Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Researchers at Columbia University report that changes in the size of tumors in patients with mesothelioma who have undergone chemotherapy may be useful in predicting their response to treatment and survival. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer of the lining of the lung associated with exposure to asbestos.
In a new article in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, researchers at Columbia’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center describe the outcomes of clinical trials involving 30 mesothelioma patients who were treated with chemotherapy followed by surgery and radiation.
The researchers took CT scans of the 30 patients’ lungs and calculated the size of their tumors before and after two rounds of chemotherapy. Patients diagnosed with stage III and stage IV cancer generally had larger tumors than those with less advanced cancer. The percentage change in the size of the tumor from the initial measurement to their evaluation after two cycles of chemotherapy was strongly associated with patients’ overall survival, the researchers said. They found a significant difference in the length of survival among patients whose tumors increased after chemotherapy and those whose tumors decreased.
The researchers said computer-aided measurements of tumors may offer doctors a more reliable way to assess patients’ response to treatment and could provide additional information about patients’ prognosis
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Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Reports of asbestos disease began appearing on a regular basis in the medical literature as early as the 1930s. Thousands of Americans continue to be diagnosed each year with asbestos cancers such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. Yet, researchers still don’t know the exact steps the body takes to initiate the development of asbestos-related cancers.
Findings related to this issue appear in a study published in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Abstract of the study available here.
This study found that when asbestos kills human cells, it does so by inducing a process called “programmed cell necrosis” that leads to the release of a molecule called high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1). HMGB1 starts an inflammatory reaction that causes the release of mutagens and factors the promote tumor growth.
The researchers propose that it may be possible to decrease cancer incidence or decrease tumor growth rate by interfering with the inflammatory reaction process caused by HMGB1. Additional research and experimental testing will be required to test the study’s hypothesis.
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Friday, June 25th, 2010
Talcum powder – you’ve probably sprinkled it on you or your children during your life. What you probably didn’t know is that the comfort associated with talcum powder, until recent years, was potentially toxic.
Asbestos – in addition to being a staple of thousands of construction materials, was also an ingredient in everyday consumer products such as modeling clay, dish towels, and talc products.
Talc or talcum powder is mined from talc deposits which can be contaminated with asbestos. Indeed, New York Times articles in the 1970s identified a number of talcum powders which contained asbestos in concentrations of 2 to 20%. At about the same time, a leading medical journal, The Lancet, reported on the potential harmful effects of talc.
Asbestos fibers, when inhaled, can lead to a variety of diseases including mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung, as well as lung cancer.
Talc has also been associated in some medical studies to the development of ovarian cancer although the link between talc and this form of cancer is not conclusive. Products such as baby powder, feminine hygiene products and even women’s cosmetics contain talc.
In recent years, most major brands of baby powder are now manufactured with corn starch instead of talc.
See Green Living article for a home-made, cornstarch based baby powder recipe.
Tags: asbestos lawyer dallas, asbestos lawyer texas, mesothelioma lawyer dallas, mesothelioma lawyer texas, pennsylvania asbestos lawyer, safe baby powder, toxic baby powder, toxic cosmetics
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Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Lawyers for New York City and about 10,000 Ground Zero clean-up and rescue workers have negotiated a new settlement which involves more money provided by NYC’s insurer and a reduced fee by the workers lawyers.
After nearly three months of negotiations, New York City’s insurer, the WTC Captive Insurance Company, has agreed to increase the funds available to these claims to $712.5 million. The previous terms called for $575 million.
In March, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the original settlement offer for first responders made ill by working at the World Trade Centers site , saying it did not adequately provide the more than 10,000 rescue workers with enough money and was too complicated.
Judge Hellerstein has indicated he believes the revised settlement proposal is “fair and reasonable,” according to a statement released by lawyers today. Final, official approval of the settlement by the Court is still pending.
The toxic dusts present in the ground zero rubble included: asbestos, heavy metals and various chemicals such as benzene from burning jet fuel, dioxins and PCBs. Exposure to these toxins can result in numerous respiratory diseases as well as cancers such as mesothelioma and other reproductive and neurological disorders. In the case of mesothelioma, it takes decades from that time of exposure to asbestos until the development of the cancer – a period of time known as the latency period. Accordingly, it will be decades before the extent of the development of cancer is known among the 9/11 rescuers and clean-up workers.
