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Reduced Jury Verdict Leaves Mesothelioma Victim With $130 Million from Johnson & Johnson
A couple that originally won a $300 million jury verdict in their mesothelioma lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson has accepted a reduction to $105 million in punitive damages and $15 million in compensatory damages, closing the book on their long legal battle. The case revolved around the woman’s 50-year history of using Johnson & Johnson’s
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Can Getting Sick Protect Mesothelioma Patients from Getting Worse?
It certainly seems counterintuitive, but there are some researchers who believe that mesothelioma patients may benefit from being infected with viruses.
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Can Vitamin D Cut the Risk of Cancer Deaths, Including Mesothelioma?
There is no doubt that malignant mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. What is less clear is why some people exposed to the carcinogen actually get sick while others escape that fate. While some scientists work to find a cure, others are investigating how those at risk may protect themselves. One recent study is
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University of Pennsylvania Steps Up In Face of School Mesothelioma Risk
In a remarkable show of philanthropy, the University of Pennsylvania has announced it will be giving $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia to remove the asbestos that has already caused mesothelioma in one of its teachers. Asbestos and other environmental toxins have raised fears of disease in faculty, staff and students alike. With today’s
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“Factually Impossible Verdict” Leads to Rehearing of Mesothelioma Lawsuit
In late 2018, the family of mesothelioma victim Jerrod Bagwell was shocked by a Louisiana jury’s decision in their lawsuit against the asbestos companies they’d blamed for his illness. Despite the jury having agreed that his employer, RMC, was 75% at fault for his exposure to asbestos, they failed to apportion any liability to the
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Remote Monitoring of Mesothelioma Symptoms Deemed a Success in UK Study
Patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma face countless challenges, not the least of which is managing their symptoms without having to constantly leave their homes. While COVID-19 is the most recent and obvious hurdle, those who do not live near a major metropolitan hospital have long struggled with the same problem. According to a new study
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Seeks Mesothelioma Patients for New Study
Researchers from the renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have announced a new Phase I study of CAR T-Cell immunotherapy for pleural mesothelioma. They are seeking candidates that meet specific criteria who wish to be included in this important research.
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Psychiatrist’s Testimony Regarding Mesothelioma Fears Permitted in Asbestos Exposure Case
Previous generations exposed to asbestos were not aware of the substance’s many dangers, but those exposed to the carcinogen today are much more familiar with malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. That familiarity, and the resulting anxiety upon learning of exposure, is at the heart of a lawsuit making its way through the court systems.
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Missouri Supreme Court Upholds $2.1 Billion Johnson & Johnson Asbestos Verdict
In a stunning rebuff of a major American corporation, the Missouri Supreme Court refused to review an asbestos lawsuit that ended in a $2.1 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson. The original case had been filed by 22 women and their spouses who accused the corporate giant of knowingly exposing the women to asbestos in
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New Orleans Longshoreman Awarded $10.3 Million Following Mesothelioma Diagnosis
Though the courtroom setup was adjusted in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing did nothing to diminish a New Orleans’ jury from delivering justice in a recently held mesothelioma trial. After hearing testimony about the longshoreman’s exposure to raw asbestos from ships in the 1960s, the jury awarded the man $10.3
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Pittsburgh Mesothelioma Patient Describes Life with Optune Luna
It’s been more than a year since Optune, formerly known as Tumor Treating Fields, received FDA approval for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, and its use is reportedly slowing the disease’s progression while improving patients’ quality of life. A Pittsburgh news station recently highlighted how it is helping a Navy veteran diagnosed with the rare,
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Swiss Researchers Shrink Mesothelioma Tumors with Combination Photodynamic Therapy/Immunotherapy
Photodynamic therapy and immunotherapy are two innovative treatment approaches that have delivered positive results in mesothelioma clinical trials. Based on these findings, Swiss researchers pursued a novel approach that combined the use of those two protocols, and have reported dramatic, positive results.
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Hairdresser’s Mesothelioma Death Blamed on Asbestos In Hair Dryers
It’s widely understood that malignant mesothelioma has been caused by asbestos in insulation, by asbestos contamination in construction materials, and by asbestos in vinyl tiles, ceiling tiles, and other industrial equipment, applications and materials. But the carcinogenic material has been used in settings that have not received the same level of attention, and which may
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Researchers Confirm Safety and Effectiveness of Bevacizumab/Chemo Combination
Mesothelioma researchers are always looking for ways to improve the effect of chemotherapy, and one possibility being researched is the use of an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor medication called bevacizumab. Though it has been theorized that bevacizumab could improve overall survival, colorectal cancer patients on whom it was used had shown troubling bleeding after surgery.
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Italian Researchers Find that Vitamin D Reduces Mesothelioma Cell Viability
The search for an effective treatment for malignant mesothelioma takes researchers in many different directions, with some focused on innovative technologies while others explore novel uses for familiar therapies. In the latter category, Italian researchers from the University of Turin recently found that the active form of vitamin D reduced human mesothelioma cell viability and
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Australian Researchers Announce 2021 Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
After years of asbestos mining and use of the carcinogenic material in the construction of homes, buildings and infrastructure, Australia experiences an extraordinarily high percentage of its population affected by malignant mesothelioma. To address the high rates of the disease, the country invests in innovative research, including a clinical trial slated for 2021 that will
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Where You Go for Mesothelioma Treatment Can Make All the Difference
In mesothelioma survival (as in all other things), “location location location” is often a determining factor. Specifically, the location of the medical facility that patients choose determines their treatment, and that can make a difference in their overall survival time. Studies have shown that it’s true in the United States, and a recent study showed
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As Malignant Mesothelioma Diagnoses Decline, Lawsuits Increase
As America has slowly worked to eliminate use of and exposure to asbestos, the number of people diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases is on the decline. While mesothelioma diagnoses have dropped approximately 16.2% over the last dozen years, the diminishing numbers of victims has done nothing to extinguish the outrage felt by
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Study Reveals Significant Improvements in Overall Survival of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients
Malignant mesothelioma is an extremely rare disease. Approximately 3,000 individuals are diagnosed with the asbestos-related cancer each year, and only 15 to 20 percent of those have peritoneal mesothelioma, the subset of the disease that forms in patients’ abdomen. Though every type of mesothelioma is considered terminal, a recent study points to advances in the
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UK Scientists Mobilize Gold Nanotubes in Fight Against Mesothelioma
The United Kingdom loses a greater percentage of its population to malignant mesothelioma than any other country, due in large part to asbestos use during the massive rebuilding required after World War II. Accordingly, the country’s scientists work tirelessly to find a cure for the rare asbestos-related disease. This morning researchers published a report detailing
