According to three new studies presented at the American Association for Cancer Research conference in Philadelphia, one of the brand new cancer immunotherapy drugs, Keytruda, manufactured by Merck & Company is working well for patients with mesothelioma, which is a rare but difficult to treat cancer caused by asbestos exposure that mainly affects the lungs.

In a study of 25 patients with mesothelioma who had not been helped by chemotherapy, for whom there are normally no further treatment options, they were treated with Keytruda for an average of 5 ½ months. Of those patients, 76 percent were helped with 28 percent having tumors shrink and in 48 percent the tumors stopped growing. Ten patients were still taking the drug and two had not yet been assessed.

Normally, of those who do not respond to chemotherapy the first time, only 10 percent usually respond to another type and therefore the results are seen to be very encouraging.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

The mother of Lyubomir R. is in Serbia suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma, and he is hoping that cannabis oil will provide a miracle, but it will not be easy for him to obtain it.

Cannabis oil is a highly concentrated liquid extracted from marijuana plants. Its use as an alternative treatment with properties to fight cancer and tumors has been growing although the established medical community is not convinced and there are several legal issues.

Although medical marijuana is legal in 23 states and Washington, D.C., and has been shown to provide relief from symptoms to those with cancer and other conditions there has not been a great deal of research although it is beginning to grow. But the lack of scientific evidence to support claims is still making many medical professionals suspicious.

Lyubomir’s mother, aged 74, decided against chemotherapy and her son, who lives and works in San Francisco managed to obtain some cannabis oil for her as it is legally available where he lives. He smuggled in into Serbia where she responded well to it initially. She believes that it will work, but he worries about finding her the oil, the dosage levels and the legality of getting it to her.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

According to new research, it is possible that there might be a new way to determine if someone has malignant pleural mesothelioma.

At present in order to diagnose mesothelioma, doctors have to take a sample of the actual tumor cells which involves either open or laparoscopic surgery. However, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh say that it is possible that simply analyzing cells in the fluid surrounding the lungs may be as effective and is far less invasive as the test only needs a needle to be inserted to obtain some of the fluid.

To check to see if they were correct they took fluid from 34 people who they knew had mesothelioma and used an image analysis technique to see if they came up with the same diagnosis. Their new system was indeed 100% accurate.

This new method of diagnosis may totally change the traditional and more invasive way of diagnosing mesothelioma.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

When mesothelioma patients are having chemotherapy treatment they are often given vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements to combat a dangerous drop in the white blood cells which can leave them vulnerable to infection. The condition is called neutropenia.

However, researchers at the Royal Marsden Hospital in the United Kingdom took a random group of 83 patients with mesothelioma and undergoing chemotherapy and did not give them the vitamin supplement.

They discovered that there was no difference at all between those on the supplement and those who were not given them and that the cases of neutropenia showed no difference between the two groups. There was also no difference in the survival rates between the two groups either.

They concluded that the addition of vitamin B12 and folic acid to the treatment of mesothelioma patients undergoing chemotherapy did not improve the toxicity of the treatment, the quality of life nor the overall survival but more testing is needed to improve the success of giving supplements during treatment of the disease.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Surgeons are slowly changing the method of operating on mesothelioma patients.

There are two key procedures used by surgeons to remove pleural mesothelioma tumors in the hope of prolonging the life of those with the disease. One removes the lung lining and is called a pleurectomy/decortication (P/D), and the other removes the entire lung, known as a extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP).

Surgeons are now debating as to which is more effective, with those in favor of P/D saying that the patients recover faster and there are less complications and those in favor of EPP saying that with that surgery there is less chance that the mesothelioma will return.

Long term studies show that P/D results in fewer patient deaths in the short term, up to 2.5 times less and therefore could be the better option. However each of the surgeries has their pros and cons and it is up to each patient to discuss which might be best for them with their surgeon.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

New research carried out by doctors in Japan and Norway has discovered that the key ingredient in vinegar might eventually be used to help fight deadly malignant mesothelioma.

Acetic acid is what gives vinegar its pungent smell and distinctive sour taste and it makes up between 3% and 5% of vinegar; the rest of the product is water. Acetic acid is also used to make cellulose acetate for photographic film and polyvinyl acetate for wood glue, as well as some synthetic fibers and fabrics.

Researchers with the Kyoto GI Disease Research Center and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology carried out experiments adding acetic acid to various cancer cells including pleural mesothelioma for different lengths of time and using different doses. When they analyzed the results they found that the acid had a damaging effect on all of the cells, but was especially lethal to the mesothelioma cells. In fact, at a strength of 0.5% for 10 minutes the mesothelioma cells were almost completely dead.

The researchers thus concluded that acetic acid, if applied directly to tumors, may be a feasible approach to some cancers.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer, usually triggered from asbestos exposure, which is extremely difficult to treat. Scientists are always looking for new, innovative and effective treatments and now a research team from the National Cancer Institute has discovered that there is a compound in some vegetables, known as PEITC, which might have interesting benefits for those suffering from pleural mesothelioma.

PEITC is found in cruciferous vegetables, which are a family of plants full of nutrients. They include Arugula, Bok choy, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Collard greens, Kale, Watercress and Radishes.

In addition a team of French researchers have also found that combining PEITC with the chemotherapy drug, cisplatin is a more effective way of killing mesothelioma cells than chemotherapy used alone. In addition the combination seems to have fewer side effects than standard chemotherapy.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.