Mesothelioma

On Dec. 31, the online celebrity news source, TMZ, revealed that football and television star Merlin Olsen has filed a lawsuit against a number of companies, claiming they are responsible for exposing him to asbestos, resulting in his recent diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. Companies named in the suit are Sherwin Williams and Lennox Industries, whose products Olsen says he was exposed to during jobs in his youth, but also NBC Studios, NBC Universal, and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. It is unclear from the lawsuit how the television and movie companies contributed to Olsen’s asbestos exposure.

Olsen was a professional football player for the Los Angeles Rams team, and later had a successful career as a sportscaster and actor, most notably on shows “Little House on the Prairie” and “Father Murphy.”

According to the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the defendants “were engaged in the business of manufacturing, fabricating, designing, assembling, distributing, leasing, buying, selling, inspecting, servicing, installing, repairing, marketing, warranting and advertising a certain substance the generic name of which is asbestos.”

News reports say Olsen, with wife Susan by his side, is fighting his mesothelioma and currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Read the complaint.

Tags: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, asbestos, lawsuit, Lennox Industries, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Los Angeles Rams, Merlin Olsen, mesothelioma, NBC Studios, NBC Universal, Sherwin Williams

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 9:11 am and is filed under News, People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

A story on the Cold Truth web site published Oct. 21 reported on a recent meeting of the Manhattan Beach, Calif., City Council, during which it passed a resolution to ask the State of California to find a new “official state rock.” The state’s current stone is serpentine, which usually contains asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes the deadly cancer mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, stomach and/or heart, as well as other deadly diseases including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs.

Cold Truth is an original investigative journalism reporting site created by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Andrew Schneider, who broke the story of the asbestos poisoning of Libby, Montana, among others. According to his report, serpentine was chosen as the state rock of California in 1965, “in order to promote the then-lucrative asbestos mining industry.”

The proposal to ask California’s government to change the official state rock was presented and supported by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which is headquartered in California. The organization has dubbed the effort the “Drop the Rock” Campaign, and urges statewide action while building awareness about cancer-causing asbestos.

According to a news release from ADAO dated Oct. 21, Resolution 6223 is “Urging the State Legislature to repeal the designation of serpentine, the host of asbestos, as the official state rock, in support of world eradication of asbestos for public health as urged by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.”

The resolution from Manhattan Beach represents the first official request to the California legislature to remove the rock. ADAO notes that Chrysotile asbestos, which is often found in serpentine, causes cancers and respiratory diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

“California has the dubious distinction of being the state with the highest recorded number of asbestos-related deaths and the death toll will continue until the United States Congress passes legislation banning asbestos,” said ADAO Executive Director and Co-Founder Linda Reinstein in the news release. “We have a strategic plan in place and look forward to working with asbestos victims and their families, the John McNamara Foundation, the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute, and political leaders as we move throughout California to repeal serpentine as the state rock.”

The ADAO news release quotes Manhattan Beach Mayor Portia Cohen as saying, “It is unthinkable to have Serpentine as the State Rock of California when more than 7,000 people in our state alone have died from asbestos since 2007.”

Read Resolution 6223.

Tags: ADAO, asbestos, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, asbestosis, California, Drop the Rock Campaign, Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma, Montana, serpentine

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 8:38 am and is filed under Events, News, Organizations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

A recent report on WDIO-DT and WIRT-DT ABC stations 10 and 13 says approximately 1,000 Iron Range miners and their families have been screened as part of an ongoing study into the link between taconite mining and mesothelioma. The study is being directed by the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health, and funded by the Minnesota State Legislature, which allocated $4.9 million to the project in April 2008.

An investigation into the link between taconite mining – which takes place in what is known as Minnesota’s Iron Range – began when state health officials noted an unusually high incidence of mesothelioma occurring in taconite mine workers. Mesothelioma is traditionally linked only to asbestos exposure. There is a theory that the taconite mineral may contain similar fibers to asbestos mineral.

Researchers began screening workers and their immediate family members in July. According to the news report, researchers say the study is on track. They would like to see about another 1,000 people, however. Analysis of the respiratory is estimated to take another 18 months.

