Bob Tolley Asbestos Charity

Supreme Court Monday 5th December 2011

2011-12-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)

The construction of employers’ liability policies, in the context of liabilities incurred by employers for mesothelioma, under which an indemnity is provided if an injury or disease is ‘sustained’ or ‘contracted’ during the period of insurance.

There are nine appeals to the Supreme Court arising out of six separate actions. They arise from the deaths from mesothelioma of employees who inhaled asbestos fibres during employment. In each case the employees’ personal representatives or the employers liable to them seek to recover loss from the employers’ insurers under policies of employers’ liability insurance covering periods from the late 1940s to 1998. The principal issue is what constitutes the ‘trigger’ for liability of an insurer to indemnify the insured within any policy period: in particular whether it is the tortious exposure of a victim to asbestos dust, or the onset of mesothelioma.

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers

Lord Mance of Frognal

Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore

Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony

Lord Dyson

Time estimate number of days 8 days

Hearing date 05 Dec 2011

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..

Mesothelima Cases Likely Underreported Worldwide

2011-06-03T02:43:00.000-07:00

The study is the first to provide a global estimate of unreported mesothelioma cases based on the collective experience of countries with available data on asbestos use and the disease.

For every four to five reported cases of mesothelioma worldwide, at least one case goes unreported, according to a study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. This study is the first to provide a global estimate of unreported mesothelioma cases based on the collective experience of countries with available data on asbestos use and the disease.
Malignant mesothelioma is caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. The disease is difficult to diagnose until it is far advanced, and the prognosis is usually poor. The study’s authors used numbers of mesothelioma deaths as a proxy for numbers of cases, because mesothelioma patients usually die shortly after diagnosis. Also, in many countries, deaths in general tend to be more uniformly and accurately reported than diagnoses.
The authors assessed the relationship between country-level asbestos use from 1920 through 1970 and mesothelioma deaths reported between 1994 and 2008. Cumulative asbestos use in 89 countries, which accounted for more than 82 percent of the global population in the year 2000, totaled more than 65 million metric tons during 1920–1970. The United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan led the group in asbestos use, defined as production plus import minus export. For the 56 countries also reporting mesothelioma data, there were approximately 174,300 such deaths during 1994–2008.

Mesothelioma typically develops 20–50 years after exposure to asbestos. Accordingly, a country’s cumulative use of asbestos in prior decades was found to clearly and reliably predict numbers of recent mesothelioma deaths in the countries reporting mortality data. When the authors extrapolated this finding to the 33 countries not reporting mesothelioma data, they estimated 38,900 additional cases may have occurred in these countries during that same 15-year period.

“Our most important finding is the magnitude of unreported mesothelioma in countries that use asbestos at substantial levels but report no cases of the disease,” says study co-author Ken Takahashi of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan. Such countries include Russia, Kazakstan, China, and India, which rank in the top 15 countries for cumulative asbestos use.
Takahashi says any country that uses asbestos is certain to have cases of mesothelioma. He notes the study’s estimates may be conservative because both asbestos use and mesothelioma may be underreported in the countries used as the basis for their estimates.
The authors propose that every country ban the mining, use, and export of asbestos because, Takahashi says, mesothelioma can be prevented by eliminating exposure to asbestos. They also propose that developed countries share experience and technology to help developing countries better diagnose, report, and manage mesothelioma cases.

Proteins May Hold Key to Mesothelioma Susceptibility

2011-06-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

Altered cellular proteins may reveal clues as to why some people exposed to asbestos get mesothelioma, while others don’t. That is the conclusion of new research conducted in China.

Asbestos has long been known to cause mesothelioma, but the mechanisms by which it does so remain largely a mystery. For instance, scientists have been at a loss to say why some people can work around asbestos for years with no ill effects, while others with the same level of exposure contract malignant mesothelioma. Understanding why this happens may not only help predict who is at higher risk, but may also give doctors new targets for treatments.

Now, research from China is shedding new light on the subject. The researchers focused their attention on cellular proteins, the command ‘signals’ that direct most cellular activity. To conduct the study, the team looked at samples of three kinds of cells: healthy mesothelial cells, healthy mesothelial cells that were exposed to crocidolite asbestos in the lab, and malignant mesothelioma cells. A multiplex immunoblot-based assay test was used to measure the expression levels of 112 different proteins and phosphoproteins in each of the samples.

The levels of 16 proteins and phosophoproteins were altered (7 were decreased, 9 were increased) in the benign mesothelial cells after they were treated with crocidolite asbestos in the lab. Most of the effected proteins were those that involve DNA damage repair and cell cycle regulation. In the malignant mesothelioma cells, 21 proteins were found to be altered (5 were decreased, 16 were increased). The researchers report “substantial overlap” between the proteins affected in the asbestos-treated cell and the mesothelioma cells.

Reporting in the international medical journal Mutation Research, the Chinese scientists conclude that asbestos exposure “has extensive affects on regulatory pathways and networks” and that these altered proteins may be used in the future to indentify people who are at high risk for developing mesothelioma. Medical treatments that target the levels of these key proteins might also be a way to control mesothelioma, which is notoriously difficult to treat with standard therapeutic modalities.
Sources:
Wang, H et al, “Crocidolite asbestos-induced signal pathway dysregulation in mesothelioma cells”, May 6, 2011, Mutation Research. Epub ahead of print.

For more information go to http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com/

Thanks A Million

2011-05-27T01:57:00.000-07:00

Chris Knighton

It is so good to hear that the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund has raised one million pound for research. All the money we raise goes to this fund which all goes directly to research into Mesothelioma. Well done to Chris Knighton and to everyone who has donated to this charity.
AFTER Mick Knighton died of asbestos-related cancer in 2001, his wife Chris vowed to raise £100,000 in her husband’s name because that was the average amount of compensation paid to mesothelioma sufferers.
But now, ten years after setting up the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, she is celebrating having collected ten times the amount she set out to raise.“It’s just amazing that we’ve reached £1m, and the fact this is Mick’s tenth anniversary year makes it even more special,” said Chris, of Wallsend. Mick was diagnosed with mesothelioma after returning from holiday with a chest infection.Chris said: “We were told there was no treatment, no cure and no hope.” Just eight months later, Mick, pictured, died.“Throughout Mick’s illness, we had both become increasingly aware of how little is known about mesothelioma and the vital need for more research into the disease,” said Chris. Mick had been exposed to asbestos while in the Navy. As a gunner, he was issued with anti-inflammable gauntlets and hoods, and the gun turret he manned was lined with asbestos. “Many of our donations are given by people who themselves have lost loved ones to the disease, and I’m so grateful for their support,” said Chris. “£1m is fantastic, but it’s what we’ve been able to do with it that’s important.” So far, the charity has funded four major research studies of mesothelioma, and the Rotary Club of Monkseaton Centenary this week presented Chris with a community service award for her fundraising efforts. “Our first study was into Alimta, the only licensed chemotherapy drug to help treat the disease,” she said. “Although not a cure, it may bring a better quality of life for longer to some.
“The next two studies are looking into treating mesothelioma by stem cells. Although in the early stages, the results so far have been encouraging. “The latest study is a new approach into starving the mesothelioma cells of the nutrients they need to survive.” The charity has also set up mesothelioma self-help and friendship groups in both North and South Tyneside to give sufferers and their families an opportunity to meet other people in similar circumstances. “My next challenge is to raise enough money to set up the first mesothelioma tissue and blood bank, which will have a major impact on research into the disease,” said Chris. The fund is holding a memorial service on Friday, July 1, at 11am at St Nicholas’s Cathedral in Newcastle.
Chris said: “The service is for all who have lost their lives to asbestos-related disease, and mesothelioma in particular, and will be followed by a sponsored dove release in their memory. “The service forms part of Action Mesothelioma Day, an annual event to raise awareness of mesothelioma.”
The service will be followed by a seminar at 1.30pm. To book a place at the seminar or make a donation, call (0191) 263 7386 or e-mail c.knighton@mkmrf.org.uk
To learn more about mesothelioma or the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, visit www.mickknightonmesorf.org

