New test yeilds accurate mesothelioma diagnosis

A recent test has been conducted to find a more accurate way to diagnose mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers, which have been used in construction, mining and other industries. It is extremely difficult to diagnose and, often, is undiagnosed until it is too late for effective treatment.

Mesothelioma is usually found by looking for cancerous cells in the fluid around the lungs. This method is called cytology. But cytology is not very sensitive and doctors have a hard time telling mesothelioma apart from other cancers. Now, researchers in Britain are trying out a new test. The new test measures the amount of the protein mesothelin in the fluid surrounding the lungs.

To date, the new method has been tested on 167 patients. Of those, 24 patients had mesothelioma, 67 had metastatic cancer, and 75 had benign effusions. The mesothelin levels were measured in each patient. The patients with mesothelioma had an average level of 40.3 nM compared to 6.1 nM for patients with metastatic cancer and 3.7 nM for patients with benign conditions.

The researchers say that this new test should be given along with cytology to get the best results. The new test uses the same fluid samples that are used in cytology. The test could easily be added to current testing programs and would greatly benefit the patients since they would be diagnosed earlier and more accurately.

Ceiling Textures Could Contain Asbestos

Many misconceptions exist about asbestos fibers. For example, many people believe that asbestos has been banned from the manufacture of all products in this country. But in fact, some products still use asbestos.

Some materials that use asbestos still today include roofing mastics and flooring materials. Also, some brake linings in vehicles still use asbestos.

Another misconception about asbestos fibers is the belief that asbestos in ceiling textures was banned during the 1970s. Although a ban was put into affect in 1978, instillation of the asbestos textures remained legal since banning it would have meant major financial losses for manufacturers. So, the installation of the ceilings continued into the 1980s until the supply ran out.

If you or someone you know is trying to remove older ceilings such as “popcorn” ceilings, you should have the ceilings inspected for asbestos. If you remove the ceilings and there was asbestos present, then the asbestos is released into the air where anyone can inhale it. There is no way of knowing whether you inhaled asbestos fibers or not. In fact, many people inhale small amounts of asbestos fibers without knowing it. Since the amount is small, the chances of forming mesothelioma are slim.

However, there is no “safe” level of asbestos exposure. Any exposure could lead to asbestosis or mesothelioma and that diagnosis might not come for decades.

Asbestos fibers are microscopic and cannot be seen by the human eye. It should never be assumed that a ceiling does not have asbestos fibers until tests are run. The cost to have lab tests done is very reasonable and should be conducted by anyone who is removing older ceilings.

Former Employee Suing Shipyard

David Armistead worked for BAE Land Systems’ Barrow Shipyard beginning in 1965. He has now filed a lawsuit asking for compensation of $500,000 claiming that he contracted mesothelioma while working for the company.

He also said that the company did not provide any protective clothing nor did they educate him about the health dangers related to the asbestos.

Asbestos exposure can lead to several nasty side effects including asbestosis, scarring of the lungs, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

The Barrow Shipyard covers about 169 acres and excels in the designing, building, testing, and commissioning of large vessels and submarines. It is an honorable institute and is credited with providing the first submarine to the United Kingdom.

Armistead started for the shipyard as an engineer working in the machine and engine shops. He says that the roofs and walls both contained a great amount of asbestos. He later transferred to the construction site of submarines where he applied asbestos covering layers to submarines.

Family Suing DuPont

A family is suing DuPont for causing the death of a man who worked for the company. Albert Abshire’s wife and son are claiming that the company is responsible for the death because he was exposed to asbestos and the firm did nothing to protect their employees while they were working with the deadly chemical.

The exposure to asbestos led to Abshire contracting mesothelioma and dying from the disease. The complaint says that the death was a “terrible and painful one.” The family is seeking damages by compensation as well as any legal costs involved with the action.

The complaint claimed that the company did not warn their employees about the dangers of asbestos exposure. Asbestos exposure usually leads to deathly diseases such as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer and it cannot be cured.