This screening is one part of the comprehensive five-year study. There are four health studies associated with the project, including a mortality study under the direction of the Minnesota Department of Health and related to miner deaths; a cancer rate incidence study; a respiratory health assessment for miners or former miners (and expanded to include spouses or other close family that may have had secondary exposure to taconite dust), and an occupational exposure study.

Tags: asbestos, iron range, mesothelioma, Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Health, taconite, University of Minnesota

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 5:03 pm and is filed under News, Research/Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Health officials in South Korea are recording significant increases in asbestos-related diseases among the country’s population, including asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. According to a report by TIME Magazine, the number of mesothelioma diagnoses increased from just 12 in 2001, to 55 new cases in 2007, the most recent year that data is available. It is, “in public health terms, a notable increase,” TIME quotes Paek Dom-yung, an occupational medicine professor at Seoul National University.

While South Korea enjoyed a boom in urban development from the 1960s through the 1980s, it is becoming evident the country’s lax rules on asbestos regulation may have exposed millions of people to health hazards. According to the TIME report, Seoul did not place a full ban on asbestos manufacturing, import and use until last year. It also had no regulations in place for the safe removal of existing asbestos during demolition and remodeling projects.

Now, trade and labor unions in South Korea are calling for the government to take responsibility for workers it knowingly exposed to deadly asbestos, and who are now suffering as a result.

Due to the long latency period between exposure and the development of mesothelioma or other asbestos diseases – which can be as long as 20-50 years – South Korean health officials are bracing for a future epidemic. It is predicted that the incidence of mesothelioma diagnoses in the region will not peak until around 2030.

Tags: asbestos, asbestosis, latency, lung cancer, mesothelioma, Paek Dom-yung, Seoul, South Korea

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Events, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Reuters news service reported on Friday that W.R. Grace & Co. stock value jumped 36 percent following the company’s aquittal on criminal charges. The company, along with seven of its executives, had been on trial since Feb. 19 in the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana.

A federal grand jury charged the company and executives in February 2005 with knowingly exposing workers at its vermiculite asbestos mine, and residents of the nearby town of Libby, Montana, to deadly asbestos fibers. A June 2008 Supreme Court decision upheld the grand jury’s findings and allowed the case to proceed to trial.

However, on Friday, May 8, a jury aquitted the company and five of the executives of all criminal charges. Two company executives had already been dismissed during the trial proceedings.

Asbestos exposure is linked to serious health problems, including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and, more rarely the stomach and/or heart. Studies of former W.R. Grace & Co. miners, and residents of nearby Libby, have indicated that 227 people have died to date from asbestos disease, and there are more than 1,800 active cases of asbestos disease. Of that number, 77 deaths are attributed to secondary, non-occupational exposure, affecting people who never worked in the mine.

W.R. Grace & Co. is based in Columbia, Maryland, and is worth $945 million, according to the Reuters report. The news agency reports the stock value has now doubled in 2009, at $13.06 per share, after a four-year low of $2.96 in November.

Tags: asbestos, asbestosis, Libby, Maryland, mesothelioma, Montana, W.R. Grace & Co.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 8:10 am and is filed under Events, Legal, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

University of Minnesota researchers made a call in mid-September for more participants in its study of a possible link between Iron Range taconite mines and mesothelioma. The five-year reserach program received $4.9 million in funding from the Minnesota state legislature in April 2008, and is being directed by the university in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health.

The study was conceived as a result of an unusually high incidence of mesothelioma in taconite mine workers. Mesothelioma is currently linked exclusively to asbestos exposure. To day, more than 58 Iron Range mine workers have been diagnosed with mesothelioma.

In July, researchers began health screenings of former taconite workers and their families. To date, a little more than 100 people have participated in the screenings, although reserachers hope to examine around 1,200 people during the course of the study.

The call for more participants apparently raised some concerns among area residents about the program’s success. However, a report by KQDS Fox 21 News assures the public that the study is progressing as planned, and that the call for more participants is a natural part of the process.