Bernie Brighton Marathon 2011

2011-05-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well done to Bernie Barnaville for completing the Brighton Marathon and running it for our charity, he raised over six hundred pounds for his efforts, it was a huge commitment and we are very proud of him for doing it on behalf of the charity.

Don't forget our sponsored walk on Sunday 29th May, (details below)

Renal Cancer Drug Can Be Used as New Treatment For Mesothelioma

2011-05-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

In a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, temsirolimus, a drug that is used to treat kidney cancer, has shown positive results when treating pleural mesothelioma cells. Temsirolimus is a kinase inhibitor, which blocks the growth of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) proteins. These proteins are found in mesothelioma cells.

Malignant mesothelioma, an uncommon form of cancer that develops in the lining of the vital organs in the body, is directly linked to asbestos exposure. Because of the long latency period associated with the cancer, it is frequently not diagnosed until the late stages of the disease.

Temsirolimus had a strong growth-stopping effect on all mesothelioma cells. However, cisplatin, a commonly used chemotherapy drug for mesothelioma treatment, displayed hypersensitivity against temsirolimus. Because of this, researchers in the study believe temsirolimus can be used in combination with other current chemotherapeutic treatments as a second-line treatment.

Professor Walter Berger of the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna, a researcher on the project, stated, “Malignant mesothelioma is a severe human malignancy characterized by a very bad prognosis, with a mean patient survival of less than one year. This unacceptable situation is mainly caused by late diagnosis combined with a distinct resistance to all forms of systemic therapy available so far.”

Professor Berger commented further on the results of the study saying, “In our preclinical study, published in the JTO, we were able to demonstrate that the inhibition of the major oncogene mTOR is activate against human mesothelioma especially after development of chemotherapy resistance both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest the initiation of clinical trials involving mTOR inhibitors as novel anti-mesothelioma strategy.”

Charity Sponsored Walk Sunday 29th May

2011-02-21T02:20:00.000-08:00

We are again doing a sponsored walk this year to raise the much needed funds for research. The walk will be from Holywell to the Southern Water plant along the seafront, and will start at 11.00am then afterwards at Eastourne United Football Club for a barbeque a raffle and a few well earned drinks.

Anyone who wants to take part please contact me 01323 649220 or email millietalula@supanet.com or chris@nimaprint.co.ukl and I will send you out a sponsor form and all the details.

The theme of the walk is to "Be A Little Angel & Walk For Charity" so we would like to see wings, halo's and any other angelic things you can think of to wear.

Thanks for all your support and we look forward to seeing you there.

Brighton Marathon 2011

2010-12-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

Bernie Barnaville is running the Brighton marathon in aid of our charity on Sunday 11th April 2011, it is a gruelling 26 miles, so think he is wonderful to take this on.

He has set up a donation and information site www.justgivine.com/bernie-barnaville and also has sponsor packs available, so please give him your support.

All the money you raise goes directly to Mesothlioma & Asbestos research so every penny is needed to find a cure.

The opening of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Inovation planned for London in 2011 will hopefully concentrate some of it research on asbestos exposure and subsequent diseases, it's new chief executive Sir Paul Nurse is a renown specialist in cancer research and cell biology.

Experimental Drug

2010-10-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

Study Recruiting Mesothelioma Patients for Testing of Experimental Drug
Oct 26, 2010

A Phase II clinical trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is recruiting mesthelioma patients to test an experimental drug intended to block proteins that aid the growth of cancer cells. It will measure drug safety, patient response and survival rates.

Both men and women age 18 and older will be included in the trial. Patients must have undergone standard chemotherapy that has not been effective in halting their cancer. Patients may be diagnosed with either pleural mesothelioma or peritoneal mesothelioma. Both cancers are linked to asbestos exposure, and can take twenty, thirty years or more to develop after the initial exposure.

Estimated enrollment for the study is 55 patients and it will be conducted at the National Institute of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD USA.

The trial is expected to be complete by April 2012.

EL Trigger Litigation Judgement

2010-10-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Court of Appeal gave its long awaited judgment in the EL Trigger Litigation on 8 October 2010. It had been hoped that this hugely anticipated judgment would bring certainty to the question of which insurer should meet a mesothelioma claim resulting from historic asbestos exposure. What has emerged however is a very complex outcome. The decision, covering more than 160 pages, has almost as many permutations as there were parties to the case.

The background
· Bolton v MMI set the scene in 2006. It was a public liability (PL) case in which it was held that a mesothelioma victim sustains injury for the first time when the tumour starts to develop, 10 years before the manifestation of symptoms.
· Four insurers (Builders Accident, Independent, Excess and Municipal Mutual) had employers liability (EL) policies which were worded in a very similar way to the PL policy in Bolton and which responded if the injury was sustained or contracted during the term of the policy. Those insurers then started to decline EL claims on the Bolton principle.
· Until 2006 insurers had always taken the view that EL policies responded on a causation basis (i.e. if exposure occurred during the life of the policy), and the adoption of the ‘Boltonite’ approach had the effect of shifting insurer responsibility from exposure to the time when the tumour started to develop. This led to vast “black holes” in insurance cover.
· Strikingly, even if the tumour developed during the currency of the policy, claimants who were ex-employees at the time would not on the Boltonites’ argument be covered. This issued weighed particularly heavily on Burton J at first instance. Having considered the overwhelming evidence that until Bolton, the market (including the four insurers) used the verbs ‘cause’, ‘contract’ and ‘sustain’ interchangeably, he concluded that the four insurers’ policies should respond on a traditional causation basis.
The Boltonites appealed.

The Court of Appeal judgment
The Court of Appeal judges took divergent approaches. However, the following principles emerge:
· Where the wording used is “sustained”, the policy which responds is the one in force when the tumour starts to develop.
· Where the wording used is “contracted” (that is synonymous with the word “caused”) then the policy in force at the time of exposure responds.
The lack of unity means each judge’s reasoning needs to be considered in turn.

Rix LJ
· A disease is contracted (within the meaning of the policy) when it is caused.
· Mesothelioma is not sustained on inhalation. Although this frustrates the commercial purpose of the policies (to provide both cover for employers and security for employees), there is no ambiguity in the wording sufficient to justify an alternative interpretation.
· Policies which began after the Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance Act 1969, (which came into force in January 1972), respond if the mesothelioma was caused during the life of the policy. This is because such policies are deemed to comply with the Act.