Tags: asbestos lawyer dallas, asbestos lawyer pennsylvania, asbestos lawyer texas, cancer lawyer dallas, ground zero asbestos, ground zero worker settlement
Posted in Legal News, Mesothelioma, Uncategorized, asbestos | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Congoleum Ad - 1930s
Flooring giant, Congoleum Corp.’s bankruptcy reorganization plan was approved Tuesday by a U.S. District bankruptcy court.
Congoleum sought Chapter 11 protection Dec. 31, 2003 as a result of its own asbestos-laden floor tiles which it sold for decades. As a result, thousands of asbestos victim claims were pending against the floor tile manufacturer at the time of the filing. Inhalation of asbestos fibers, even from the cutting, scraping or sanding of asbestos containing floor tiles, can result in malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung as well as lung cancer.
Under the plan, the company will give 50.1% of the stock in the reorganized Congoleum to a trust to pay present and future asbestos victims. The trust will also get approximately $235 million from court-approved asbestos insurance settlement agreements as well as additional asbestos insurance coverage funds.
Tags: asbestos floor tile, cancer lawyer dallas, dallas asbestos lawyer, mesothelioma dallas, pennsylvania asbestos lawyer, removing asbestos floor tile, texas asbestos lawyer, texas mesothelioma lawyer
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Friday, June 4th, 2010
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a beloved book. It’s a child’s story, a grown-up story, and a commentary on segregation all masterfully woven together. This summer marks 50 years since the book’s release and almost 50 years since the movie. Its author, Harper Lee, never wrote another book – it’s her one and only masterpiece. There have been real life lawyers like Atticus Finch – the books hero. We should all wish there were more.
Atticus, during his closing argument, gives an impassioned defense of the American jury system. He explains that our jury system is supposed to be for everyone:
“But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal – there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentleman, is a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the land, or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country, our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts, all men are created equal.”
Equality, fairness and the right to trial by jury are essential to justice. Access to the courts and jury trials have been the great leveler in the last century for civil rights, consumer protection, the environment, and a myriad of other issues. Think about that the next time you hear the call for more tort reform – the great unleveler of recent years which tilts justice away from average Americans. I know that’s what Atticus would say.
Add To Kill a Mockingbird to your reading and movie list this summer. Delight in a summertime story told by a child and along the way gain a greater appreciation for the importance of protecting your right to trial by jury – a right you might not think about until you need it.
Tags: dallas asbestos lawyer, jury trial, justice, texas asbestos lawyer, to kill a mockingbird
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Monday, May 24th, 2010
RNA image
A new study announced today suggests the potential of a microRNA, miR-31, as a basis for a potential future treatment option for malignant mesothelioma due to its tumor suppressor qualities.
The joint study between Rosetta Genomics, Ltd and NYU Langone Medical Center can be found on-line at: miR-31 study . In the study, cell lines derived from mesothelioma patients were found not to express miR-31, a microRNA that has recently been categorized as a suppressor of breast cancer metastes. According to this study, reintroduction of miR-31 may help to inhibit mesothelioma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule which is similar to DNA but has its own distinct structure and purpose. RNAs are central to protein synthesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered, small RNAs that act as master regulators of protein synthesis and have been shown to be highly effective biomarkers. Recent evidence has shown that miRNA mutations or mis-expression correlate with various human cancers and indicates that miRNAs can function as tumor suppressors. miRNAs have been shown to repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might work as “regulators” which could in the future could be turned “on” or “off” in order to assist in the treatment of certain cancers. For a detailed overview of miRNAs see Nature Reviews Cancer, Vol 6, April 2006 Oncomirs-micro RNAs with a Role in Cancer
Tags: asbestos cancer treatment, asbestos lawyer dallas, cancer treatment, mesothelioma medical research, mesothelioma treatment, microRNA, miR-31, texas mesothelioma lawyer
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Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
Felony child endangerment charges are now pending against three officers of a Turlock, California non-profit construction training company, Firm Build. The charges stem from an allegation that they used teenage student workers to remove asbestos containing material on a building project at the former Castle Air Force Base. Allegedly, the students were not advised of the presence of asbestos or provided appropriate safety equipment training.
