LANGGAR MIRING RAHMATULLAH: 06/29/11

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 28, 2011

On June 1, 2011 a lawsuit was filed by the estate of Milan Arthur Barackman by Michael Grant Mason. Mason filed the lawsuit thirty years after Barackman was exposed to asbestos on a United States Navy vessel. According to Mesothelioma.US, a news site for the disease, the lawsuit claims that Barackman was exposed to the material during the late 1960s and early 1970s and that he inhaled asbestos during these years, later resulting in his developing Mesothelioma. The estate of Barackman has filed a wrongful death suit against Foster Wheeler, Owens-Illinois Inc., General Electric Co., Uniroyal Inc., Riley Power Inc., Rapid American Corp. and Viacom Inc. with U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey presiding over Case No. 2:11-cv-01309. The suit claims that Barackman's diagnoses with Mesothelioma last year was a direct result of asbestos exposure.

Plaintiffs in the case argue that the listed defendants were allegedly manufacturing a dangerous product and yet gave no warning to Barackman or others of the dangers of being exposed to asbestos. This is not a single case. There are literally thousands of people suffering with this disease and more being diagnosed every day. Those who are diagnosed undergo Mesothelioma treatment which can be very expensive. Due to the fact that exposure to this dangerous product causes the disease, many seek compensation to pay for treatment of Mesothelioma as well as general pain and suffering.

Danziger & De Llano, LLP has been providing assistance to clients fighting Mesothelioma for a number of years. Those who have been exposed to asbestos and who are experiencing symptoms of Mesothelioma should contact the law firm for more information. Attorneys and staff can help clients to seek compensation for the treatment of Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma attorneys generally have more experience in representing clients against major companies. They can offer advice on the best route for the case as well as find information for clients about Mesothelioma clinical trials. The Law Offices of Danziger & De Llano, LLP offers experienced Mesothelioma lawyers who can help clients to seek compensation against companies that knowingly exposed them to hazardous products. When a case is accepted, a team of Mesothelioma lawyers as well as legal assistants and support staff is assigned to each client to help them to prepare for the legal process. Those who have Mesothelioma or have lost a loved one to this disease can contact the firm to speak with a qualified attorney or set up a consultation.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/28/prweb8585849.DTL#ixzz1QhGGnPi9

Lung cancer drug may also increase the survival rate of patients with pleural mesothelioma

At the Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, held from June 4– 8 in Chicago, Illinois, Pfizer prevented its primary results from a clinical trial of their new, oral cancer drug crizotinib. Used as treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), crizotinib is doubling the survival rate of other drugs. The treatment only targets tumors with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) genetic marker, which makes up only 3% to 5% of NSCLC cases. However, there may be a chance that the ALK marker could be found in pleural mesothelioma tumors.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects the lining of the body’s major organs and cavities, with the most common type, pleural, affecting specifically the lungs. It is caused almost exclusively by prolonged asbestos exposure and there is no known cure. The difference between lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma is that lung cancer consists of individual tumors with clear boundaries, while mesothelioma is a diffuse malignancy that blurs the boundaries between malignant and healthy tissue.

The recently revealed crizotinib results report that 74% of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with the drug were still alive after one year and 54% after two years. Typically, less than 20% of NSCLC patients survive past two years. The numbers decrease with mesothelioma, as the average life expectancy is between six and 18 months with treatment.

The fact that crizotinib is an ALK-inhibitor and showing successful results is contributing to the belief that focusing on personalized treatment targeted to a patient’s characteristics optimizes the potential for effective treatment and survival.

UH Cancer Center receives 2nd biggest donation ever

Michele Carbone

Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer in the lining of the lung and abdomen.

asbestos

Asbestos was often used at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard

KAKAAKO (HawaiiNewsNow) - Some of the world's leading research on mesothelioma cancer is happening right here at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. The center recently received the second largest donation ever - specifically dedicated to finding ways to prevent and treat the disease.

UH researchers have made a series of scientific breakthroughs in mesothelioma, and now, they're getting a bigger shot in the arm - a gift of three and a half million dollars from an anonymous, mainland donor. The center is becoming one of the leading facilities for mesothelioma studies.

"Hawaii is in the center of the world because it's the bridge between Asia and the United States, so it's the perfect place if you want to run a big research team that involves research from different parts of the world," says Dr. Michele Carbone, the cancer center's director.

Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer in the lining of the lung and abdomen. Most of the time, it's caused by asbestos - a mineral fiber - that we inhale. Dr. Carbone says Hawaii has some of the higher rates of asbestos in the country, in large part because of materials once used at the Pearl Harbor shipyard. The disease develops after prolonged exposure and inhalation, but it's a longshot.

