads
In malignant mesothelioma and many other types of cancer, the spread of cells to distant areas of the body – a process called metastasis – is an ominous sign. Metastasis makes fighting the disease much more difficult. The quest to stop the process has long been a goal for cancer researchers, and it starts with
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Olivia Fitzgerald – 2020 Mesothelioma.net Scholarship Winner
The Scholarship committee at Mesothelioma.net is pleased to announced that the winner of the 2020 Mesothelioma.net Scholarship is Olivia Fitzgerald, a rising freshman at the University of Pittsburgh – Bradford who is planning a career in radiology. The scholarship is awarded to one student with financial need whose life has been shaped by cancer and
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Australians Expect New Surge of Mesothelioma Victims Who Grew Up in Contaminated Homes
Every case of malignant mesothelioma is a tragedy, but the most heart-wrenching may be those involving victims who were unknowingly exposed as children. In the United States, most childhood exposure came either fro second-hand exposure to asbestos carried on working parents’ clothing or from having been exposed to the material left behind in mining towns
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Mesothelioma Specialist Urges Continued Screening and Treatment Despite Pandemic
One of the country’s most noted mesothelioma specialists is warning that the pandemic’s disruption will make things much more challenging for those at risk for asbestos-related diseases. According to Dr. R. Taylor Ripley, many mesothelioma patients are delaying seeking treatment and not making appointments until their symptoms are already in a more advanced stage.
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Genes May Play a Role in the Success of Radiation Therapy for Mesothelioma
Almost immediately after diagnosis, many victims of malignant pleural mesothelioma begin a course of treatment that includes radiation therapy in hopes that the treatment will shrink and kill the tumors. But a group of researchers from the University of Bern has learned that the success of this treatment may depend on the individual patient’s genes,
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Mesothelioma Advocates Applaud Reversal of Judge’s Decision Against Johnson & Johnson Cancer Victims
In recent years, people diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer have come forward to seek justice against consumer brand Johnson & Johnson’s accusing the company’s talc-based products of causing their asbestos-related diseases. Lawsuits seeking compensation have largely been successful, and the company has decided not to continue their sales of the product in North
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Report Details “Silent Epidemic” of Mesothelioma, Ongoing Threat from Asbestos
As U.S. officials continue to weigh a ban on asbestos, a team of international researchers has published a report on the “silent epidemic” of malignant mesothelioma and a warning about the ongoing global threat posed by the carcinogenic material.
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Scottish Mesothelioma Researcher Explains Pandemic’s Impact on Work
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is one of the most challenging forms of cancer to treat. It is always considered a terminal diagnosis, and will likely remain so until some kind of breakthrough is achieved by researchers. But research into the rare malignancy, which is caused by exposure to asbestos, came to a sudden halt as COVID-19
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Study on Post-Surgical Geriatric Care Provides Roadmap for Mesothelioma Patients
Though malignant mesothelioma can strike any individual who has been exposed to asbestos, the median age of those diagnosed with the rare and fatal form of cancer is 72 years old. Many of these patients will require surgical interventions to either prolong their lives or relieve the significant pain caused by the disease. The results
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Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedure Can Provide Relief for Mesothelioma Patients
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a particularly cruel disease. The rare, asbestos-related form of cancer is always considered fatal, and once diagnosed most patients have less than two years in which they can put their affairs in order and spend time with those they love. Making matters worse is the significant pain that accompanies the disease
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Can Daily Aspirin Make Mesothelioma Worse?
If you are at risk for malignant mesothelioma and are taking a daily, low dose of aspirin, you may want to learn more about the results of a recent study. Though taking aspirin every day has long been thought to provide protection against cognitive decline, cardiovascular problems and cancer, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in
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Asbestos Manufacturer Attempts to Escape Liability for Minnesota Man’s Mesothelioma
In an attempt to avoid responsibility for a Minnesota man’s malignant mesothelioma, an asbestos manufacturer has repeatedly argued that because they moved out of the state decades ago, they should no longer have to answer to the state’s justice system. The case involves a Minnesota resident diagnosed with the rare form of cancer after having
