Mesothelioma Pages

Senator John Tester introduced a new measure this week that could introduce a more effective medical staff to Libby, Montana, where thousands may face complicated medical problems.

Libby was the home of one of the United State’s largest vermiculite mines for nearly one hundred years. Vermiculite, a natural mineral that’s useful for a variety of purposes, contains substantial amounts of deadly asbestos fibers. W.R. Grace and Co., the company that owned the mine since its opening in 1919, was indicted in 2005 for knowingly endangering the residents of Libby. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that W.R. Grace and Co. had been intentionally suppressing findings about the ill effects of asbestos containing vermiculite since the 1970′s.

Today, some 1,200 Libby residents have suffered from asbestos related illnesses, including the aggressive and terminal cancer mesothelioma. Libby hospitals are having a difficult time dealing with additional stress on their medical systems, and some fear that their lack of specialists could pose a potential threat to those affected by asbestos exposure.

Tester’s proposal could change all that.

The National Health Service Corps, a federal program that’s been in place since the 1970′s, was put into place to recruit doctors to under served, rural markets. The program offers benefits such as medical school scholarships and loan repayment for general practitioners who are willing to re-locate.

Tester’s plan is to amend the program to allow specialists to participate as well as general practitioners, granted they’re willing to work in an area designated as a “public health emergency.” Just last year on June 17, after evaluating the results of various asbestos contamination tests in the area, the EPA declared Libby, Montana as the very first public health emergency.

“This is going to really open some doors,” said the Senator Monday, while he was describing his plan.

Tester believes that obtaining proper health care in an area like Libby is very difficult without special provisions. In addition to being in a rural, far from densely populated area, Libby’s asbestos contamination itself constitutes a deterrent to many doctors and specialists.

“It is increasingly difficult,” reads Tester’s bill, “for the health care facilities in [areas like Libby] to recruit the specialists necessary.”

If passed, the bill could help to create incentives for specialized practice in Libby, Montana, and alleviate the pressure on an over-strained medical staff.

This year the provincial government of Quebec plans to finance the expansion of the Jeffrey Mine located in the small northern town of Asbestos, named after its most valuable and abundant resource. This decision has incited an aggravated global awareness which has protesters all over the world voicing their concerns about investment into the asbestos industry. Prolonged asbestos exposure can cause extreme health problems including mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer which is almost always fatal.

With the provincial government’s funding approval, the new mining operation would generate close to 200,000 tons of asbestos each year. The majority of this asbestos would then be shipped to developing countries all over the world which often lack the safe handling laws that protect workers from asbestos related illnesses. South Korea, Belgium, Hong Kong and an assortment of North American cities have organized peaceful protests in an attempt to stress the severity of asbestos related diseases.

In Hong Kong, protesters gathered outside the Canadian consulate, calling for a ban on asbestos exports between the two countries. According to the Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong is in the midst of an asbestos disease epidemic, with more and more workers dying each year on account of lung cancer and mesothelioma. Even if asbestos exports cease immediately, mesothelioma’s tendency to lie dormant means citizens could potentially experience symptoms for another 30 years.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, medical records have shown how potentially dangerous asbestos can be. Mesothelioma, scarring of the lung tissue, and asbestos warts caused by sharp fibers being lodged in the skin can all be triggered from asbestos contamination. While employers, manufacturers and property owners have been aware of these problems for several years, many have failed to take the actions necessary to safeguard their employees and consumers. These types of behavior have resulted in unnecessary deaths as well as thousands of asbestos lawsuits.

In past years, lawyers have had great success in mesothelioma cases, often ending in multi-million dollar settlements. However, the medical advances concerning asbestos diseases are not so encouraging, with nearly 3,000 Americans being diagnosed each year with the potentially fatal disease.

Despite global disapproval many Canadians see things differently. Many locals are excited for the mine’s expansion, hoping that it will alleviate suffering in the local economy. Some local companies have even banned together to raise an additional two million dollars to help fund the massive project.

Protesters all over the world disagree, stating that the mine’s expansion will increase needless asbestos contamination and lead to further disease.

According to research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, new steps are being taken toward a more complete understanding of mesothelioma.

One of the more confusing aspects of the disease lies in the fact that asbestos exposure seems to both kill cells and cause the growth of malignant tumors – reactions that appear mutually exclusive seeing as dead cells can’t multiply. A group of scientists and researchers at the University of Hawaii believe they’ve uncovered some important details about this phenomena, details that could lead to new treatments with more research and development.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos fibers. One of the curiosities of the disease is what’s referred to as its “latency period”, that is, the long amount of time that passes between exposure to asbestos fibers and the development of malignant tumors. In many cases this latency period can be as long as thirty to even fifty years.

Mesothelioma’s latency period has been a source of particular frustration and difficulty for a variety of reasons. In addition to obscuring the connection between the mineral and the disease, a phenomena which allowed asbestos companies to contaminate workplaces unchecked for decades, the latency period also complicates diagnosis. Many patients don’t associate mesothelioma’s general ailment, flu like symptoms with workplace asbestos exposure which took place decades in their past.

The research team in Hawaii has uncovered a connection between two of mesothelioma’s odd traits: the fact that it somehow kills cells and encourages tumor growth simultaneously, and the fact that it takes decades to present malignant growths.

Their research has shown that asbestos kills cells through a process known as programmed cell necrosis, a process which leads to the release of a particular protein called HMGB1. The released HMGB1 protein causes an inflammatory reaction in surrounding tissues, which in turn releases mutagens that eventually leads to tumor growth. The researchers believe that if the release of HMGB1 and the resulting tissue inflammation could be controlled or prevented, the release of mutagens would not be triggered and malignant tumors may never develop.

A clinical trial will be conducted in Cappadocia, Turkey, an area highly affected by asbestos exposure, to gain more insight on their findings and further develop their approach. If the results of the trial are encouraging, further tests and additional time could lead to the development of new treatment methods for mesothelioma.