Mesothelioma & Asbestos Cancer News: September, 2009
Chattanooga, TN—A jury awarded awarded a $1.4 million verdict to the widow of a former pipefitter who succumbed to the asbestos cancer, mesothelioma.
Kenneth W. Jackson, whose wife Marian was plaintiff in the suit, passed away in 2008, only six months after receiving the mesothelioma diagnosis. He worked for over thirty years at Combustion Engineering in Chattanooga where he was exposed to asbestos, the main cause of the disease. Asbestos was used throughout the twentieth century in building materials, insulation, and thousands of household goods before it was proven to be carcinogenic, causing breathing problems and lung ailments, including mesothelioma. It is reported that malignant mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos in over 90 percent of cases. As a pipefitter, Mr. Jackson was exposed to asbestos in the materials he worked with.
Santa Barbara, C.A.—Requests for grants from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation have increased eightfold since the first year the organization started offering the stipends to researchers, in 2000. There were 56 funding requests for 2009, up from just seven in 2000. The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is the principal independent source of mesothelioma research funding in the country.
Galveston, T.X.—Jesse Cruz labored for years at Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp. While there, he handled many different machines and products which contained asbestos. This exposure to asbestos – a deadly carcinogen – is what lead to Cruz’s mesothelioma diagnosis. He died in 2002 at the young age of 56.
Maryann Sparkman of Buda, TX, has filed the lawsuit against Todd Pacific and 21 other defendants, all manufacturers of products or equipment that were used on the shipyard site. The original petition says that “Jesse Cruz was required to handle products containing asbestos and was exposed to other asbestos products present in the workplace.”
Boston, MA—At Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, mesothelioma patients get an added measure of care: a chaplain devoted solely to those who have been diagnosed with the asbestos cancer.
The chaplain was hired several years ago by Dr. David Sugarbaker, an eminent thoracic surgeon at the Brigham, in order to help provide counseling to the mesothelioma patients. “It seemed clear to me and to other members of the surgical team that those patients who had regular visits by a chaplain…got through surgery more smoothly,” said Sugarbaker.
Portsmouth, UK—A Portsmouth man who served in the British Army during World War II has died from the deadly asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma.
Frederick Blewden was 84 when he died from the disease, which he contracted while working as a skilled motor mechanic as part of the allied forces’ invasion of Germany. During the fulfillment of those duties, he came into close contact with asbestos, which was used in clutches, insulation and brake pads in the Army vehicles. (more…)
County commissioners in Trumbull County, Ohio, are trying to find a buyer for 44 acres of vacant property. The land, once used as a nursing home, now sits empty. Officials want someone to buy and develop it, but they face a problem: asbestos contamination, which may cause the asbestos cancer called mesothelioma. (more…)
Portsmouth, U.K.—After just three months of battling the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, a former dockyard worker in the United Kingdom passed away last December. His family wants his death to raise awareness of the dangers facing those who might have been exposed to asbestos on the job. (more…)
Firefighters are among those workers who have one of the highest rates of contracting the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, simply because they are exposed to asbestos on a frequent basis. Now the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association (PPFFA) is lobbying to change the law in that state, in order to have cancer designated as an occupational illness. (more…)
Birmingham, England—A former plant worker has been diagnosed with the deadly asbestos cancer mesothelioma, leading to speculation that there could be hundreds of additional cases in other workers from the same facility. (more…)
Philadelphia, P.A.—A U.S. District Court judge is setting out to clear the American courts of frivolous asbestos suits which started out as mass x-ray screenings. The ruling stems from the practice of lawyers using information obtained from mass screenings, designed to find patients of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma. These patients are then brought on as plaintiffs in large, mass claims. (more…)
A month after being diagnosed with the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, a former pipefitter and welder has filed suit against 36 companies, charging that he was wrongfully exposed to the deadly mineral on the job. (more…)
Southern California residents, who are already concerned about damage to their homes and property because of the ongoing wildfire, may have reason to be concerned about hazardous effects to their health from asbestos exposure and the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, say officials.
