- Address 1400 VFW Parkway West Roxbury, MA 02132
- Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Abraham "Avi" Lebenthal

VA Boston Healthcare System
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) is one of America’s top-tier medical facility systems. Veterans can visit the West Roxbury campus to access top mesothelioma treatment.
About Boston VA
Led by one of the nation’s top mesothelioma specialists — Dr. Avi Lebenthal — the Boston VA’s mesothelioma treatment program rivals that of many of the nation’s top private facilities for cutting-edge treatment and quality patient care.
The major Boston VA medical centers are placed in Jamaica Plain, Brockton, and West Roxbury. Each center has a particular specialty.
The West Roxbury center accounts for surgical procedures with a specialty in spinal cord injuries. Brockton’s VA center acts for inpatient psychiatry, transitional and chronic care, as well as hospice accommodation.
Jamaica Plain’s center is a cancer and subspecialty facility. It has one of America’s finest staff and equipment to treat pleural mesothelioma.
The VA Boston Healthcare System has consistently been rated as one of the best-funded and administered health facilities in the nation. It also has one of the finest mesothelioma treatment centers worldwide.
The Boston VA facility carries out every mesothelioma treatment available. That includes thoracic surgery, experimental research, clinical trials, and teaching medical students on cutting-edge mesothelioma intervention.
Most surgeries are conducted at the West Roxbury center while research, clinical trials, and long-term mesothelioma care happens at Jamaica Plain.
Approximately 300 mesothelioma cases are treated annually at the VABHS.
Part of the VA Boston Healthcare System involves other Boston area medical facilities.
One of the main common projects between cooperating partners is the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It links all information on developing treatment methods for mesothelioma.
The VABHS is closely associated with these fine faculties and cancer treatment agencies:
- The Dana-Faber Cancer Institute
- Harvard Medical School
- Boston University School of Medicine
- Brigham & Women’s Hospital
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research & Information Center (MAVERIC)
U.S. Military Veterans and Mesothelioma
Pleural mesothelioma is a very rare but highly aggressive form of cancer. Approximately 3,000 new mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in the United States yearly.
A disproportionate number of mesothelioma patients are U.S. military veterans — particularly Navy veterans. That’s because the leading cause of mesothelioma is due to airborne asbestos fiber exposure.
Hundreds of thousands of military veterans suffered asbestos exposure during their service. Asbestos was widely used in all military branches from pre-World War II until the early 1980s when the long-term health hazards from asbestos exposure became well-known.
Asbestos was an excellent material for fireproofing and insulating military equipment like ships, planes, and tanks and was used in constructing military base structures.
Many military veterans had daily exposure to intolerable amounts of asbestos dust during their duties. Chronic exposure increased the likelihood of asbestos fibers being inhaled or ingested into the lungs or abdomen of nearby veterans.
Over time, many veterans developed deep scarring and inflammation in their tissues, and many have since developed mesothelioma.
Because mesothelioma has a 20-50-year latency period, many veterans have no idea they’re ill until symptoms become so severe that they’re eventually diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Fortunately, all eligible veterans can be treated for mesothelioma at world-leading medical centers like the VA Boston Healthcare System.