The news report quotes Nancy Tekautz, who is a field supervisor for the taconite workers respiratory health study, as saying her clinic is nearly booked. “We believe the response has been very good and we just want to encourage it to continue,” she told KQDS.

KXMB News reports study director Dr. Jeffrey Mandel has sent about 300 letters to a random sampling of current and former Iron Range taconite workers, asking them to participate in the study. Participants will provide a medical and occupational history and submit to simple medical tests.

Researchers assure miners and their families that all study participants and individual medical information will remain confidential. For more information, visit the Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study web site, or call the University of Minnesota toll free at 1-888-840-7590.

Tags: asbestos, iron range, Jeffrey Mandel, mesothelioma, Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota state legislature, Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study, Nancy Tekautz, taconite, University of Minnesota

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

According to the Jackson NJ Online, New Jersey Senator Tom Kean (R-21) has introduced legislation to declare Sept. 26 as Mesothelioma Awareness Day in New Jersey annually. The legislation, SJR-77, has been approved by the New Jersey Senate and is waiting for consideration in the General Assembly.

The report quotes Sen. Kean as saying, “We don’t have a cure or standard treatment yet for mesothelioma, so we need to learn more about this disease and spur the development of effective treatments.” He says that designating a statewide annual recognition of Mesothelioma Awareness Day will help ensure that the public and policymakers do not forget the importance of mesothelioma awareness, and help promote funding for research.

* * *

The Kansas City Tribune features a touching story about Wendell and Elizabeth Mason. Wendell passed away as a result of complications from mesothelioma in December 2006 at age 65. He was employed for 25 years as a truck driver and insulation fabricator, where it is believed he was exposed to asbestos on the job.

The story, written by Tom Bogdon, says Wendell’s widow, Elizabeth (Beth), and his three grown children will wear t-shirts featuring a photo of Wendell on Saturday to draw attention to Mesothelioma Awareness Day. They also have obtained a proclamation from Olathe, Kansas, Mayor Michael Copeland declaring Mesothelioma Awareness Day in the city.

The report quotes Beth Mason as saying, “We want people to stop and think. Asbestos is still out there. We don’t want other families to go through what we’ve been through. Wendell and I were robbed of our retirement together.”

Read the full story at the KC Tribune’s web site.

Tags: asbestos, Elizabeth Mason, Kansas, Kansas City, mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Awareness Day, New Jersey, Senator Tom Kean, Wendell Mason

This entry was posted on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 10:15 am and is filed under Events, News, People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Everyone following Debbie Brewer‘s story on this site knows that last December it was determined she was in remission from mesothelioma – a miracle! – following successful chemoembolization treatment in Germany. Then, in September, she received a worrying report that appeared to show growth in a lymph node in her chest, which showed up on a CT scan. Subsequent tests revealed that there was growth, which would require treatment.

This week, Debbie started radiotherapy on the lymph node. She tells me that the radiotherapy treatment is a 3-week course, Monday to Friday, and depending on how the lymph node responds could go to 5 or 6 weeks.

Doctors also did a biopsy on her right groin area, which was the site where Dr. Vogl introduced the chemoembolization procedure. There is some question about whether the mesothelioma could have seeded at the induction site. Debbie says Dr. Vogl – who is pioneering the chemoembolization treatment at the University in Frankfurt – is hopeful and optimistic that this is not the case. However, the treatment is still experimental, so it is hard to know what to expect, she says. The chemoembolization treatment was done six times, each time in the same area.

The biopsy was done on Tuesday, with doctors taking two samples. Debbie is now waiting on the results.

She is in good spirits and keeping a positive outlook, so I’m sure she’d appreciate the continued well wishes and encouragment. She promises to let us know when she receives the results. You can also read more about Debbie’s story, and the other goings-on in her life, at her own blog, Mesothelioma & Me.

Tags: chemoembolization, Debbie Brewer, Dr. Vogl, mesothelioma

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 9:38 am and is filed under Events, People, Research/Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Our good friend Debbie Brewer, in the UK, (pictured with sons Rich and Kieran) who has been in remission from her mesothelioma since December 2008, had a worrying report from her latest medical checkup. She visited her oncologist in the UK on Sept. 16, and they have detected some increase in size in her lymph node as the result of a CT scan of her chest, abdomen and pelvis.