Burnton LJ
· Insurers were entitled to depart from their previous practice of indemnifying and paying mesothelioma claims on a causation basis as the aetiology of mesothelioma became better understood.
· Considered the court was bound by Bolton. Policies with a “sustained” wording would only respond at the date when the tumour starts to develop. By contrast, policies with a “contracted” wording would respond if in force at exposure.

Smith LJ
· The policies should be interpreted according to the understanding of the parties at the time they were entered into. Until Bolton v MMI it was not appreciated that a mesothelioma victim “sustains” injury only when the tumour starts to develop.
· Considered she was not bound by Bolton as that decision related to public liability cases only.

Unfinished business?
This is an extraordinary judgment. Such was the lack of consensus that the leading judgment (Rix LJ) has a seven paragraph postscript responding to the other judgments.
Crucially, Rix LJ considered the court bound by Bolton; had this not been the case he would have preferred to hold that where a victim develops mesothelioma there is actionable injury from the date of inhalation, because liability is created when an employer has materially contributed to the risk. Having not been allowed to arrive at his preferred solution, Rix LJ acknowledged that his decision led to “an unfortunate conclusion”.

For the market, this lack of certainty is deeply troubling. Public authorities will now have to make provision for exposure prior to 1974 (due to the MMI wording), and private sector businesses will have to meet claims if they have a pre-1972 ‘sustained’ policy.

Both defendants and insurers will, by virtue of the joint and several liability provisions in section 3 of the Compensation Act, become liable for an increasing burden of mesothelioma claims as they will now need to fill the insurance “black holes” which result from the vindication of the Boltonites’ position on EL policies written on a ‘sustained’ basis.

Further appeals to the Supreme Court are inevitable. Until that time, the judgment means that some claimants who have no solvent employer to sue may go uncompensated.

Court Date Friday 8th October 2010

2010-10-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

El Trigger Litigation

The verdict in the trigger litigation appeal is due to be handed down on Friday at the Royal Court Of Justice London. If the case is won by the victims & families of those exposed to asbestos negligently by their employers it will force insurance companies to finally pay the compensation they have been fighting to hold onto for the last few years. Below is a short outline of the case and why it spent so long in the courts.

Cases were heard together to resolve an important dispute over the relevant ‘trigger’ under various employers’ liability insurance policies which applied to employers of those who suffered and died from mesothelioma. The EL Trigger trial focused on what had to happen during the period of insurance when the insuring clause of a policy stipulated either that an injury must be "sustained” or that a disease must be "contracted” during the period of insurance. The insurers will argue on appeal that the relevant ‘trigger’ under the policies is not the exposure to asbestos, but the development, many years later, of mesothelioma

The hearing has hinged on which policy was key - the one at the time of exposure or when a worker becomes ill. Employers take out liability insurance to insure them against the cost of legal action by staff injured at work.

But a group of insurance firms had questioned which policy should be enacted. They argued during the nine-week hearing that the policy in place at the time the cancer develops was the one that a compensation claim should be brought against rather than the policy that was in place when the worker was employed by the firm.

They said this was common-sense as victims could have worked for several employers where they were exposed to asbestos. However, this stance was challenged by families, employers and one insurance firm. Solicitors representing the families involved in the case said this would make it harder to secure compensation.

One of the key problems is that many modern-day insurance schemes have exemptions for asbestos. That then only leaves the employer for the victims to go after, but as the disease takes so long to develop many of the firms have ceased to exist.

Clinical Trial Of Mesothelioma Med Begins

2010-09-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

Bionomics, an Australian biotechnology company, has announced the beginning of Phase II clinical trials for its vascular disrupting agent BNC105 as a treatment for mesothelioma. The company announced its plans to test the drug on mesothelioma patients in December 2009. It will partner with the Australasian Lung Cancer Trials Group (ALTG) and the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) Clinical Trial Centre.

The clinical trial involves 60 patients at 12 centers in Australia.It is a single arm, unblinded study for patients with mesothelioma who have progressed on platinum/pemetrexed chemotherapy. BNC105 will be administered on days 1 and 8 of 21-day cycles. Treatment will continue until disease progression. The primary objective is to determine the tumor response rate.

Principal investigator for the trial is Dr. Anna Nowak, professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Australia and consultant medical oncologist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. According to information on the company’s web site, Bionomics has already commenced Phase II testing of the anti-cancer properties of BNC105 in renal cancer in the United States. The commencement of this Phase II trial follows a successful BNC105 Phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced cancers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Western Hospital, Austin Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Dr. Nowak says, “Mesothelioma remains a substantial problem in Australia and other parts of the world. An early clinical trial of BNC105 suggested some promise in mesothelioma. This Phase II trial will provide hope and an opportunity to participate in a research study for people with mesothelioma who do not have other options for treatment.”

Dr. Deborah Rathjen, CEO and Managing Director of Bionomics, says the company expects to report interim results of this study in mesothelioma patients in early 2011.

In 2005, Bionomics reports there were 597 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in Australia and in 2006 there were 486 deaths attributed to mesothelioma.

More information about the clinical trial is available online. Inquiries may be directed to:
Bionomics Limited
Dr Deborah Rathjen
CEO & Managing Director
+61 8 8354 6101 / 0418 160 425
drathjen@bionomics.com.au

Medical Research Council Joint Venture Announced

2010-08-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

MRC/British Lung Foundation/Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Fund

One clinical research training fellowship will be awarded jointly by the MRC, British Lung Foundation and Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Fund. The British Lung Foundation is the only UK charity working for everyone affected by lung disease. The BLF focuses its resources on providing support for people affected by lung disease today; and works in a variety of ways, including funding world-class research, to bring about positive change to improve treatment, care and support for people affected by lung disease now and in the future. The Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund aims to raise awareness of mesothelioma, fund crucial research projects, and improve diagnosis, treatment and care for mesothelioma sufferers. Applicants must focus their work on mesothelioma.

The British Lung Foundation's research strategy, which details its research priorities, can be found at: www.lunguk.org

Experimental Vaccine Shows Early Promise Against Mesothelioma

2010-04-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

A vaccine developed at the Erasmus Medical Research Centre in Rotterdam has shown early promise in its first clinical trials.

Researchers at Erasmus say the vaccine brings about an anti-tumor reponse, Dr Joachim Aerts a pulmonary physician says "We hope to further develop our methods so it will be possible to increase survival in patients with Mesothelioma and eventually vaccinate persons who have been in contact with asbestos to prevent them from getting asbestos related diseases".

The findings have been published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

The use of asbestos has been prohibited in most developed countries, but the time between asbestos exposure and diagnosis of mesothelioma can be up to 50 years. The incidence of mesothelioma, therefore, is still on the rise and expected to continue to increase until 2020. Once diagnosed, mesothelioma has a median survival time of 12 months. The standard chemotherapeutic treatment only improves survival time by about three months.

The anticipated increase in the incidence of mesothelioma, together with the paucity of treatment options, has spurred considerable interest in the development of new therapies. Immunotherapy, which uses the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, has been shown to have some promise.

