Minnesota’s Mesothelioma March

   With the health care system in disarray… maybe we should all consider prevention as a method to sustain longevity. Prevention is key  and that is  no more evident in the State of  Minnesota.  With  the Iron Range territory produces three hundred percent more Mesothelioma cases than the rest of  Minnesota. And within Fridley, Minnesota being a Erin Brockovich cancer cluster it’s important to have the  facts concerning cancer prevention.

   Generally,  Minnesota  has  probably  some  of  the  better  cancer  rates      in  the United States. While the State,  also  has more people getting cancer screened than most States (60% versus the national average of 50%). While providing some really informative internet websites  for cancer awareness, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota provide State of the Art Treatment  (Surgery  for Mesothelioma  After Radiation Therapy-SMART approaches.)

  Therefore,  with the outlook  for patients with Mesothelioma having often  been quite dire, when the lungs are impacted the disease is known as (MPM)Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. With also the most common subtype of the disease, epithelial mesothelioma,  which is slow growing and more treatable form  affecting  about 70 %  of  patients.  While sarcomatoid mesothelioma is the most aggressive type  and  another  form  “biphasic”  is a mix type of  the disease .

   Researchers,  in  a recent study  has  found giving mesothelioma patients radiation therapy  before surgery  can extend life expectancy. Dr.  John Cho and Dr. Marc de Perrot, has led a study at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in  the  University  Health  Network  in Toronto,  Canada.  While  evaluating the effectiveness of a special approach:  SMART (Surgery  for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy.)

     Dr. Cho  and  a team recruited  25 mesothelioma patients  for  his  study. All of  the participants  were treated  with  a special type of  radiation called, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy  (IMRT).  Which conforms radiation around the tumor, sparing healthy nearby tissue and with the most common IMRT – related  side effects  being  fatigue,  nausea  and inflamed esophagus. At  three  years,  the  cumulative  survival  reached  84 percent  and disease – free survival of  65 percent in patients with epithelial histologic subtype.

   Study  co – author Dr.  Marc de Perrot, M.D.,  professor of  surgery at the University  of  Toronto  and  Head  of  the  Toronto  Mesothelioma  Research Program  said in research.  The SMART approach,  not only,  shortened time  of treatment,  but also,  blocked the cancer’s ability to spread and seed itself elsewhere  in the body  during surgery.  These research results offer hope to mesothelioma patients  who  have been told  all to often  that they have only six months to live.     http://mesotheliomalung7.reachlocal.net/

By  the  early  1900s,  medical  scientists  and researchers had uncovered  “persuasive          evidence  of  the  health hazards associated  with asbestos.”  Manufacturers  and insurers knew this, and even as evidence mounted they continued to hide these findings and deny   responsibility. Tens of  millions of American workers have now been exposed to asbestos; more than 27 million people were  occupationally exposed between 1940 and 1979.

Millions of those exposed have fallen ill,  or  will  fall  ill  in the future;  many have died        and many more will die as a result of their exposure. The most serious asbestos – related disease is mesothelioma, a virulent cancer of the lining of the lungs that can be caused by even a short period of  exposure, and is inevitably painfully fatal, often within months of      diagnosis.

The Asbestos Cancer Victims’ Rights Campaign  established  to  bring  awareness  to           the legislation called,  The FACT Act, or The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency          Act.  The legislation designed:  to make it more difficult for asbestos victims,  including those with mesothelioma and other cancers,  receive compensation for injuries through asbestos trusts and the court system.

As it stands,  asbestos victims  rarely receive anything close to adequate compensation.   The goal of the FACT Act,  under the guise of transparency,  is  designed  to  reduce  this compensation even more.  Our goal as an organization is to gain opposition to the FACT Act and support victims of asbestos. While living with mesothelioma or another asbestos    related disease. Please consider signing our petition in opposition to this anti-victim bill.

A video we’ve produced you can use if you’d like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeJVH3AEqjM

More  background on my involvement: http://cancervictimsrights.org/memories-that-inspire-my-story-of-hope/
Warmly,

Sue Vento

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_DZ0gquqRY

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