Shoreham, V.T.—Students at the Shoreham Elementary School will have to wait at least two more weeks to go back to school after officials found asbestos, the toxic mineral that can lead to mesothelioma.
Longtime entertainment columnist Army Archerd has died of the rare asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Born Armand Archerd in 1922, Archerd was a columnist for the entertainment trade magazine Daily Variety, and broke a number of influential news stories about celebrities. He was well-respected among the Hollywood community for his meticulous fact-checking, and for verifying the accuracy of any tips that he received before publishing the story.
Mesothelioma Awareness Day, a day to be used to increase public knowledge and understanding of this rare and aggressive cancer, has been adopted throughout the country. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey is just the latest area to join in the cause to promote awareness and public support for those battling the disease.
Derbyshire, U.K.–A former British Rail train driver who has died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma used to make “snowballs” with the mineral material, his widow said.
RICHLAND, W.A.—Former workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Richland, Washington, are far more likely to develop certain cancers, including mesothelioma, than the average worker.
A study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine cited information from the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program, which conducted surveys of close to 9,000 workers from Hanford and three other nuclear sites run by the Department of Energy. Nearly one third of those involved in the study had worked at Hanford.
A study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine shows that older construction workers who were employed at four United States Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons sites have an elevated risk of contracting mesothelioma and other asbestos cancers.
It was an event that, like the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the attack on Pearl Harbor, defined the way a generation would look at the world. Non-stop news coverage, cancellations of what soon seemed like trivial components of daily life – sporting events, premieres for a new season of television, and afterschool activities – and the ripple of solemnity throughout the rest of the country, not to mention the unfolding of the attacks themselves on national television, left an indelible footprint in the memories of Americans on September 11, 2001.
A British woman who has succumbed the the deadly asbestos cancer mesothelioma had no idea how she developed the disease, says her family.
Researchers at Duke University in North Carolina have recently conducted a study into the mesothelioma rates of sheet metal workers, and have concluded that these workers are at higher risk for developing the asbestos cancer.
A New Orleans business owner who founded a multimillion-dollar chrome plating business passed away from malignant mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.
Australian photographer Christopher Ireland first learned about the asbestos cancer mesothelioma as a teenager, when a friend’s father passed away from the disease. Ten years later, he began meeting women who had lost their husbands to the disease. Now, he has a new exhibit of photographs which he hopes will showcase the women’s pain, as well as to increase awareness of malignant mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos.
Malignant mesothelioma, the rare but aggressive cancer of the lungs almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos, most affects those who worked with the deadly fiber, and their families.
Sixty-eight defendants have been named in a lawsuit brought by the family of a former Potsdam Civic Center employee who died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Sharon LaDuke, 57, worked at the Civic Center as a senior clerk for 34 years.
Recent studies published by a group of scientists at an Italian university suggest that the levels of a common growth factor may have an effect on the survival of post-surgery mesothelioma patients.
A recent study in Japan may have revealed a new method for diagnosing mesothelioma.
Kalamazoo, MI—The Kalamazoo County commissioner recently announced that he has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the deadly asbestos-related cancer, and that he will be taking a leave of absence from his position in order to undergo treatment for the disease.
The family of a mechanic’s assistant who was diagnosed with, and later died from, mesothelioma has been awarded $700,000 by a South Carolina jury.
Washington, DC—In an historic move, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced that the federal government will provide funding for medical care to residents of northwestern Montana who have become sick after being exposed to asbestos.
Indianapolis, IN—Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. has announced that its cancer drug Alimta, has been approved by regulators for several new uses.
A former worker at the Mason McCabe plant in Birmingham, England may have inadvertently given his daughter the rare cancer mesothelioma.
A woman whose late husband loved to run and walk, before being diagnosed with the deadly asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, has donated money in his name to build a new walking trail in Malta, Ohio.
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