Mesothelioma Risk is Higher Near Natural Asbestos

by Alex Strauss
SurvivingMesothelioma.com

There is more evidence that where you live affects your risk of contracting deadly malignant mesothelioma.

A recent study conducted by a team of Turkish researchers found that people who live closest to naturally-occurring asbestos – especially if they live downwind of it – are more likely than the general public to receive a mesothelioma diagnosis.

Asbestos in the Environment

Asbestos is a mineral that is found in the soil.

For years it was mined for use in manufacturing and construction products ranging from insulation to concrete, wallboard, and even flame retardant Christmas decorations.

It was not until the 1960s that companies started to publically acknowledge that asbestos is also the number one cause of mesothelioma.

Scientists discovered that when people inadvertently breathed in or ingested microscopic asbestos fibers, these fibers could trigger a chain of events that sometimes turned healthy cells cancerous.

Measuring Mesothelioma Risk
Unfortunately, even though many companies stopped using asbestos and dozens of countries banned it, this mesothelioma trigger still exists in the environment.

Some places have higher amounts of asbestos in the soil than others. To perform the new study, researchers focused on one such place in Turkey.

The study included 180 mesothelioma patients, as well as nearly 800 people with either breast or lung cancer, in Diyarbakir Province between 2008 and 2013. Their birthplaces were displayed on a geologic map.

Location and Mesothelioma Diagnosis
People who lived closest to the naturally occurring asbestos in Diyarbakir Province were more than two-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma than other people in the region.

The team found that the majority of mesothelioma cases were found within 20 kilometers of asbestos sites. The mesothelioma risk was even higher for those who lived downwind.

“The largest concentration of malignant mesothelioma residential areas was within ±30° of the dominant wind direction,” writes study author Dr. Abdurrahman Abakay of the Dicle University Medical School in Diyarbakir.

In the US, naturally-occurring asbestos has been found in more than half of states, including California, Washington, New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia.

Source:

Abakay, A, et al, “High-risk mesothelioma relation to meteorological and geological condition and distance from naturally occurring asbestos”, December 21, 2015, Environmental Health and PReventive Medicine, Epub ahead of print

Use Your Voice to Fight Mesothelioma in 2016

by Nancy Meredith
MesotheliomaHelp.org

As another year kicks off, many people like to reflect back on the last year and find ways to make the New Year better. For patients battling mesothelioma, though, better may not be an option. However, you may be able to be just a little more vocal to make a difference in your own care and in educating the public about mesothelioma.

Mavis Nye, of England, who after six and one-half years of battling mesothelioma was told her tumors are now devoid of mesothelioma, told MesotheliomaHelp that she will use 2016 to advocate for all patients.

“My new year resolution is to be an even bigger voice,” says Mavis. “I will be talking at the iMIG Conference [May 1-4 in Birmingham, UK]…I will be very involved in the NHS… and also in research of cancer treatment in London and Leicester Hospitals.” And, she said, she will ” keep fighting to get the other Mesowarriors onto the drug [that has halted her mesothelioma].”

You may choose to advocate for the mesothelioma community by participating in an event or by creating your own fundraiser. Jennifer Gelsick, whose father lost his fight with mesothelioma in 2013, offers a wealth of advice on how to educate friends, family and the public on mesothelioma and to bring in money to support research at the same time. See her advocacy page for more information.

You can also use your voice to be empowered to aid in your own care. When patients are empowered it means they are informed of their disease and their treatment options, and they are willing to take an active role in their treatment. Knowing what questions to ask of your physician when diagnosed with mesothelioma is an important step towards becoming an empowered patient.

Experts at MD Anderson Cancer Center suggest asking the “right” questions to get more out of the interaction with your health care providers.  Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t understand what you’re saying,” and ask them to explain it again, and again until you understand the information. Work with your mesothelioma care team to develop your treatment plan and to make all decisions – don’t just settle for what they say if you have doubts.

Managing a disease such as mesothelioma can be overwhelming, but partnering with your physician from the start may be the key to receiving the best treatment.

Now that 2016 is here, you  have 365 new days to make a difference. But, you also have 365 chances to take the time to enjoy the simpler things in life.

