On March 18th, 2024, advocates for victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement of a final rule banning the use and import of chrysotile asbestos. But even in the face of that victory, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and others noted that there was still much work to
Dr. Amanda Calvin is a pulmonologist on staff at Health Partners Park Nicollet in Bloomington, Minnesota. She works with other specialists as part of a multidisciplinary team, treating patients diagnosed with pleural diseases including pleural mesothelioma, a condition in which she has a special interest. Dr. Calvin enjoys all aspects of pulmonary medicine and offers
Dr. Megan McNally is a surgeon and surgical oncologist who practices at Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, Missouri. Trained in da Vinci Robotic-assisted surgery and skilled in the use of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, she treats patients diagnosed with peritoneal malignancies, including peritoneal mesothelioma. Education and Career Dr. McNally graduated from
Dr. Maria C. Russell is a surgical oncologist at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology and the Wadley R. Glenn Chair of Surgery for Academic Programs at Emory University School of Medicine and the Chief Quality Officer at Winship Cancer Institute. She also
Dr. Syed Osman Ali is a cardiothoracic and thoracic surgeon at Advent Health in Orlando, Florida. He has extensive experience in thoracic surgery and in the use of pleurectomy and decortication, the lung-sparing surgery that is used to great effect in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. Education and Career Dr. Ali received his medical degree from
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a highly aggressive cancer that is notoriously difficult to treat. Patients diagnosed with the rare asbestos-related disease generally six to 21 months after diagnosis, a survival rate that has not changed for decades. A group of researchers from the Imperial College in London investigated a novel approach to treating the disease
Dr. Joshua R. Sonett is a thoracic surgeon, oncologist, and Chief of General Thoracic Surgery at Columbia Surgery at New York-Presbyterian in New York. He is also the Director of the Price Family Center for Comprehensive Chest Care, Lung and Esophageal Center. He has earned a reputation for his multidisciplinary treatment of lung and esophageal
Dr. Suzanne C. Schiffman is a surgical oncologist with the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She specializes in treating patients with peritoneal mesothelioma and other complex abdominal malignancies, including cancers of the bile duct, pancreas, liver, stomach, small bowel, colon, and peritoneum. Education and Career Dr. Schiffman’s board certification in Surgery and Surgical Oncology
Konstantinos Votanopoulos is a surgical oncologist and professor of surgery at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He specializes in the use of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for the treatment of abdominal malignancies, including peritoneal mesothelioma. Education and Career Dr. Votanopoulos earned his medical degree at the Aristotle
This morning, an article appeared in a respected medical journal reporting on a complete response to the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab in a patient with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. The case study’s authors encourage the drug’s use, despite the lack of evidence to support the treatment.