National Centre For Asbesto-Related Diseases Announced

2010-04-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

The blow dealt by the recent let down from the Government, ruling out mesothelioma compensation for pleural plaques sufferers, was softened by plans announced to create an Employers’ Liability Tracing Bureau and the setting up of a UK National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease.
A petition calling for the set-up of a National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases (NCARD), with the backing of personal injury and asbestosis lawyers, had been put previously to the Government. In November 2009, the Asbestos Sub-Committee of the All Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health met up to discuss various asbestos-related issues. On the agenda was NCARD, and MPs were told that it was “moving forward” and “progressing quite rapidly”.
On February 25th,the Government accompanied the negative pleural plaques ruling with an outlined plan to commit £3m funding towards the Centre, as well as increasing state funded, lump sum payments to dependant family members.
There has long been an urgent need in the UK to establish a National Centre to research effective treatments for asbestos-related conditions, such as asbestosis and in particular, malignant mesothelioma, for which the UK has one of the highest reported incidence rates.
The UK was a leader in the manufacture of asbestos products, and consequently has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world.
A NCARD Strategy Document was recently published highlighting their objective to be a virtual network centre. It would link the best UK researchers together with others from around the world and act as a focal point for the attraction of significant dedicated funds.
The Strategy Document already highlights the significant need to increase research and funding in the UK into asbestos-related diseases, and, in particular, develop more effective treatments for malignant mesothelioma.
Another key objective of NCARD will be to increase asbestos awareness of the ever present dangers of exposure and help dispel commonly held misconceptions, especially with regard to white asbestos. The setting up of NCARD could be of long term benefit to the adoption of enlightened attitudes and easing the asbestos compensation process for sufferers pursuing claims.

Jan Egerton Mesothelioma Story

2010-03-24T03:56:00.000-07:00

Jan Egerton has been fighting Mesothelioma for eight years. Read her inspirational and brave story on http://www.jansjourney.co.uk/ , this is a truly remarkable lady. I was deeply moved by her story, her bravery and her sense of humour in dealing with this terrible disease.

Mesothelioma Action Day Friday 2nd July 2010.

New Research Could Help Provide Answers To Mesothelioma

2010-03-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

The British Lung Foundation is working with the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund to support new research which could lead to better treatments for mesothelioma, an incurable asbestos-related cancer that affects the tissues lining the outside of the lung and the chest wall (pleura).

Following a competitive grant application process, Dr Stefan Marciniak at the University of Cambridge was selected from a large field of excellent applicants, to be awarded the funding for his project, which will study the relationship between cell stress and mesothelioma. The grant is worth £118,839 and will run over two years.

Dr Marciniak heads a research group at the University of Cambridge. He is also a chest physician, specialising in diseases of the pleura. Through his research he hopes to gain a better understanding of why the cancer progresses. This will help scientists to create new ways of combating the disease.

The study will look at proteins which are produced by a part of the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Previous research by this group has shown that when these proteins are not made correctly, ER stress occurs and that ER stress is increased in mesothelioma cells. To investigate whether ER stress is linked to the progression of this cancer, the team will analyse tissue samples of mesothelioma. Furthermore, they hope to determine whether the amount of ER stress can predict the speed at which mesothelioma develops and the success of chemotherapy treatments.

Speaking about the research, Dr Stefan Marciniak, said: “I am thrilled to be awarded the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund grant by the British Lung Foundation. As a chest physician I treat patients with pleural disease. I hope to be able to take my findings out of the laboratory to improve the treatments available to my patients in the future.”

Dr Noemi Eiser, Honorary Medical Director for the British Lung Foundation, said: “Someone dies from mesothelioma in the UK every five hours. Research grants, like the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund, are so important in furthering our understanding of this cruel lung disease. This study could really make a difference to the way we treat people with the disease in the future.”

Spokesperson from June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund, Dr Kate Hill said: “The June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund is committed to supporting research that will find new ways to provide real benefits for patients. Choosing just one research study to fund from amongst the high quality applications we received was a difficult decision. We are convinced that Dr Marciniak’s work has the potential to make a major contribution to current knowledge about mesothelioma and its treatment.”

Later this year, the British Lung Foundation will launch their annual Action Mesothelioma Day on 2nd July. The day aims to raise awareness of the disease and improve the care and treatment for patients. It will also highlight the risk of asbestos exposure, particularly amongst the at-risk groups e.g. tradespeople.

For more information please contact Tova Turkel tova.turkel@blf-uk.org on 0207 688 5564 or Hayley Richardson hayley.richardson@blf-uk.org on 0207 688 5565.

CHARITY SPONSORED WALK

2010-02-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

Charity sponsored walk on Sunday 2nd May (May Day bank holiday), from Holywell to Southern Water Plant, Pooh Castle, Prince William Parade Eastbourne, approximately 3 miles.

Meet at 10.45am - Start 11.00 am

We are raising money for Mesothelioma & Asbestos research.

Be a little angel and wear wings and a halo.

Following the walk there will be a barbecue and raffle at Eastbourne United Football Club Channelview Road.

Your support is appreciated so see you all there

2010-01-11T04:32:00.000-08:00

Chris Morgan Story - Part Of The Health & Safety Hidden Killer Asbestos Campaign

Introduction To Asbestos 1959

The two video's show the startling difference between how asbestos is and was percieved. Marketed as a miracle mineral, little was known about the terrible effects it would have on the health of those working with it. Even when it was found to be harmful, employers & subsequent government choose to ignore the health issues. Asbestos remains the largest industrial killer of all time.

