Time is changing mesothelioma patient demographics
A recent article in the Salisbury Journal discussed a mesothelioma case brought on by asbestos exposure from restaurant oven seals. Italian chef Luigi Pes, married with two grown children, was diagnosed in February 2008 with malignant mesothelioma. Like many more recent cases of mesothelioma, Pes’s exposure did not come from one of the industrial sources more commonly associated with the dreaded disease.
Even as many countries enforce asbestos regulations, older asbestos-containing components built before such regulations were in place are wearing down or being demolished for replacement, releasing asbestos fibers into the air. Today, millions of people employed outside the industrial workforce could be in danger from asbestos—what has long been considered an “industrial hazard.”
Adrian Budgen, of UK law firm Irwin Mitchell, recognizes this change in asbestos exposure potential and patient demographics. In a July 5th article in The Star, Budgen says: “Asbestos has long been associated with heavy industry but sadly we are seeing an increasing number of people from other sectors – such as health and education – falling victim to diseases like mesothelioma.
“Over the years, as asbestos-containing materials began to deteriorate and crumble, many UK workers were inhaling the lethal fibres as they went about their daily tasks, completely unaware of the dangers they were facing, putting them at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.
“The rising numbers of white- collar workers who are going on to suffer from mesothelioma highlights the need for a proper record of which public buildings – whether they are council offices, hospitals or schools – contain asbestos to prevent future, needless tragedies.”
Mesothelioma is considered a fatal cancer. It affects the protective lining of lungs and other abdominal cavities and is caused by inhalation or ingestion of toxic asbestos fibers. Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period following asbestos exposure, and a short life expectancy following diagnosis. There are several mesothelioma treatments available, but no known cure.
Libby Montana faces another asbestos threat
The town of Libby Montana has suffered years of health threats due to the W.R Grace vermiculite mine. For years it was unknown that vermiculite from W.R Grace mine was contaminated with toxic asbestos. While producing and shipping thousands of tons of vermiculite for insulation material, the mine was also spreading toxic asbestos through the nation. A naturally occurring chemical, asbestos causes severe respiratory illnesses including fatal cancer mesothelioma.
Now, after much clean up and economic change residents of Libby, Montana have found yet another present threat. Large piles of wood chips accumulated over the years in the community have been used locally and hauled to distant locations to be used in a projects ranging from large-scale landscaping and erosion control to residential garden mulching.
Officials have found that wood chips from these piles are also contaminated with asbestos. Amounts of the toxin present in the wood chips have not been clarified. However, the federal government has allegedly been aware of the chips’ contamination for some time. Residents and local authorities are wondering who they can trust.
According to a recent Associated Press report, Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus said of the community’s situation: “The people of Libby have already been poisoned in the name of greed and I won’t allow them to be poisoned again because of negligence.”
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities. It is characterized by a long latency period and symptoms that mimic pneumonia and bronchitis; these attributes make mesothelioma difficult to diagnose. Once a diagnosis has been made average patient life expectancy ranges from six months to two years. There are mesothelioma treatments available, but no known cure.
Mesothelioma patients may benefit from Pfizer’s new cancer treatment
The beginning of this month saw Pfizer introduce a new cancer treatment to the medical community. From June 4th through June 8th, the Annual Society of Clinical Oncology met in Chicago Illinois, where the pharmaceutical giant presented its new drug. Specific to non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC)—comprising less than 5% of all cancer cases—crizotinib targets a genetic marker anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), which may also be present in pleural mesothelioma tumor cells.
Pleural mesothelioma is one of two known types of the rare cancer. Affecting lung lining, pleural mesothelioma makes up about 80% of all mesothelioma cases. The other 20% affects linings of other abdominal organs and is called peritoneal mesothelioma. Both types are considered fatal and without cure.
Asbestos fibers cause malignant mesothelioma through inhalation or ingestion. Fibers become lodged in lung lining and begin a mutative process of healthy cells. This process turns into tumor development and lasts for twenty to fifty years. Most mesothelioma patients have no idea they were ever exposed to toxic asbestos and therefore have no idea they are developing the deadly cancer.
Characterized by such a long latency period, mesothelioma is extremely difficult to diagnose. Once symptoms begin to show mesothelioma is in its final and most aggressive stage; following diagnosis life expectancy averages just eighteen months. Although mesothelioma treatments exist, many patients choose palliative care rather than cancer-direct treatments. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy—standards in mesothelioma treatment—can be quite taxing on patients already struggling with the effects of the disease. Providers often choose to focus on pain management, raising quality of life, and extending life expectancy, rather that picking a battle with fatal mesothelioma.
Crizotinib showed promise in clinical testing by greatly increasing life expectancy in patients with advanced cases of NSCLC. Standard life expectancy for NSCLC cases peaks at 2 years; at which point only 20% of patients are alive. With crizotinib, 74% of patients tested were alive after one year, and 54% were alive after two—this is a great step in extending patient life expectancy in an arena of such characteristically low mortality rates.