“My oncologist is putting me in the Meso box again, and I am not going there,” she told me in an email this morning.

She’s posted the medical records on her blog, Mesothelioma & Me, so please visit her site to check out the full report. According to the findings section, the scan detected “a new 5mm nodule and several smaller new nodules withing the lower left lobe.” However, the scan does not show any growth or changes in the existing areas where they knew there was tumor previously.

It’s been a rough several weeks for Debbie, as she only recently was released from the hospital after suffering a bad case of swine flu and pneumonia! In her blog, she says she is hopeful the increased lymph node could be related to the infection and pneumonia from her illness rather than cancer cells.

Debbie experienced wonderful success in the treatment of her mesothelioma under the care of Dr. Thomas J. Vogl, who she began seeing in May 2008 for an experimental new treatment, chemoembolization. Under his care, her tumor (which she calls Theo) shrunk an amazing 83 percent. Debbie must travel to Germany to participate in the clinical trial at J.W. Goethe University Hospital at Frankfurt University.

Debbie said she has contacted Dr. Vogl about her latest test results, and will consult with him about treatment following a P.E.T. scan.

We know that Debbie is an ultimate fighter and wonderful advocate for mesothelioma awareness and for justice for victims of asbestos disease. Please send her some well wishes! You can contact her through her blog or email her at phu_phita@hotmail.com. I know she’d love to hear from you!

I will keep you posted!

Tags: asbestos, chemoembolization, Debbie Brewer, Dr. Thomas J. Vogl, mesothelioma

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 10:17 am and is filed under News, People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The results of a study published recently in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery supports the use of extrapleural pneumonectomy-based multimodal therapy in carefully selected patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The Journal is published by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

According to the research summary, the objective of the study was to evaluate the perioperative and long-term outcomes associated with extrapleural pneumonectomy for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the chest cavity and lungs. Other forms of mesothelioma include pericardial, which affects the lining of the heart and is extremely rare; and peritoneal, which affects the lining of the abdomen. Mesothelioma is atributed almost exclusively to asbestos exposure.

According to the Multimedia Manual of Cardiothoracic Surgery, extrapleural pneumonectomy was introduced in the 1940s for the treatment of extensive infections of the lung and pleural space. Over the past 20 years, the extrapleural pneumonectomy technique has been modified and applied to the treatment of locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma, achieving substantial reductions in mortality. The surgery involves the removal of the lung with visceral and parietal pleurae, pericardium and diaphragm.

Researchers selected 70 patients between October 1994 and April 2008 to undergo the procedure. Prognostic factors included age, gender, side of disease, asbestos exposure, histology, positron emission tomography, date of surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, completeness of cytoreduction, lymph node involvement, peioperative morbidity, adjuvant radiotherapy and pemetrexed-based chemotherapy.

The mean age of patients was 55 years. The median survival was 20 months, with a 3-year survival of 30 percent. Analyses showed improved survival for patients with asbestos exposure, negative lymph node involvement, and receipt of adjuvant radiation or postoperative pemetrexed-based chemotherapy.

The study was conducted by physicians from the University of Sydney, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital; The Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Surgical; Department of Medical Oncology, Sydney Cancer Center, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital; and Department of Radiation Oncology, Sydney Cancer Center, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital; all in Sydney, Australia.

Tags: asbestos, Australia, chemotherapy, extrapleural pneumonectomy, mesothelioma, multimodal therapy, multimodality treatment, pleural mesothelioma, research

This entry was posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under News, Research/Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Asbestos is still not completely banned in the United States. It can still be found in a great number of products. WHY?

Asbestos industry documents from as early as 1924 indicate that manufacturers knew there was a danger to workers who inhaled asbestos fibers.

Then in 1953, Dr. Irving Selikoff, a pulmonary specialist, began studying the link between asbestos exposure and lung disease. He noted a much higher percentage of lung disease among workers who inhaled asbestos fibers. Selikoff’s groundbreaking findings about of the occupational danger of asbestos expsoure was published in 1964.

