In Australia in 1994, Stephen Wickham bought a house and like most home buyers, he carried out a number of renovations, including the demolition of an old corrugated fibro shed and the replacement of a section of fence made from the same material.

Stephen knew of the dangers of asbestos, but as he had only recently moved to Australia from England he had no idea that fibro made in Australia before the mid-1980s contained asbestos.

Nineteen years later, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a fatal cancer caused by asbestos.

Stephen Wickham argued in court that the manufacturers of the fibro, James Hardie, should have warned home renovators about the dangers of the asbestos it was made from. In a landmark legal case he highlighted that the company had the money to run a campaign, providing documents showing money was spent flying VIPs in private jets to events, but they chose not to.

The annual number of deaths from asbestos diseases in Australia is now higher than the numbers killed on the roads.

During two days of hearings, James Hardie’s former chairman admitted that not only had they not run a public awareness campaign but that he thought the dangers of asbestos were exaggerated by the media.

The case went on to settle for a confidential amount.

Anyone renovating a home should always check for and be aware of the dangers of exposure to asbestos.

If you have been exposed to asbestos, and have developed an asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately. Or contact us online for a free consultation.

Thoracic nurse Lisa Hyde-Barrett has offered suggestions to mesothelioma patients as to how to  mentally prepare for their surgery. She believes that good mental preparation leads to faster recovery and linking that to good physical shape and being knowledgeable about the procedure can also help ease stress and lead to a better recovery.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer normally caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Although there is no known cure for the disease, several patients undergo surgery to extend survival and ease symptoms.

There are several different surgical options, some of which involve removing the affected lung.

Medical professionals at the Cleveland Clinic have said that whilst recovery can be long, different actions prior to surgery can help improve recovery. One of these is to eat a better diet with more fruit and vegetables in the weeks up to surgery, which should aid you to be able to walk more quickly afterwards. You should quit any bad habits such as smoking, drinking or using mood altering substances as these can affect the anesthetic.

You should talk to your surgeon and ensure you fully understand the procedure, and its risks and benefits which will help overcome anxiety and thus stress levels.

If you have been exposed to asbestos, and have developed an asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately. Or contact us online for a free consultation.

There was bad news for mesothelioma suffers when anew study from the University of Western Australia discovered that statin drugs did not appear to help in the fight against malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Statins are drugs that are usually used to lower high cholesterol by blocking a substance the body needs to make cholesterol. They had been found to induce the death of mesothelioma cells and evidence has suggested that people on statins have a lower incidence of cancer.

Therefore, researchers at Australia’s National Center for Asbestos Related Diseases thought that statin drugs might be used to delay the progress of mesothelioma in patients who have it, and possibly even prevent the development of the disease in those who had been exposed to asbestos.

However their research showed that there was no connection between statin use and lower mesothelioma incidence or longer survival rates and the authors concluded that statins had no effect on the development of the disease.

It can take 10 to 50 years for mesothelioma symptoms to develop following exposure to asbestos and researchers are constantly searching for something which can delay or stop the development of the disease before it takes hold.  Once symptoms develop, most patients do not survive for more than a year.

If you have been exposed to asbestos, and have developed an asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately. Or contact us online for a free consultation.

Scientists working at the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Shandong University Hospital in China have discovered a protein, which makes up about 60% of protein mass in blood plasma can be used as a indicator in people on chemotherapy, for malignant pleural mesothelioma to determine their prognosis.

Serum albumin, which makes up about 60% of the protein mass in blood plasma, is a globular protein whose main function is to carry steroids, fatty acids and thyroid hormones in the blood.

The study focused on 97 mesothelioma patients treated at the Shandong University Hospital between 1995 and 2013.

The researchers found that 34 of the 97 mesothelioma patients studied (35.1%) had or abnormally low albumin levels prior to treatment. But significantly, after they started treatment, the one-year overall survival rate for the mesothelioma patients with low albumin was just 44.1% whereas patients with normal albumin levels had a one year survival rate of 72%.

The study, led by Dr. Zhou-Hong Yao, was published in Tumor Biology and found that the odds of dying from mesothelioma decreased by 9.8% for each 1 g/l decrease in albumin. Th

The test is both easy and inexpensive and has the potential to help simplify the process of predicting treatment response.

If you have been exposed to asbestos, and have developed an asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately. Or contact us online for a free consultation.

Mesothelioma is a daunting illness for both patients and their families and a challenging disease for physicians, researchers and scientists who are constantly striving to find a cure and new methods of treating the disease.

Although the new treatments are still in the early stages, some have now reached the time for human clinical trials which offers hope to mesothelioma patients and their families, together with the knowledge that they may be helping to find a possible cure for this disease.

One of the most effective forms of treatment appears to be the combination of available treatments to maximize their overall impact. It is true that surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have all proven to be effective on their own, but using them together has delivered promising results.

One brand new type of scientific approach is gene therapy, in which new genes are added to mesothelioma cells in the hope that they will weaken the cells to such a degree, that they die. One study actually used viruses to seek out the mesothelioma cells. One discovered, they inject them with an infection that causes the cells to shrink or die.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that usually occurs in people who have been exposed to asbestos. It is highly resistant to the usual cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, and is responsible for the deaths of around 2,500 people in the U.S. every year.

However, researchers at the National Cancer Institute have found a way to significantly increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy on patients with mesothelioma.

They have discovered an immunotoxin called SS1P which will selectively target cells looking for a protein called mesothelin, of which there is more in mesothelioma cells.

Studies have looked at SS1P treatment before, which appeared promising but this study looked at it in combination with the most popular mesothelioma chemotherapy drugs. Of those patients who received the maximum dose, 77% experienced some reduction in the size of their tumors.

In addition there were few side effects.

Now that the dosing levels have been established, the study will be rolled out to a larger group of patients with mesothelioma.

How to Safely Remove Asbestos Tile

Asbestos is labeled as a hazardous material and is most commonly used in insulation, roof tiles and ceiling tiles.

When it comes to removing it safely, you have to call in the experts, as in most states you need to be licensed. In order to get a license you have to go to classes and take courses on how to remove asbestos safely so the best thing to do is find your local licensed asbestos removal expert.

According to construction foreman, Joshua Clement, when you remove asbestos it will create a lot of dust and you have to contain this dust to prevent it getting into your lungs and eyes.

You should either wrap the entire house, or if it is an inside job, such as ceiling tiles, you need to use and efficient filtration system. You will also need to ensure that you are using a respiration system.

For those who are buying an older house you should ensure you have a survey to see if the home contains asbestos before investing

As can be seen from the video above, asbestos is extremely toxic. Great precaution must be taken when coming into contact with the substance, due to the danger it poses.  If you have been exposed to asbestos, and have developed an asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately. Or contact us online for a free consultation.