New treatments are a welcome development in a world witnessing rising mesothelioma cases. Asbestos continues to be used globally and more so in developing countries where safety precautions are minimal, if existent, and health hazards go unchecked. Experts expect to see a rise in worldwide mesothelioma cases unless asbestos use is stopped immediately. Sadly, many struggling economies are dependant upon export or import of the toxic material keeping an end to asbestos use out of sight.
Weekend triathlon as part of one man’s self-prescribed mesothelioma treatment
To celebrate this past Father’s Day, Courtney Davis suggested her dad join her for the Father’s Day Weekend Triathlon in Smithfield, North Carolina. Her father, Larry Davis, 66, said of the triathlon, “It is a Father’s Day gift for both of us. It’s almost too good to be true, especially after everything I’ve put her through. It gets pretty emotional just talking about it.” Davis refers to his many surgeries since being diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. Typically affecting lung lining, mesothelioma can also be found in lining of other abdominal cavities. Characterized by a long latency period and a short life expectancy following diagnosis, there is no known cure for mesothelioma.
Unlike the thousands of Americans fighting mesothelioma each year, Davis has taken a non-traditional approach to his cancer survival. Rather than participating in standard mesothelioma treatment regimes of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Davis has focused on boosting his immune system and allowing his body to fight for him. Although Davis is scheduled for his fifth surgery since diagnosis, he daily fights the cancer with vitamins, supplements and exercise.
“I’m an enigma in a lot of ways,” says Davis. “This thing (mesothelioma) is like going to a casino. To win, you have to be very lucky. It’s designed for you to lose. All you’re trying to do in the fight is make the odds a little more in your favor.
“The health care side of this has been a nightmare. There are too many doctors out there — some so-called authorities — who don’t really know what they’re doing, using treatments from the ’70s that just don’t work, copying someone else’s failures.
“I would have been dead long ago, if I had listened to some of the medical professionals and the treatments they suggested. I’ve learned the hard way that there are some pain medications, even some anesthetics, that (do) more harm than good.”
Davis’s approach has been a brave one—standard mesothelioma treatments are often people’s only hope for extending life expectancy.
Davis’s daughter Courtney said of the triathlon, “There is nowhere else I’d rather be on Father’s Day than with him in a triathlon. With this next surgery, we don’t know what’s around the corner for him, but he’s always been a fighter. And he’s not about to give up this fight anytime soon.”
In preparation for the event Davis took swimming lessons. “I was a runner,” he said. “ I’ve always run. Swimming just isn’t my thing. I might be the only one in the race this weekend wearing water wings. I’ve become proof that a rock can swim. The triathlon has taken my mind off the surgery, and it has forced me to become healthier and physically stronger for the surgery.”
Just before his next scheduled surgery, Davis will receive the Volunteer of the Year Award along with founder of Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Linda Reinstein, at International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, in Washington, D.C., June 23-25.
“Cornell dots” are a beacon of light for early detection of mesothelioma
A recent article in Journal of Clinical Investigation, co-authored by Hooisweng Ow, details the findings and benefits of “Cornell dots,” a new diagnostic tool developed by Ow and Ulrich Wiesner, Cornell Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Developed in 2005, “Cornell dots” act as light beacons in the search for cancer cells and tumors. This technology is specifically beneficial in diagnosis and treatment of small-tumor cancers such as mesothelioma.
Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer affecting protective lining of abdominal organs, the membranous, mesothelium. Unlike many other deep tissue cancer tumors, mesothelioma tumors are wider than they are deep, spreading through the thin mesothelium.
Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period, typically spanning several decades. During this latency period mesothelioma does not demonstrate symptoms. Unless the patient knows to look for the rare cancer, there would be no signs that anything was amiss until twenty to fifty years after development begin. Due to the long latency period and small, wide characteristics of mesothelioma tumors, mesothelioma poses quite a diagnostic challenge.
Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos fibers, which can be inhaled or ingested into the body. These fibers begin a mutative process of cancer development.
Products similar to “Cornell dots” have been developed, but none approved by Food and Drug Administration until now. Make-up of “Cornell dots” have made them just right for entry into the body—they are not considered intruder cells—and for detection by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Once “Cornell dots” have attached themselves to cancer cells, their particular qualities glow in response to specific light sources, guiding providers to cancer cells and tumors.
According to the researchers, this new technology “enables visualization during surgical treatment, showing invasive or metastatic spread to lymph nodes and distant organs, and can show the extent of treatment response.”
Currently, an estimated twenty thousand people suffer from mesothelioma worldwide; this number is expected to grow as asbestos use continues to go unregulated in many developing countries. With a rise in cases, new diagnostic tools aiding in early cancer detection could break the fatal record associated with mesothelioma.