Asbestos fibers, when in inhaled, can lead to the development of lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer which most often forms in the lining of the lung.
The Merced District Attorney’s Office reports that as many as 80 teenagers may have been exposed to asbestos containing materials while working at the Automobile Training Center project at the former Air Force base during a seven month training program in 2005 and 2006. All of the students were participating in a vocational training program for at-risk high school students.
Some studies show that children are more susceptible to asbestos disease than adults for a variety of factors. Additionally, asbestos, once inhaled by children, has many more years to reside in the body and thus increase the chance that an asbestos-related malignancy will develop. Asbestos diseases take 30 to 50 years to develop from the time of exposure.
Tags: asbestos lawyer dallas, asbestos removal, childhood asbestos exposure, illegal asbestos, lung cancer lawyer dallas, mesothelioma lawyer texas
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Thursday, May 20th, 2010
Marco Island, Florida may face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for improperly handling asbestos over a period of several years.
The Environmental Protection Agency says the city crushed up and buried more than 260 feet of pipe containing asbestos material during the construction of Collier Boulevard. City officials claim that there was no indication of the amount of asbestos present in the buried pipe material, and that there were no regulatory requirements that applied to the asbestos removal at the time.
The EPA states some of that material may still be buried under Veteran’s Park and it now wants to charge the city and Quality Enterprise up to $37,500 per day of violation.
An open investigation is being conducted. Meanwhile, leaders from Marco Island and Quality Enterprises flew to Atlanta on Tuesday to attempt to negotiate a reduced fine from the EPA. Negotiations will continue during the investigation.
For more information on this story go to Marco News
Tags: asbestos removal, dallas asbestos lawyer, EPA asbestos fine, mesothelioma lawyers, texas asbestos lawyer
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Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Popular for the iconic “rebel” persona he portrayed in such movies as “The Great Escape” and “The Magnificent Seven,” actor Steve McQueen is also widely known for his struggle and death from the asbestos related disease, malignant mesothelioma. When McQueen was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1979 he was told there was no cure so he went to Mexico for alternative treatments. After a fighting the cancer with alternative surgery, McQueen passed away in 1980.
McQueen was likely exposed to asbestos while serving in the United States Marines. Exposure to asbestos aboard U.S. Navy vessels was common for servicemen – particularly those who served in the engineering spaces below deck.
Ironically, in the 1966 movie The Sand Pebbles, Steve McQueen portrays a machinist mate working in the engine room of a 1920s U.S. Navy gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River. A machinist mate is a rating in the US Navy for servicemen assigned to operate, maintain and repair the ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary equipment, and outside machinery such as: boilers, engines, turbines, pumps and engine room auxiliary equipment. During the steam era of US Navy vessels (early 20th century through the 1980s), this meant the machinist mates were exposed to asbestos containing materials that insulated the exterior of or served as internal components to the steam power equipment aboard ship.
McQueen, in his role as Machinist Mate 1st Class Jake Holman in Sand Pebbles, spends a major part of the film in the engine space of the USS San Pablo (a fictional name for a US gun boat), performing engine repair work including an engine shut down and overhaul. The engine and engine-room set used in the movie were actually located on a Hollywood studio lot in Burbank and not on the San Pablo. The original engine is currently on display aboard the SS Lane Victory, Pier 94, San Pedro, CA.
It is a sad irony that the role portrayed by Steve McQueen, which garnered him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination, was that of a Machinist Mate – one of the positions in the US Navy most likely to have significant asbestos exposure aboard ship.
McQueen’s widow, Barbara McQueen, published a book about the 3 ½ years they spent together before his death from mesothelioma in 1980. “Steve McQueen: The Last Mile” by Barbara McQueen with Marshall Terrill (Dalton Watson Fine Books, 2007) documents their life together. Barbara McQueen also is an advocate for asbestos victims and asbestos cancer research and prevention.
Tags: asbestos cancer, asbestos lawyers dallas, asbestos lawyers pennsylvania, asbestos lawyers texas, asbestos navy ships, cancer lawyers dallas, machinist mate, steve mcqueen
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Researchers at Columbia University report that changes in the size of tumors in patients with mesothelioma who have undergone chemotherapy may be useful in predicting their response to treatment and survival. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer of the lining of the lung associated with exposure to asbestos.