Lost Or Missing Insurance Policies Leave Asbestos Victims Without Compensation

2010-01-07T04:14:00.000-08:00

Emily Dugan The Independent - 29/11/2009

The industry's own scheme is supposed to track down missing details that would help claims. It has failed in its task in half of the cases
Insurance companies were yesterday accused of profiteering from victims of the deadly asbestos cancer Mesothelioma. Hundreds of victims of the disease are going without compensation because many of the insurance policies meant to protect workers allegedly have been lost.
A scheme to track down insurance details of defunct companies, run by the industry itself, is failing to find almost half of the policies which would cover victims' compensation. Untraced Mesothelioma cases save the insurance industry an estimated £60m a year, leaving sufferers and their families to struggle on government benefits that are a tenth of what they would be paid in a claim.
"It's an astronomical windfall for the insurance industry," said Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons Solicitors. "At best, they are culpable of mismanaging their policy record archives and at worst they're guilty of profiting from incompetence."
The Government admitted yesterday that the voluntary scheme, which is overseen by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), was "not delivering" and that the figures were not acceptable. The failure to find 48 per cent of policies for Mesothelioma sufferers has been described as "utterly shameful", particularly as many of the "lost policies" date from after 1972 when it was compulsory to have employer insurance.
Lord McKenzie, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister, said of the ABI: "It is not delivering what we hoped for it. Far too many people are still not able to trace their insurance policies and access the compensation they deserve. This is not acceptable and more needs to be done to improve tracing rates."
The Government said the scheme had been such a failure that it was now considering the establishment of a "more formal" tracing office and the creation of a fund of last resort to compensate those whose insurers could not be traced.
"The insurers save millions of pounds by not finding these records," said Kevin Johnson, solicitor at the asbestos specialists John Pickering and Partners. "They profit from the failure of the tracing scheme, so why would it be in their interests to commit resources to it? The ABI tracing scheme has failed. You've got insurers policing themselves and the whole thing is fundamentally flawed."
The latest review of the Tracing Service shows that 387 Mesothelioma sufferers were left without compensation in 2008 after it failed to trace the insurers of the company that exposed them to asbestos. And the problems are not confined to asbestos: overall the ABI managed to trace only 45 per cent of the policies it was asked to find, leaving more than 3,000 people without hope of compensation.
For those exposed to asbestos before 1972, when employer liability insurance was made compulsory, the likelihood of getting compensation is low. Only 39 per cent of Mesothelioma victims who tried to trace insurance policies before 1972 were successful.
Despite the difficulties in tracing policies, the DWP confirms that only one person deals with Mesothelioma cases. Lawyers say he is "swamped" with claims.
Tony Whitston of the Asbestos Victims Support Group said: "The true value of proper compensation for dying asbestos victims is a sense of justice done and the solace that they are providing for those they leave behind. Robbed of their lives through no fault of their own, insult is heaped on injury as they fall back on taxpayer-funded, nominal, government compensation while insurers walk away from their liabilities with their back pockets stuffed with cash. This is utterly shameful."
An ABI spokesman said: "We would refute totally any suggestion that insurers are looking to profit by denying people compensation. The insurance industry is committed to providing compensation to mesothelioma victims."
A postponed meeting between MPs and government lawyers to discuss compensation for sufferers of the asbestos scars, pleural plaques, will take place this week. But Michael Clapham, chair of the all-party occupational safety and health group, said; "I don't think it will take us anywhere. The lawyers will just say the law can't be overturned; what's needed is political will."

Mesothelioma Cases Increase

2010-01-05T04:19:00.000-08:00

27/11/2009 Daily Mirror

A type of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos has almost doubled in 10 years, figures show.

Hospitals treated 7,349 cases of deadly Mesothelioma over the past year, compared with 3,773 in 1998-9. The increase underlines fears of an "asbestos timebomb" as the disease can lie dormant for decades.

The statistics were revealed in response to a Commons question from Labour MP Stephen Hepburn. He said: "We're seeing the legacy of workers exposed to asbestos in the 1960s."

Charity Day 2009

2010-01-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

With Your help we raise just over two thousand pounds in this year charity day, so a huge thank you to everyone for again supporting us and for remembering dad with such affection.

We are going to organise a sponsored walk in the summer from Holywell to Poo Castle (Southern Water Building Langney Point), so a nice little stroll.

Gary Maynard won the golf this year, so well done to him and to all the other golfers who took part, thanks to you all.

The 2010 charity day will be held on Saturday 25th September with the golf again at Horam Park Golf Club.

For more details go to http://www.bobtolleyfund.co.uk/

Phase II Clinical Trials Begin In Australia

2010-01-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that biotechnology company Bionomics is set to begin a Phase II clinical trial of its anti-cancer drug, BNC105, at up to 12 cancer treatment centers across Australia. The company plans to include 60 Mesothelioma patients in the drug trial.

According to the Herald report, this Phase II study comes on the heels of a successful Phase I clinical trial of Bionomics’ BNC105, which was administered to patients with advanced cancers at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Western Hospital, Austin Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Bionomics has contacted the Australasian Lung Cancer Trials Group (ALTG) and the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (CTC) to conduct the clinical trial. No date has yet been set for the trial start.

BNC105 is described as “a novel anti-cancer agent which is both a vascular disrupting agent (VDA) and an inhibitor of cancer cell proliferation.”

For more information about the Phase II clinical trial of BNC105 for mesothelioma patients in Australia, email clinicaltrials@bionomics.com.au. You can also find out more information about ongoing clinical trials in Australia and New Zealand by visiting the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) at www.anzctr.org.au.

AsbestosTimebomb - Government's Response

2009-09-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Details of Petition:

“We urge the Prime Minister to work towards implementing the five campaign demands. These are: A £10 million National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease to find better treatment, alleviate suffering and find a cure for mesothelioma. Compensation reinstated for victims of “pleural plaques” – scars on lungs caused by asbestos – after it was scrapped two years ago. Fair and equal compensation for asbestos disease sufferers who can’t trace the insurers of the bosses who exposed them, through a new Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau paid for by the insurance industry. A public register of all asbestos surveys carried out on public buildings. The Health and Safety Executive must be given the resources to meet its own targets for inspecting asbestos removal work.”"

Read the Government’s response
On 17 October 2007, the Law Lords unanimously upheld a Court of Appeal decision that the existence of pleural plaques does not constitute actionable or compensatable damage. The Court of Appeal decision marked the end of a period during which it was possible for damages to be awarded for negligent exposure to asbestos, which had led to the presence of pleural plaques. In light of representations made by individuals and organisations who strongly disagreed with the Law Lords’ decision, the Government published a consultation into the issue on 9 July 2008, seeking views on the most appropriate means of responding to the House of Lords decision on pleural plaques.

In total, the Government received 224 responses to its consultation paper, as well as reports on the medical evidence on pleural plaques prepared for the Chief Medical Officer for England and Wales and by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council. As Jack Straw indicated in the House of Commons on 21 July 2009, the Government will give further consideration to the issue of compensation for pleural plaques before publishing a final response.

The Daily Mirror’s campaign also calls for the establishment of an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau, which would act as a fund of last resort for claimants with mesothelioma who are unable to trace insurers. This would operate on a comparable basis to the Motor Insurance Bureau, where there is a similar captive insurance liability market, which covers accidents involving uninsured drivers. The Government appreciates that there are strong views in favour of an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau and is looking at this matter closely. While the Government does want to ensure fairness to individuals who cannot trace their insurer, it is conscious that there are complexities associated with an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau that would require insurers to take on a cost that they did not have an opportunity to reflect in their business models. The Government is looking closely at the arguments for and against an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau, in the context of the wider work on tracing.

The Government understands the situation facing those individuals who struggle to trace a relevant insurance policy. While the vast majority of individuals, around 98 per cent, are able to find an employer or insurer to claim against, this does not in any way reduce the distress and difficulty faced by those who cannot. The Government also fully accepts that these individuals are disproportionately likely to be suffering from diseases such as mesothelioma and that, on top of a terrible disease, they face a lack of compensation. This is why the Government set up the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and 2008 Mesothelioma Scheme.

It is, of course, also important that we continue to look for ways of improving tracing levels. The Employers’ Liability Code of Practice, a voluntary code operated by the insurance industry, was established in 1999 to ensure insurers retain, and do their best to search, those Employers’ Liability policy records that exist. While the code has led to some improvements, there are still too many people who are left without help. The Government has been working hard across Government departments and with the insurance industry on this matter. We havemade it clear to the industry that we think there is room for improvement and that the industry must do all it can to make this happen. The industry has responded positively to this challenge and the Government is currently exploring with them a number of options for improving the situation. One possibility is the introduction of an Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, which would build and maintain a database of all current and future Employers’ Liability policies and those historic policies that have been identified. A Tracing Office along these lines would be a significant benefit to many thousands of people, helping them to trace policies and receive compensation in the future.