And yet, it wasn’t unitl the mid-1970s that asbestos use was widely banned, and even today, its use is not completely banned.

Selikoff hoped his findings would make the future brighter for workers, protecting them from such devastating illnesses as those suffered by the generations who had come before.  Sadly, Selikoff passed away in 1992, before ever seeing asbestos eliminated in America, or seeing the threat of mesothelioma become a thing of the past.

With such clear evidence of the link between asbestos and mesothelioma, why is this still even a question??

Tags: asbestos, Dr. Irving Selikoff, insulation, mesothelioma, research

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Legal, News, Organizations, People, Research/Treatment, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

More than 230 people gathered in Washington, D.C., last week to attend the 6th Annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, presented by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. This was the largest attendance to date for the event, and 170 of that number also participated in Advocacy Day events, visiting their Congressional delegates on Capitol Hill.

This annual symposium is “for everybody” affected by mesothelioma. This includes patients, caregivers and family members, and those who have lost a loved one to mesothelioma, as well as advocates and scientific and medical experts. The event is designed to provide education about new research and treatment, to assist meso patients and their families and loved ones with coping skills and a network of support, and provide advocates with the tools to help make an impact in the effort to raise awareness about mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos exposure, and to raise funds for research.

“I don’t think any community knows more about holding onto hope in the midst of difficult circumstances than mesothelioma patients and their families, ” said MARF executive director Chris Hahn. “But there is still a perception of mesothelioma as an orphan disease. It is overlooked, by the government, by the average person, despite the huge presence of asbestos in our society,” he said.

Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the chest wall or, more rarely, the abdomen, and, in very rare instances, the heart. It is caused by exposure to asbestos, and may have a latency period of up to 40 years or more from the time of exposure until symptoms manifest. It is difficult to diagnose, and often is misdiagnosed until too late for effective treatment. Even if diagnosed early, treatment is often difficult, and there is currently no known cure.

The Mesothelioma Applied Reserach Foundation is the largest independent program for mesothelioma reserach and support in the world. It operates a competitive grant program that awards up to 10 grants, or $10 million, each year to research projects most likely to lead to better treatment.

The Foundation is a non-profit organization whose main mission is dedicated to “eradicating the life-ending and vicious effects of mesothelioma.”

MARF needs funding. This is the only organization dedicated to the research and treatment of mesothelioma, but it is facing the same struggles that many other charitable foundations are facing in this tough economy – donations are down, funding is stretched thin. The foundation received 59 grant applications in 2008 – programs that WANT to explore and investigate mesothelioma in search of earlier diagnosis, better treatment methods and, ultimately a cure. But the Foundation was only able to fund five new programs in 2008.

It is estimated that 3,300 new cases of mesothelioma will be diagnosed each year.

Mesothelioma, once considered an industrial disease affecting primarily older men, is being diagnosed in younger and younger people. In 2008, a 3-year-old girl was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is everybody’s problem. We cannot afford NOT to support mesothelioma research.

For more information about the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and how to make a donation, visit them online.

The Foundation also needs volunteers. There are a number of ways you can help, from advocacy efforts to planning a fund-raising event, to simply helping put out the word about mesothelioma and the effects of asbestos exposure. You can find that information on their web site, too.

This was my first experience at the Symposium, and it was emotionally and intellectually exhausting, and inspiring, and motivating. I met some amazing people who, despite being personally devestated by mesothelioma, are determined to keep fighting. I’m amazed by this great group of folks.

I plan to add many more stories from information presented at the conference, and from the people I met there, in the next several days, so please check back! It’s too much to tell in one post!

Tags: asbestos, Austin, awareness, International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, MARF, mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, research, Washington

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 11:24 am and is filed under Events, News, Organizations, Research/Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The W. R. Grace & Co. criminal trial continues in Missoula, Montana, but this week two executives on trial for environmental crimes have been dismissed from the case. Robert Walsh was dismissed Monday, and William McCraig was dismissed from the case Thursday morning. Judge Donald Molloy is presiding over this case. Defense attorneys have been seeking to have the entire case dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct, but on April 29 Judge Molloy issued an order not to dismiss the case.