W.R. Grace to clean up asbestos in Massachusetts

Another W.R. Grace Asbestos cleanup is taking place in the small city of Easthampton, Massachusetts.

The plant ran from 1949 to 1989. It is reported that the plant received 258,000 tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore from Libby, Montana.

The Easthampton plant manufactured Grace’s Zonolite attic insulation. There is not a set time frame for the project yet. $750,000 has been approved for the project. The soil in under a 1000-foot section of land and is 6 to 12 inches below the surface.

W.R. Grace is a global supplier of specialty chemicals. The company went bankrupt in 2001 when they got hit with several asbestos-related claims. The company agreed to pay $34 million for cleanup costs at 32 different sites in 18 states across the country.

Asbestos exposure has been linked to several forms of cancer, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma cancer is particularly pernicious because it can take 20 years or more for symptoms to appear. This makes it difficult to diagnose and, in fact, a diagnosis is usually a death sentence.

W.R. Grace had another plant in Libby, Montana from 1963 until 1990. It shipped many tons of asbestos-laced vermiculite around the world. It is estimated that around 70 percent of the world’s insulation, fireproofing, and gardening products used vermiculite that came from Libby. But residents of the Libby area are in an epidemic of asbestos-related diseases and the residents have been dying of asbestosis at a rate 40 to 80 times normal.

New mesothelioma clinical trial

A Phase III clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of talc pleurodesis to an invasive surgical procedure called video-assisted thorascopic (VAT) cytoreductive pleurectomy in mesothelioma patients is being put into effect by researchers at Papworth Hospital and several other medical facilities in Great Britian.

This phase of the study is designed to determine if either technique is associated with higher one-year survival rates, and is also designed to determine if either technique offers better control of a condition that causes a build-up of fluid around the lungs called pleural effusion.

Both techniques are used in mesothelioma treatment and are designed to target the pleura, the membrane or sac which surrounds the lungs. In mesothelioma patients, fluid collects in this pleural area and affects normal breathing. Through talc pleurodesis, the surgeon injects talc between the two layers of the pleura. This irritates them and causes them to adhere to each other, which closes the space where fluid builds up.

In contrast, cytroductive pleurectomy involves the partial or complete removal of the pleural membrane using a surgical technique. This procedure can be performed through an open chest incision or by using the VAT technique.

The VAT technique is a minimally invasive procedure that uses small incisions to access the chest cavity, which allows the insertion of tiny cameras as well as surgical instruments. Through this procedure, surgeons are able to both view the chest cavity and perform certain surgical procedures through these tiny incisions. These tiny incisions lead to fewer side effects and less downtime than traditional “open” procedures.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that afflicts the lining of the heart, lungs and stomach. Because it is so difficult to diagnose, and because it has a latency period measured in decades, the diagnosis of mesothelioma is usually a death sentence.

Mesothelioma killed Navy Veteran

Gerald Gray died in April of 2009 from mesothelioma. He contracted the disease after inhaling asbestos fibers on naval ships for many years. His family has recently been awarded over $1 million in damages.

Gray joined the Navy in 1951 and served for 20 years until he retired in 1971. During those 20 years, he worked on many ships and rose to command master chief for the Atlantic fleet, which is the second highest enlisted rank in the Navy.

Asbestos was used extensively on submarines and ships on parts such as gaskets, seals, pumps, and other boiler room applications. Asbestos was found to have extreme ability to resist heat, fire, salt water, and other biological processes. Not only was it used by the military on vessels, but also in shore-based buildings like barracks and offices. Many veterans who served between World War II and into the 1980s have contracted mesothelioma from the exposure to so much asbestos.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that very difficult to diagnose. It often takes 20 years or longer for mesothelioma cancer symptoms to appear and by then, it is too late for successful treatment. This is the heart break of asbestos exposure.

Four of the five initial defendants settled out of court. But the jury was not told of the out-of-court settlements and was allowed to assign a percentage of blame to each of the parties. John Crane Inc., which manufactures gaskets and other parts used on the vessels, was assigned 30 percent of the blame, which totaled about $1.2 million.