Work with the Association of British Insurers on the possibility of a Tracing Office, and other proposals, continues and the Government hopes to be able to say more following the Summer Recess.
The Daily Mirror’s campaign also calls for the establishment of a National Centre for Asbestos-Related Disease to advance medical research in this area. The Government believes a powerful case has been made and, as Jack Straw made clear on 21 July 2009, is currently considering proposals to make the UK a global leader in research for the alleviation, prevention and cure of asbestos-related diseases. This work is on-going.

Finally, the campaign raises concerns about the level of resourcing in the Health and Safety Executive to meet targets for inspecting asbestos removal work and calls for a public register of all asbestos surveys carried out on public buildings. The Health and Safety Executive has recruited the number of inspectors agreed in ministerial targets set at the last Spending Review. However, the primary duty to manage risk rests with the duty-holder of the premises. Inspection is an intervention for checking and enforcing duty-holders to manage their responsibilities, and is not a replacement for them.

Since 2004, there has been a legal duty on those in control of buildings to manage asbestos, which the Health and Safety Executive believes is sufficient provided there is compliance. It requires duty-holders, those with maintenance and repair responsibilities for non-domestic premises, to take reasonable steps to identify the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials. The duty-holder must then use this information to make a written record and management plan to ensure that the risks of exposure to asbestos are properly managed. It is also a requirement of the legislation that this information is made available to anyone liable to disturb it, such as contractors or maintenance workers.

The meaning of ‘public buildings’, to which the Daily Mirror campaign refers, has been clarified as ‘non-domestic buildings’. Such a register would therefore cover all buildings to which the ‘duty to manage’ regulations apply, and compliance with these duties achieves the objectives of the campaign. A national register for public buildings would be costly to administer, problematic to accurately maintain and have little or no effect in reducing the health risks associated with asbestos. The Health and Safety Executive has been successful in increasing levels of awareness through targeted media campaigns, such as the recent ‘Hidden Killer’ campaign and this approach, in conjunction with a robust enforcement strategy, is the best way of reducing the number of deaths caused by exposure to asbestos.

The Health and Safety Executive is also responsible for the Asbestos Licensing Permissioning Regime. This is the primary tool for regulatory control of asbestos removal contractors carrying out high risk asbestos removal work. The work of licensed contractors is monitored, including by inspection, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006 and any conditions set out in the particular licence.

Old Asbestos Ads (click on picture to see enlargement)

2009-09-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Court Of Appeal

2009-09-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

Trigger Litigation Issue
The next round in the Trigger litigation Issue will be heard in the Court Of Appeal for three weeks in November 2009. As soon as we have the exact date we will post it on the site and also keep it updated.

For those of you not familiar with the issue please look on previous postings in November 2008 onwards, you can also look on our website http://www.bobtolleyfund.co.uk/.

Breathe Photography Exhibition Australia

2009-09-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

Breathing is the basis of life.
It is a tragic fact that thousands of men & women die each year from diseases caused by inhaling asbestos fibres

In a cruel irony, the very strength and resilience of the asbestos fibre, once hailed as a “wonder fibre”, is the undoing of many who breathe it in. Once it has embedded in a person’s lung, the tiny fibre may give rise to cancers and lung disease which eventually rob the patient of the very capacity to draw breath.

Many more healthy, breathing men & women will fall victim to fibres that already lodge like tiny time bombs in their lungs. These are the workers, renovators and random exposed who will become disease statistics as death rates peak in about 2025.

Asbestos leaves a cruel legacy. In the dread that it engenders, in the pain and suffering it brings to so many families, in arrested dreams, in the sheer contemplation of what may lie ahead, it knocks us breathless.

One particularly poignant legacy is the widow. She faces her loss daily. How does she cope? What strengths does she draw from her husband’s memory? What encapsulates her resolve to live a meaningful and purposeful life?

This exhibition, simply titled Breathe, is dedicated to those widows united by that loss, and to their men who have gone.

Theirs is a story about strength, resilience and the will to breathe.

http://www.chrisirelandphotography.com/

British Lung Foundation Study

2009-09-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

BLF funded study finds new test for asbestos cancer
A study funded by the British Lung Foundation has resulted in a more sensitive test for the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma being developed by scientists. The test developed by a team at Oxford University looks at levels of a protein closely linked to the cancer in fluid around the lungs.

Currently, doctors carry out pleural fluid cytology - a lab test which looks for cancerous cells. However the Oxford research team, say that this is not a very sensitive test.
In this study they tested over 200 pleural fluid samples from patients who had been referred to a specialist respiratory clinic. They then looked at levels of the protein meothelin which is released in high quantities in the pleural fluid of most patients with mesothelioma.

It was found that the levels of the protein were almost six times higher in patients with the cancer than in those with secondary cancers, and 10 times greater than those with benign conditions. Professor Stephen Spiro, Deputy Chairman of the British Lung Foundation said:
“This study is an important step forward, as it could lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment of mesothelioma which is vital as currently most patients diagnosed with this disease live less than 12 months.
“This simple and non invasive test could help improve the survival time of those diagnosed with mesothelioma and give hope to patients and their families affected by this cruel cancer”.

The study has been published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Recruiting Participants

2009-08-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

A clinical trial for patients with malignant mesothelioma is currently recruiting participants. The trial is sponsored by Papworth Hospital in the UK, although it is open to any mesothelioma patient that meets the criteria. This study will evaluate video-assisted surgery to see how well it works compared with talc pleurodesis in treating patients with malignant mesothelioma.

According to information on ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, this is a randomized phase III trial. Video-assisted surgery removes part of the tissue layer covering the inside of the chest cavity, which researchers think may be effective in treating pleural effusion and cause less damage to normal tissue. Talc pleurodesis may keep fluid from building up in the chest cavity. It is not known at this time which thereapy is more effective.

The primary objective of this study, as stated in the project outline, is to compare the effectiveness of these two modes of treatment in terms of 1-year survival, in patients with suspected or proven malignant mesothelioma.

Secondary goals of the study include comparing the control of pleural effusion, comparing procedure-related complications, comparing symptoms and quality of life of these patients at 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment, comparing the length of hospital stay, the exercise tolerance level of these patients at 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment, and to determine the cost to the health service, in terms of resources used for procedures, hospital bed usage and cost of primary and secondary care over 12 months.

Recruiting locations in the UK are Basildon University Hospital, Gelnfield Hospital (Leicester), Guy’s Hospital (London), Papworth Hospital (Cambridge) and Royal Hallamshire Hospital (Sheffield). Principal investigator for the study is Robert Winter, MD, Papworth Hospital.

This study is identified in the U.S. at clinicaltrials.gov by ID number NCT00821860.

For contact and recruiting information, visit the Clinical Trials information page at http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT00821860.