The trial began Feb. 19 in U.S. District Court. A federal grand jury charged W.R. Grace & Co. in February 2005, along with seven of the company’s executives and managers. In June 2008, a Supreme Court decision upheld the grand jury’s findings and the court date was set. The company and its executives are charged with knowingly exposing workers at the Libby, Montana mine, and residents of the town of Libby, to hazardous asbestos.

The asbestos is found in vermiculite, which was mined in Libby for many years. Hundreds of people in Libby have died as a result of asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and, less commonly, the stomach and/or the heart.

W.R. Grace defense lawyers are currently presenting their case to the court. It is estimated that the case will go to the jury by the end of next week.

If you are interested in following this case, there is an excellent blog site, Grace Case, which is a joint project of the School of Law and the School of Journalism at the University of Montana. The site provides reports from the courtroom from either a news or legal analysis standpoint, depending on which students are filing the posts.

Tags: asbestos, asbestosis, Libby, mesothelioma, Montana, W.R. Grace & Co.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Variety magazine, famous for entertainment reporting, announced this week that famed columnist Army Archerd will be honored posthumously by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADOA) at its Sixth Annual International Asbestos Conference on April 10 in Chicago. Archerd will receive the organization’s inaugural Warren Zevon Keep Me in Your Heart memorial tribute.

The award was established in memory of singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, author of such hits as “Werewolves of London,” who died of mesothelioma in 2003. Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that is linked to asbestos exposure. It most often affects the lining of the chest and lungs, but may also affect the lining of the abdomen or, more rarely, the heart.

Warren Zevon’s son, Jordan Zevon, is involved with ADAO as its spokesman. Variety quotes him as saying, “My father would be enormously honored to have had the opportunity to pay tribute to Army Archerd.”

Archerd was a columnist for Variety for more than 50 years, penning his “Just for Variety” column until September 2005. Even after he retired the famous column, Archerd worked as a blogger for Variety. He was one of the most popular and well-respected writers in the entertainment industry, and broke many exclusive stories. He died of mesothelioma on Sept. 8, 2009. It is believed he was exposed to asbestos during his service in the Navy during World War II.

Variety quotes his widow, Selma, as saying, “The tragedy of asbestos disease is a story that unfortunately continues to be written for many families. I hope that Army’s legend of making a difference through his work can help give an even louder voice to the efforts to write its end.”

ADAO was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. It seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure. ADAO’s mission includes supporting global advocacy and advancing asbestos awareness, prevention, early detection, treatment, and resources for asbestos-related disease.

For more information about ADAO or the annual Asbestos Conference, visit ADAO online at www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

Tags: Army Archerd, asbestos, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Chicago, International Asbestos Conference, Jordan Zevon, Keep Me in Your Heart, mesothelioma, Variety, Warren Zevon

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 10:56 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

On Tuesday, June 9, House Bill No. 211 was introduced in the Ohio legislature, which would designate September as “Mesothelioma Month” in the state. The bill is sponsored by Ohio State Representative Kenny Yuko (D-7th District), and co-sponsored by Reps. Hagan, Ujvagi, Evans, Domenick, Oelslager, Newcomb, Fende, Skindell, Winburn, Okey, Letson, Luckie and Bacon.

H.B. 211 would enact section 5.2239 of the Revised Code to read as follows:

Sec. 5.2239. The month of September is designated as “Mesothelioma Month” to bring attention to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body’s internal organs, and is commonly linked to asbestos exposure.

Rep. Yuko has a special passion for supporting quality of life initiatives for Ohio’s working families. He has established himself as an advocate for increased health care access, and is strong supporter of Multiple Sclerosis awareness. IN 2006 he introduced and achieved passage of H.B. 379, which designated March as MS Awareness Month in the state of Ohio. He is chair of the House Commerce and Labor Committee.

If you live in Ohio, please contact your legislative Representative and ask him or her to support this bill designating September as Meothelioma Month in Ohio!

Contact the Ohio Legislature.

Tags: asbestos, mesothelioma, Ohio, State Representative Kenny Yuko

This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 9:19 am and is filed under Events, Legal, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.