Mesothelioma Law Blog

Mesothelioma Takes the Life of Michigan Teacher

Joe Hoffer of Holland, Michigan passed away after battling mesothelioma. He was 61. Hoffer passed away on Monday, and his passing is being mourned by members of the educational community, former students, and his family. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Lugers Hoffer; three children, Jennifer, Katie, and Michael, and three grandchildren. Hoffer was a former board president for Holland Public Schools and the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District.

Hoffer is remembered as an educator who was passionate about helping students who struggled in school. OAISD Superintendent Karen McPhee remembers: "Joe always demonstrated a special place in his heart for students who struggled and students who needed some alternatives to how they were going to find success," McPhee said. "Joe was one of the good guys who cared deeply about people, personally and professionally. His soft spot was for students who, for whatever reason, needed non-traditional ways to earn a diploma, which he believed were so important."

More.

Newest Mesothelioma Study Showing Promise

According to a recently published study in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, using treatment planning techniques such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) could be beneficial for malignant pleural mesothelioma patients.

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure. The majority of cases take at least 20 years to occur after the initial exposure to asbestos and most patients are unaware of the development of the disease. If the disease is caught early enough, multiple forms of treatment can be used to combat the cancer, known as multimodality therapy.

A multimodality therapy approach involving a surgical procedure called an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), chemotherapy and radiotherapy is often recommended for patients diagnosed during the early stages of pleural mesothelioma. However, planning radiotherapy treatment after EPP can be complicated due to the large target area, the high doses required to prevent recurrence and the proximity of vital organs and other important structures.

V. Gupta and colleagues analyzed the local and nodal (lymph nodes) recurrence in patients treated with EPP and radiotherapy to determine whether IMRT could be used as a treatment method.

The study consisted of 86 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who had undergone radiotherapy and an EPP. The radiotherapy technique included a combination of photons and electrons to maximize the dosage to the targeted area.

The results of the study revealed that only 10 percent of patients developed late grade three pulmonary toxicity and no patients passed away.  V. Gupta and colleagues concluded, “IMRT’s advantages must be balanced against the increased risk of fatal pulmonary toxicity.”

Source

Report: Australian Mesothelioma Deaths To Continue Rising

A new Australian government report predicts that incidence of mesothelioma in that country will keep rising until at least 2017. The report by Safe Work Australia, which develops national policy on occupational health and safety issues, said the number of new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed annually in the nation down under has been rising dramatically since 1982, when national data first became available.

The number of new cases increased from 156 in 1982 to 597 in 2005, the report said.

Automobile Factory Workers Face an Increased Probability for Cancer

n Detroit and elsewhere, the high rate of cancer and other deadly illnesses in America's auto factory workers continues to be a growing concern.

A link between auto workers and cancer began gaining attention in the 1970s. During this time, asbestos-related cancers such as mesothelioma began cropping up in an unusual number of industry employees. The cause, as it turns out, is the extended amount of time that auto employees spent working around asbestos-laden brake pads and clutch plates.

Though asbestos regulation enacted in the 1970s and beyond have significantly limited the amount of asbestos exposure current auto workers are exposed to, the number of new mesothelioma cases continues to rise. This is because mesothelioma has a latency period of between 20 and 50 years. As such, retired auto workers who worked in plants prior to the 1980s are only now experiencing the deadly side effects of working among such hazardous materials.

Though asbestos is now regulated, it is not the only hazardous material found in our nation's auto factories. Hazards that are as old as the auto industry itself include paint vapors and solvents, welding fumes, foundry chemicals, die cast components and carcinogens released during patternmaking.

Since the 1980s, a number of studies have been released that correlate the above list of hazards to a growing number of potentially fatal illnesses. For auto workers specifically, the facts can most easily be summed up by a 1994 study titled "Cancer in the Auto Industry." In the study, the author lists a number of illnesses that can be linked to specific jobs in auto factories. These correlations include:

• Assembly plant workers: Hodgkin's Disease and lung, lymphoma, stomach, pancreas and trachea cancer
• Ball bearing production: pancreas and stomach cancers
• Die casting & electro-plating: lympho-reticulo sarcomas and stomach cancers
• Engine plants: liver and bladder conditions
• Engine and foundry plants: stomach and prostrate cancers
• Maintenance: pancreatic cancer
• Mechanics/Repairmen: stomach, bladder, lymphopoietic and lung cancers
• Millwrights: rectum and lung cancers
• Patternmakers: colon, brain, colorectal and stomach cancers
• Spray Painters: colon cancer
• Tool and die makers: digestive and lymphopoetic cancers
• Welders: lung, pancreas and stomach cancers

Source: Energy Publisher

The Law and Mesothelioma

Asbestos has had a long and controversial legal history behind it. Repeatedly it has come into conflict with the law because of the deadly effects it has had and continues to have on human beings. Since asbestos is used as an industrial product, thousands of industrial workers have had their lives destroyed due to sustained exposure to this mineral. Not only industrial workers, but even their families have been and continue to be at risk. The worst thing is, owners of such industrial companies have willingly jeopardized the lives of their employees in the bid for more profit.