James Hardie Executives Fined In Asbestos Fund Case

2009-08-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

James Hardie Executives Handed Penalties In Asbestos Compensation Fund Case
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) reported this week that the New South Wales Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that it will impose penalties against seven former directors and three executives of James Hardie Industries Limited. James Hardie is a manufacturer of Fiber Cement Siding and Backerboard. The court said the former Australian listed entity (JHIL) breached the Corporations Act in 2001 when making statements about the adequacy of asbestos compensation funding. The court also ruled James Hardie Industries NV (JHINV, based in the Netherlands) breached its continuous disclosure obligation in 2003.

James Hardie was one of Australia’s largest manufacturers of asbestos building products, and was alleged to have known the dangers of asbestos for decades.
The current proceedings came about as a result of ASIC’s investigation of matters identified by the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation. James Hardie established the foundation, which was intended to compensate families who lost loved ones to asbestos disease, in 2001. The inquiry into the MRCF was established in 2004, and the commission found that James Hardie industries deliberately underfunded the victims’ compensation fund

According to a report by Nonee Walsh of ABC News, who has been following the story since 2003, James Hardie has spent about $25 million so far fighting the ASIC’s case, while asbestos victims and their families have been simultaneously negotiating for new funding for the foundation. Payments to the new asbestos compensation foundation are currently suspended.

Walsh also noted that Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos disease in the world, including asbestos-caused lung cancer, mesothelioma. In 2003, when the sale of all asbestos products was finally banned in Australia, the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission went on record as saying there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure.

The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure, and there is currently no known cure. Mesothelioma most often affects the lining of the chest cavity and lungs, but also may affect the lining of the abdomen or, more rarely, the heart. Asbestos exposure also causes a variety of other diseases, including asbestos, a severe scarring of the lungs.

It is estimated that the levels of asbestos disease will not peak in Australia until 2020, when it is expected that there will be 13,000 cases of mesothelioma and up to 40,000 cases of other asbestos-related lung cancer and disease.

The New South Wales Supreme Court imposed financial penalties totaling $750,000, and said the company directors and executives named in the case will be barred from serving other boards of directors for between 5 and 15 years.

According to the ASIC, the James Hardie decision underlines the responsibility of companies to assess and check the veracity of statements make to the market. ASIC Chairman Tony D’Aloisio said, “The decision is another important step in improving corporate governance in Australia and that improvement will add confidence to the integrity of our markets.”

The matter will return to the Court on August 27, at which time the Court will make orders reflecting the penalties. The defendants will then have 28 days to appeal the findings.

Government Response To Mesothelioma Petition

2009-08-18T03:06:00.000-07:00

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to to ensure that all Mesothelioma patients get treatment they need in the UK and should not have to travel abroad. We would like to see Chemoembolization trialled in the UK and become a treatment that would be offered to Mesothelioma sufferers.

Details of Petition:
“Chemoembolization is a procedure that is most commonly used in the UK for liver cancer. Professor Thomas Vogl, Frankfurt, Germany, has been studying its uses with Mesothelioma with some sucess One successes is Debbie Brewer who, aged 47 was told she had 6-9 months to live, in Nov 2006. She started to take Mistletoe in April 08 & after meetin the prof started treatment May 08 & in June 08 for a 2nd treatment & was told the tumour had shrunk 10%. After 5 treatments it has, so far shrunk 53% & she has been given a partial remission diagnosis & has been told the tumour MAY NOT return. This treatment should be available in the UK as the treatments for Mesothelioma are limited to chemo, radiotherapy or major operation to remove the damaged lung. We are currently campaigning to get trials started in the UK *Chemoembolization involves passing a catheter through the femoral artery into the lung & targeting the tumour directly. *Mistletoe, A therapy used to boost the immune system & educate it to fight the tumour. It is administered via injection in the abdomen.”
Read the Government’s response
One of the recommendations of the LCAMAG was the development of a mesothelioma framework to provide the NHS with advice on how to deliver services for mesothelioma patients in order to improve standards of care to a uniformly high level across the country.

The Government's Reponse
The National Mesothelioma Framework was launched on 27 February 2008. The framework takes on board comments from a public consultation and includes advice on the configuration of services, raising awareness of mesothelioma and the clinical management of the condition. The Government hopes that the adoption of the framework’s recommendations by the NHS will make a substantial difference to mesothelioma patients and their families. Details of the framework can be viewed on the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk.

Chemoembolisation is currently available for the treatment of liver cancer. However, the risks and benefits of using chemoembolisation to treat patients with mesothelioma are not yet known. The Department of Health is not aware of any trials of chemoembolisation for patients with mesothelioma that are currently underway in the UK.

The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC), an independent body funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills via the Office of Science and Innovation. The MRC is dedicated to improving human health through the best scientific research. While funds are not generally earmarked for particular topics, the MRC always welcomes high quality applications for funding to support research into any aspect of human health. Awards are made according to scientific quality and importance to human health and are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Further details are available on the MRC’s website at: www.mrc.ac.uk.

The Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) programme also supports high quality research of relevance and in areas of high priority to patients and the NHS.

Neither the NIHR nor the MRC ring fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Both organisations welcome applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.

It is for clinicians, using their expert judgement, to decide on the most effective treatment for patients based on their individual circumstances. As Primary Care Trusts are responsible for commissioning services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, it is for them to decide whether to fund any proposed treatment taking into account any available evidence of the effectiveness of that treatment.

International Symposium on Mesothelioma

2009-07-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

More than 230 people gathered in Washington, D.C. recently 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.

Asbestos Victims Demand Payout From Insurance Industry

2009-06-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

Insurance fat cats were yesterday urged to donate a “£14 million windfall” from asbestos compensation payouts on badly-needed research into asbestos-related diseases.
For the past decade, insurers have saved vast sums on payouts where asbestos victims had already got compensation from the Government.
Last October, the Government changed the rules and began reclaiming these lump-sum payouts back from insurers when victims go on to make successful claims.
But the insurance industry was allowed to keep the money it had already saved - estimated by legal experts to be around £14 million over ten years.

Protestors outside the Association of British Insurers yesterday called on the insurance industry to use some of that money to try to find a cure for - or at least alleviate the suffering of - future victims of the asbestos timebomb.
Tony Whitston, of the Asbestos Victims Support Group Forum, said: “It’s like the MPs and their expenses.”It was within the rules but it was wrong. The insurance industry saved millions of pounds in compensation that was instead paid by taxpayers.”They should do the decent thing and donate this money to researching ways to help future victims of the asbestos timebomb.”

Deaths caused by asbestos are still increasing, are set to hit 6,000 a year and are not expected to decline until 2030.A new National Centre for Asbestos-Related Disease is one of the five demands of the Daily Mirror’s Asbestos Timebomb campaign.
Insurers have not responded to our call for them to help pay for the £10 million centre.But a spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said that the industry didn’t make a windfall as it took into account Government payouts “when setting its premiums”.

That seems unlikely, given that the Government compensation scheme began in 1979, after most of today’s asbestos victims were already exposed, and not long before the most dangerous types of asbestos were banned in 1985.
Most of the asbestos liability insurance claims are on policies dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the deadly material was widely used.Despite the credit crunch, the insurance industry is in good health.