"Among people who are very heavily exposed, like asbestos miners, 4.6% of those who work in an asbestos mine for many years will develop mesothelioma," explains Carbone.

Because it takes decades to develop, doctors usually discover the disease in older patients between ages 60 and 80. The median survival time after diagnosis is 12 months.

Some in Hawaii who've developed the disease have sued. We've all seen those TV commercials saying, "If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to financial compensation. It's become a big moneymaker, according to Carbone. "Billions of dollars exchange hands every year around mesothelioma litigation."

Researchers hope continued discoveries - and generous donors - can help prevent and treat the disease before the cases ever have to head to court.

Simmons Law Firm Sponsors 11th Annual Malignant Mesothelioma Symposium

As part of the Simmons Law Firm’s efforts to support mesothelioma research and raise asbestos awareness, the firm is once again partnering with Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation to sponsor the 11th annual Malignant Mesothelioma Symposium. The symposium, held this year from June 23-25 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., features sessions with some of the nation’s leading mesothelioma doctors and advocates.

This year, Simmons Law Firm partner John Barnerd will participate in a panel to answer questions about the legal process for mesothelioma victims. The discussion will take place from 5:45 – 6:45 p.m. on June 23.

“The symposium provides a perfect opportunity for patients and their families to connect with each other and stay up-to-date on the latest medical research,” said Joy Wheeler, the Simmons Law Firm’s vice president of medical and patient relations. “As an advocate for victims of mesothelioma, we work to support the mesothelioma community in any way we can.”

The Simmons Law Firm’s sponsorship of the Malignant Mesothelioma Symposium is the latest in the firm’s ongoing support of mesothelioma research. To date, the Simmons Law Firm has donated over $2 million to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, making it the research foundation’s top cumulative donor.

Through events like the annual Malignant Mesothelioma Symposium, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has been a leader in the fight against asbestos-related disease,” said John Simmons, founding partner of the Simmons Law Firm. “We are proud to team up with the foundation as they bring us closer to a cure.”

About the Simmons Law Firm:

The Simmons Law Firm, headquartered in Alton, Ill., is one of the country’s leading asbestos and mesothelioma law firms. With offices in Illinois, Missouri and California, the firm’s lawyers have represented over 2,000 patients and families affected by mesothelioma in every state. The Simmons firm has pledged over $15 million to cancer research and proudly supports mesothelioma medical researchers throughout the country in order to find a cure. For more information about the Simmons firm

Multimodality Mesothelioma Therapy is Still the Best Option

Patient-centric treatment optimizes the potential for success of a patient’s care by offering the right treatment at the right time. This is especially vital for mesothelioma patients as the disease rapidly progresses to cause life-threatening complications, and can differ dramatically across patients. But before determining the optimal treatment for an individual, researchers need to gauge the efficacy of the available options.

In a recent article in the medical journal Current Treatment Options in Oncology, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York, explore the benefits of the individual treatments for mesothelioma, as well as the three-pronged multi-mode approach using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused pulmonary cancer, is diagnosed in close to 3,000 Americans each year. Most are workers who breathed or ingested asbestos dust at at-risk workplaces in New York and elsewhere. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common form of mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma typically remains contained locally to the lining of the lung during much of its development, but spreads, or metastasizes, to other parts of the body in the later stages of the disease. For localized mesothelioma, surgeons often try to remove visible malignant tumors and use additional treatments of chemotherapy and radiation to manage the remaining cancer.

The two most common surgeries are pleurectomy/decortication (P/D), a procedure that strips away the diseased membrane lining the lung and visible tumors but spares the lung; and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), a more radical procedure that involves removal of a lung, the diseased lining of the chest cavity and heart, and a portion of the diaphragm. Which of the two surgeries to use on a patient is often debated in the medical community.

According to the article, the radical surgery, EPP, carries a significant incidence of patient mortality. Furthermore, many mesothelioma patients who survive radical surgery are too weakened to handle a full course of additional radiation and chemotherapy. The research found that those who had a P/D showed better outcomes among patients. Advances in administration of high-dose radiation have allowed targeted radiation therapy for patients who undergo the pleurectomy / decortication surgery.

Regardless of the surgery used, the MSKCC researchers say mesothelioma almost always recurs locally. To combat the aggressive asbestos cancer, oncologists typically follow the surgery with radiation to prevent the return of the localized cancer, and chemotherapy to reduce the risk of malignant cancer cells spreading to other parts of the body.

The researchers concluded that mesothelioma patients clearly benefit from multimodality therapy. The physician that best knows his patient should be able to determine the ideal combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to personalize the mesothelioma care for optimal results.