Author: Alex Strauss

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    Taiwan EPA to Phase Out Asbestos to Reduce Mesothelioma and Other Diseases

    ByAlex Strauss

    After decades of asbestos related illnesses and tens of thousands of deaths from mesothelioma, an official with Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says plans are in the works to ban the substance by the year 2020. Asbestos was widely used for more than 50 years as an inexpensive and superior insulator and building material additive. It is resistant to heat and flame, resists corrosion, and is made of rock-like fibers that add strength to products like brake pads and concrete. But those same fibers can become deadly when lodged in the lungs. Industrial workers who have inadvertently disturbed and then inhaled the substance have contracted serious illnesses ranging from lung scarring to lung cancer, autoimmune disorders, and malignant mesothelioma. Although…

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    Plumbers Still at High Risk of Mesothelioma According to Study

    ByAlex Strauss

    Plumbers are among the industrial workers most at risk for deadly mesothelioma cancer.  That’s the finding of an insurance industry study recently done in the UK. The report, prepared for Claims National, found that current or former plumbers and pipe fitters, as well as electricians, builders and auto mechanics, have a much higher incidence of the asbestos-related cancer than people working in other industries.  It’s a finding supported by CDC researchers in the U.S. who found the number of mesothelioma deaths among plumbers and pipe fitters ‘proportionately significant’ and predict the numbers could keep rising for another 40 years. Asbestos is an insulating material that was widely used in industry around the world until the 1980’s.  It was particularly prized in plumbing…

  • New Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Malignant pleural mesothelioma, a virulent form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, is difficult to diagnose and to treat. Now, a European medical group is hoping to help oncologists streamline the process with a set of newly released clinical practice guidelines. The guidelines from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) state that most mesothelioma patients first present with shortness of breath (in the early stages of the disease) or chest pain (at a more advanced stage). While X-ray can detect the tell-tale thickening of the chest wall surrounding the lungs, a test of the built-up lung fluid and an occupational history are also necessary to make a diagnosis. If examination of the lung fluid is not conclusive, the…

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    Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness

    ByAlex Strauss

    People opposed to a proposal to drop serpentine as California’s official state rock are making their voices heard.  But the asbestos awareness group that helped craft the legislation says the debate is actually helping to fuel their cause. Linda Reinstein is co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest independent organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases through education and legislation.  The group worked with California legislators to draft Senate Bill 624 which would strip serpentine – the host rock for the toxic mineral asbestos – of the title it has held since 1965. “This is a symbolic move meant to show support for patients and for families who have lost loved one to asbestos-related diseases,” says Reinstein.  “California…

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    Outdoor Recreation Could Pose Mesothelioma Risk in California

    ByAlex Strauss

    Outdoor enthusiasts are being warned to steer clear of the trails around abandoned gold mines in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, or risk mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. A study by The Sierra Fund (TSF) says mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders in these areas could be in danger of serious health hazards including mesothelioma because of high levels of toxic minerals in the soil around the old mines.  The study, called The Gold Country Recreational Trails and Abandoned Mines Assessment, found many of these public lands to be contaminated with lead, arsenic and asbestos. According to Elizabeth Martin, CEO of The Sierra Fund, “More than 100 years after the end of the Gold Rush era, the environmental, cultural and health impacts of that…

  • Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

    ByAlex Strauss

    Once prized as an insulator and building material, the mineral asbestos is now recognized by health experts around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), as a potent carcinogen that can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases.  While many industrialized nations now ban or seriously restrict its use, India continues to import and use asbestos at a rate that is alarming the world medical community. A recent article published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, predicts that with “India’s surging consumption of asbestos, the industry’s hefty political and economic clout, and the country’s poor record of worker protection….a sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable” leading to health consequences that “will be felt into the next century.”  These health…

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    Mesothelioma Patients Stigmatized Study Says

    ByAlex Strauss

    Patients with mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, may bear the brunt of public prejudice against lung cancer, according to a new study. Although mesothelioma is a rare cancer, attacking just 2,000 to 3,000 Americans each year, the most common form, which occurs in the linings around the lungs, is classified as lung cancer.  According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancers of all kinds are the most prevalent cancer killer worldwide, claiming more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.  Asbestos exposure has also been shown to cause lung cancers other than mesothelioma, and may account for many more deaths. But a new study commissioned by the Global Lung Cancer Coalition (GLCC) says, despite…

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    International Mesothelioma Expert Named Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Mt. Sinai

    ByAlex Strauss

    A world-renowned expert in malignant pleural mesothelioma will lead the Thoracic Surgical Oncology Program at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. Thoracic surgeon Raja M. Flores, MD, is known for conducting a landmark study of pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lung lining. This study has become one of the most frequently cited studies from the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery in recent years. Mesothelioma is caused by inhalation or ingestion of tiny asbestos fibers. Asbestos was once prized in many industries for its resistance to heat and chemicals. By the 1980’s it was understood that when shards of asbestos enter the lungs they can trigger physiological changes and cellular inflammation that may lead to cancer decades…

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    Cold Plasma Appears to Improve Mesothelioma Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    Adding a technique called Cold Plasma Coagulation to the mix when using surgery and intra-operative chemotherapy seems to help protect mesothelioma patients against certain complications, according to a new study. Mesothelioma, a malignancy that affects the linings around the lungs and internal organs, is caused by asbestos exposure and is notoriously difficult to treat. Depending on the stage of their cancer and their health status, most patients receive a combination of treatments which may include chemotherapy, radiation, radical surgery (Extrapleural pneumonectomy or EPP), or pleurectomy and decortication (P/D), a less radical surgical approach. Even with these various combinations, many patients succumb to the disease within 18 months of diagnosis. In an effort to improve mesothelioma survival rates, surgeons in recent…

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    Buildings, Industries and Soil Pose Mesothelioma Risk in New Jersey

    ByAlex Strauss

    Removal of mesothelioma-causing asbestos is taking much longer than expected at an historic New Jersey library building where employees and patrons may have come in contact with the substance for years. Nearly a month after it was scheduled to reopen, the East Orange Public Library remains closed.  The 1914-vintage building was closed after a state health department inspection found exposed asbestos throughout the building, which could put employees and patrons at risk for deadly mesothelioma cancer.  The library was ordered to hire a professional abatement contractor to safety remove the dangerous material, but months after the job was started, there is no indication when the building will reopen. As a state with many old and historic neighborhoods, New Jersey has many…