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New Early Lung Cancer Test May Help Diagnose Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
When researchers at the 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer announced they’d seen positive results from a new early lung cancer detection tool, it raised the hopes of mesothelioma physicians around the world. The rare and fatal form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos is notoriously difficult to treat, and one of the
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Why Mesothelioma Patients Need Advance Care Planning
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, there are an awful lot of decisions that need to be made about the type of medical treatments you wish to submit to. It is important to put thought into what you want done to help improve your situation. It makes equal sense
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Auto Mechanic Wins $8.4 Million Mesothelioma Verdict Against Ford Motor Co.
A St. Louis jury ordered Ford Motor Company to pay $8.433 million in compensation to lifelong resident Al Bennett and his wife Pam after hearing evidence that the company had exposed him to asbestos, leading to his diagnosis with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a fatal form of cancer that affects the lining of the
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Judge in Johnson & Johnson Mesothelioma Case Rebukes Company’s Attorney
Mesothelioma victims are often torn about whether to pursue legal action against the companies responsible for their illness: the idea of battling giant asbestos companies can be intimidating. But those affected by asbestos can take heart from what happened this week in a New Jersey courtroom. Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Anna C. Viscomi struck
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Chinese Mesothelioma Researchers Create Highly Accurate Tool to Predict Survival
When a person is diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and informed that the condition is always considered terminal, one of the first questions that they ask is about how much time they have left. Now, a new visual tool created by cancer researchers at China’s Peking University may be able to provide a highly accurate answer,
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UK Mesothelioma Fund Memorializes Renowned Advocate
In the United Kingdom, the June Hancock Mesothelioma Fund is one of the top charities dedicated to raising money to support research and provide aid surrounding malignant mesothelioma. The charity is named for June Hancock, a woman who died of the asbestos-related illness, but not before winning a significant legal victory against the American-based company
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Drug Study Provides Mixed Results for Mesothelioma Patients
Researchers from The University of Teas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston recently concluded a study of a drug called Cediranib to determine whether it could provide any benefit to patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Though they found that cediranib did offer a small survival benefit to patients when combined with chemotherapy, the researches
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Multi-Year Mesothelioma Lawsuit Ends With $2.38 Million Jury Verdict for Widow
Thomasina Fowler’s initial wrongful death lawsuit against Union Carbide was filed in June of 2011, when she accused the chemical company of being responsible for her husband’s death from malignant mesothelioma. In 2015 the company was granted summary judgment after they argued that there wasn’t enough information to prove that Charley Edenfield had worked directly
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What is A Biomarker, and What Do They Tell Us About Mesothelioma?
When it comes to diagnosing malignant mesothelioma, physicians have several tools available. Doctors rely on the information that their patients provide about their history of exposure to asbestos, as well as the symptoms that they display, and based upon that information they order imaging studies, blood tests and biopsies. While X-rays and cat scans look
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Study Shows Older Mesothelioma Patients Less Likely To Have Chemotherapy
Research conducted by the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Sydney, Australia is calling into question whether old mesothelioma patients are being treated with the same attention as is true of their younger counterparts. The study showed that among more than 900 mesothelioma patients, the older a patient was at the time of diagnosis, the lower
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Do Patients With Mesothelioma Want To “Do Battle” Against the Disease?
When you talk to a patient diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, or any type of cancer, do you find yourself using terms like “fight,” “defeat,” and “battle?” Do you refer to the various cancer treatment protocols as “weapons?” If so, you’re certainly not alone. Medical historians say that using military language in talking about treatment dates
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Mesothelioma Advocates Note Irony As White House Staffers Relocate to Avoid Asbestos
Mesothelioma victims and all those who advocate for asbestos to be banned in the United States have been frustrated by the Trump Administration’s stance on the carcinogenic material. Though Congress passed a new law in 2016 to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to ban asbestos, the EPA under President Trump’s administration has
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UK Study Shows Using Radiation Therapy to Prevent Mesothelioma Metastasis is Not Worth the Risk
Patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma require constant medical attention and intervention, and many of the treatments that they receive are invasive. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reveals that United Kingdom researchers examined whether prophylactic radiation of the chest wall would stop metastases from occurring along the path of these invasive procedures, but
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Mesothelioma Awareness Changes Firefighter Procedures
There once was a time that firefighters returned to their station house still wearing their gear, which often was covered with mesothelioma-causing asbestos. But since the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group classified firefighting as a career that is “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” dramatic changes have been made to how uniforms
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20-Year Study Reveals Longer Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival With Repeated Chemotherapy Rinse
The introduction of heated intraoperative chemotherapy (HIPEC) following surgical resection of malignant mesothelioma tumors has proven to be a tremendous breakthrough for mesothelioma patients, providing them with a better prognosis and improved quality of life. Now a study conducted by an esteemed mesothelioma researcher has determined that the positive effects can be further extended through
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New Dosing Regimen Enables Alimta for Mesothelioma Patients With Kidney Disease
People diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma are frequently hampered by previously existing medical conditions. Many have diabetes or heart conditions that make treatment an additional challenge, and mesothelioma patients with poor kidney function have been especially handicapped because they have been unable to benefit from Alimta, which is the chemotherapy medication that has become the gold
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Exercise and Good Nutrition Make A Difference In Mesothelioma Outcomes
Getting a mesothelioma diagnosis is a traumatic, earth-shattering experience, and it comes as no surprise that many patients respond by shutting down and losing interest in the activities and indulgences that they previously enjoyed. But an Australian study has confirmed what many physicians already suspected: discontinuing eating well and exercising has a direct, negative impact
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Researchers Explore How Manipulating Diet Affects Cancers Like Mesothelioma
Could a change in diet boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma? That’s the question that researchers in Texas are trying to answer. They hope that by manipulating blood sugar levels using either diabetes drugs or a ketogenic diet, they can starve cancer cells of one of their most important sources
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Hong Kong Researchers Achieve Longer Mesothelioma Lifespan With Enzyme Inhibitor
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong have just revealed that by using an enzyme inhibitor called DFMO on mice infected with malignant pleural mesothelioma, they were able to extend the animals’ lifespan.
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Court Decides in Favor of Mesothelioma Victim Exposed to Asbestos At Work and At Home
When Vickie Williams was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, she knew exactly where the asbestos she’d been exposed to came from: It all came from the Square D factory. But the exact method of her exposure was a little harder to figure out. Vickie’s father had worked for Schneider Electric USA (formerly known as Square D)