“I do hope to get back to camping with my Kent Caravan and Camping Club,” says Mavis of her 2016 hopes.

Mesothelioma Stories - Bonnie Anderson Shares Mesothelioma Symptoms And Her Harrowing Experience

Here's the touching story of Bonnie Anderson, a peritoneal mesothelioma patient who survived the condition for 10 years now. This short documentary gives us an insight on what mesothelioma patients undergo through when they found out that they have mesothelioma symptoms and that they are positive of this rare case of cancer. Let's watch Bonnie as she talks about the mesothelioma symptoms that she experience, the diagnosis, the treatment and the hardship that she and her family has gone through until she survived the most painful chapter of her life.

Importance of Early Diagnosis of Mesothelioma Spurs Research for Better Blood Test

It’s very important to diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma at the onset of the stage if patients want only the best outcome. And to hasten the benefits of early-stage mesothelioma diagnosis, researchers are working hard to come up with a reliable yet non-invasive procedures to identify the existence of mesothelioma symptoms.

An article published in the BMC Cancer journal reports of a Japan-based research which assessed the the “usefulness of the blood protein HMGB1 as a prognostic marker for mesothelioma,” reports AboutMesothelioma.net.

The research employed 106 participants who were exposed to asbestos at a certain point of their lives. After examining their blood samples, 61 individuals were found positive of malignant pleural mesothelioma, while 45 were diagnosed with non-malignant asbestos-related disease, including asbestosis, which is the scarring of the lungs.

Verastem's VS-6063 gets orphan drug status

Hope seems to be on its way to mesothelioma patients. Good news because the European Commission has just granted Verastem, Inc.’s VS-6063 the orphan status.

According to News-Medical.net, Verastem, Inc., has been working hard to discover and develop drugs that will treat cancer aiming at cancer stem cells.  

VS-6063’s orphan designation only serves to encourage the development of the drug, which will provide benefit to patients with mesothelioma cancer, as well as other diseases.

The drug-maker wants to begin “the randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial of VS-6063 in mesothelioma” within this year.

"We are pleased that the EMA recognizes the significant unmet medical need in mesothelioma," said Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Verastem Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This orphan drug designation provides us with a number of benefits in the development of VS-6063."

Radioactive Lead May Treat Cancer including Mesothelioma

Radioactive lead may treat cancer. This is if researchers at Areva Med in France succeeds in their experiment as they try to explore this procedure as a more effective treatment to cancers, including ovarian, gastric, pancreatic, cancers, especially the most dreaded of them all, mesothelioma cancers.

Areva’s research, as noted by AFP, features the use of the Pb212 isotope in fighting against antagonistic cancers. However, this isotope can be found only in very rare metals, like thorium. Only very few countries have stocks of this radioactive metal.

The study began in 2003, when researchers decided extracting the isotope when they had hints that this rare element is indeed effective in cancer treatment. When they saw signs of promise, Areva opened a medical affiliate in U.S. in 2009, continually working with the Pb212 in the U.S.

In 2011, together with physicians at the University of Alabama, Areva Med started the first phase of the clinical trial using radioimmunotherapy. The first of the 18 test patients started with therapy in April 2012. Areva Med chief Patrick Bourdet noted that the trial has been going well. If the progress goes on, Areva believes that their findings could be of long-term use.

Mother Of Three Dies Of Mesothelioma After Hugging Her Father When She Was A Child

Debbie Brewer, the mother-of-three who died of mesothelioma because
she hugged her father when she was a child.
Image credit: SWNS.com/Mail Online

Debbie Brewer spent seven years fighting mesothelioma cancer after contracting the disease by frequently hugging his father as a child, reports Mail Online.

Her father, Philip Northmore, worked as a lagger scraping asbestos from pipes at the British Royal Navy’s dockyard in Davenport. Northmore himself died of asbestos-related lung illness in 2006, the same year that his daughter was diagnoses with the long-dormant illness.

Mail Online reports that Northmore would come home every day from the dockyard virtually covered by asbestos. Debbie would rush to her father to give him a welcome hug, unknowingly killing herself in the long run.

In 2007, Debbie was awarded a six-figure sum by the Ministry of Defence who operated the dockyard after the agency admitted liability.