A South Carolina state court jury recently issued a verdict against a company that supplied asbestos-containing packing and valve gaskets to a nuclear plant where the plaintiff was allegedly exposed during his former work there. The verdict was issued on August 3rd against Emerson Electric Company subsidiary units Crosby Valve and Fisher Controls International, for [...]

Malignant pleural mesothelioma, called MPM, is a fatal cancer of the lining or pleura around the lungs caused by asbestos exposure. It can take decades for the cancer to develop after asbestos exposure, but by the time it becomes symptomatic and is diagnosed, pleural mesothelioma is so advanced that survival time is usually short. Mesothelioma [...]

We frequently post here about medical research into mesothelioma treatment. For example, in December we shared information about a new treatment study at Baylor in which doctors will try direct application of two heated, combined chemotherapy drugs on mesothelioma tumors in the chest cavity through surgery. New Japanese Study This week, we will share news [...]

Italian researchers just published a new study of two deceased elderly patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and problems with their gallbladders and biliary tracts, finding that asbestos was present in the victims’ gallbladders and that analysis suggested that it had migrated there through connective tissue. The scientists wrote that observing the presence of the asbestos [...]

Austrian researchers have uncovered a potentially promising new treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma: trabectedin, a chemotherapy medication already in use against other cancers. Interestingly enough, the drug, which goes by the brand Yondelis, is naturally occurring in the Caribbean sea cucumber, but can be synthetically produced for use in chemotherapy. The Challenge of Mesothelioma Treatment [...]

Recently in June, a study yielded promising results for mesothelioma patients waiting for viable treatment options. Nearly half of the participants saw stabilization of tumor growth occur during the 12-week study, after taking Avelumab for their malignant mesothelioma. According to the Surviving Mesothelioma website, Avelumab is an experimental, anti-PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) drug. PD-L1 is a [...]

Mesothelioma is a devastating cancer caused by asbestos exposure. In many instances, the exposure does not happen just once – it takes place over time. Prolonged asbestos exposure is likely to happen to an employee who works around the substance, day after day. While people usually envision a construction worker or pipefitter handling such materials [...]

If you are a retired blue collar worker, you might be thinking that workplace asbestos exposure is no longer a concern. Despite not working around the substance day after day anymore, past exposure can still cause you problems today or in the future. Have you held one of these three positions in your lifetime? If [...]

If you are a worker who has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, like mesothelioma, you might be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering, medical bills, and more. In many cases, 20th-century workers in blue-collar occupations came into contact with asbestos at their place of work. Raw asbestos fibers have been worked into [...]