Four insurance giants recently announced a court fight to overturn the Scottish Parliament’s decision to re-instate compensation for sufferers of asbestos-linked pleural plaques.
These four firms - which together make up more than half the employee liability insurance market - have reported strong accounts over the last 12 months:
* Aviva - formerly known as Norwich Union - recently announced operating profits of £2.3 billion, up 4% last year, and will this year give £875 million in dividends to shareholders.
* AXA made £1.2 billion profits last year and gave £835 million in dividends to shareholders.
* Royal Sun Alliance made pre-tax profits of £759 million last year and handed shareholders £250 million in dividends.
* Zurich made £3.5 billion profits in 2008, earning £913 million to shareholders.

Nick Sommerlad

http://blogs.mirror.co

Research Fund Award 2009

2009-06-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

The MKMRF are delighted to announce the recipient of this years £100,00 Award is Dr SamJanes, Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at University College London.
Research Study:
Treating Malignant Mesothelioma with Stem Cells
Despite major advances in several cancers over the past thirty years mesothelioma is still incurable and all those affected will die of the disease.
Dr Janes has recently demonstrated that Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) usually found in bone marrow preferentially travel to and integrate into tumours where they form some of the infrastructure called stoma. He has shown in a mestastic lung cancer that these cells can deliver a therapy to the tumour cells that result in the death of tumour cells but not the normal surrounding tissue cells.
He now wants to deliver this therapy to Mesothelioma. Using this system in another tumour initial experiments to control the growth of tumours has in almost 40% of cases eliminate them. If successful this may introduce a new era of treatments for Mesothelioma patients.
Mesothelioma is particularly suitable to this type of therapy because the cells can be delivered by a tube directly into the chest avoiding problems encountered in trying to target other cancer cells around the body.

Mesothelioma The Human Face Of An Asbestos Epidemic

2009-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well Done !!!

2009-04-27T04:05:00.000-07:00

"The Bob Tolley Dominoe Team" have won the Eastbourne League. So Well done to them all and a big thank you for all your support. A more detailed report will follow with photographs from the presentation night which is due to be arranged shortly.

Bart's Mesothelioma Research

2009-04-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

Bart’s Mesothelioma Research: is a group of doctors, nurses and laboratory researchers aiming to improve the treatment and increase our understanding of mesothelioma and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is the main type of cancer caused by asbestos poisoning. Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses such as lung cancer and pleural plaques are increasing in incidence even though asbestos was little used after 1980. The problem is that there is a delay of between 30 and 50 years from the exposure to asbestos dust and the development of one of the diseases.
Britain is currently facing an epidemic of asbestos-related illness. Unfortunately there is very little research going on into mesothelioma in the UK. Bart’s Mesothelioma Research is aiming to raise the profile of this neglected group of diseases by offering our patients the best possible treatment and by conducting first-rate clinical and laboratory research.
At Bart’s we have one of the largest outpatient clinics in the UK for patients with mesothelioma. Typically our doctors see two or three new patients weekly. We also see a large number of patients who have completed treatment and are being followed up. We take a very positive view of treatment for mesothelioma and our patients are treated as individuals with treatment tailored accordingly. Treatments that we use include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. All patients are assessed in detail for symptoms by our team which also includes cancer specialist nurses. www.mesothelioma.co.uk

Bart's Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

2009-04-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

Clinical Trials and Chemotherapy
Irinotecan, mitomycin and cisplatin (‘IPM’) for the first-line or second-line treatment of pleural mesothelioma.
This intensive chemotherapy treatment causes cancer shrinkage in around 30-40% of patients with mesothelioma. Side effects can include lack of energy, nausea and hair loss. The treatment is given every two weeks as an outpatient. Not all patients are suitable for IPM treatment but many patients have benefited from the tumour shrinkage achievable.
Weekly vinorelbine chemotherapy for the first-line or second-line treatment of pleural mesothelioma.
This less-toxic chemotherapy treatment causes cancer shrinkage in around 20% of patients with mesothelioma. Side effects can include lack of energy, nausea and constipation. The treatment is given weekly as an outpatient. Patients sometimes respond to vinorelbine chemotherapy after previous different chemotherapy treatment.
Weekly vinorelbine chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma.
Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma have a similar chance of benefit as patients with pleural mesothelioma.. We offer weekly vinorelbine chemotherapy as our treatment for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.
We also offer all other conventional mesothelioma treatments. New clinical trials are in development all the time so please go to our website for updates. www.mesothelioma.co.uk

Bart's Mesothelioma Research

2009-04-20T03:08:00.000-07:00

Laboratory Research Programme - Introduction
The Bart's laboratory programme is aiming to understand the biology of malignant mesothelioma.
The main interests of our laboratory group are:

The study of apoptotic mechanisms and sites of drug resistance in malignant mesothelioma.

Apoptosis, or "programmed cell death", is the regulatory process by which damaged cells are destroyed. There are at least two known apopotic pathways - the "intrinsic" and the "extrinsic", both of which involve the activation of a family of proteins called caspases. Under normal cell activity, activation of caspases leads to apoptosis. In tumours, disruptions in these pathways cause resistance to apoptosis and ensure cell survival and development.
With the use of tissue and molecular biology techniques, we are trying to identify dysfunctional proteins in the mesothelioma apoptotic pathway and sites of drug resistance.
The protein identified might be novel targets for effective treatment.

The genetics of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma cell-line studies and state of the art genomic array technology is used to identify alterations in the mesothelioma genome and provide information for target therapy.

Charity Event 2009

2009-04-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund
Charity Event
Saturday 26th September 2009
Golf Competition "The Bob Tolley Golf Trophy"
Horam Park Golf Club
Followed by An Auction, Raffle, Disco & Buffet
Eastbourne United Football Club
The Oval Channelview Road Eastbourne
All Proceeds to Mesothelioma Research

Study Examines Mesothelioma Risk In Britain

2009-03-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

A new report prepared by the Institute of Cancer Research and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examines the occupational, domestic and environmental mesothelioma risks in Britain. The findings are not good news.
The study was conducted for the Health and Safety Executive, an organization whose mission is to prevent death, injury and ill health in Great Britain’s workplaces. The HSE says this is the largest global study of its kind, including more than 600 patients with mesothelioma and 1,400 healthy people, interviewed to examine the rates of mesothelioma among different occupations in the UK.
Statistics resulting from the study include the following:
One in 17 British carpenters born in the 1940s will die of mesothelioma
Plumbers, electricians and decorators born in the 1940s who worked in their trade for more than 10 years before they were 30 have a risk of 1 in 50 of dying of mesothelioma
The risk for other construction workers born in this generation is 1 in 125.
For every case of mesothelioma, asbestos also causes about 1 case of lung cancer; the risk of asbestos-related lung cancer for carpenters in this age group is 1 in 10.
In other industries, about two thirds of British men and one quarter of British women worked in jobs with potential asbestos exposure.
Among the general UK population, even those who did not experience occupational exposure still have a 1 in 1,000 risk of mesothelioma, indicating unrecognized environmental asbestos exposure, due to its widespread use in the 1960s and 1970s.
The report estimates there are more than 2,100 people diagnosed with mesothelioma in the UK every year, with about 5 times as many cases in men as in women.
Read the full report.

Spodden Valley Scandal Part 2

2009-03-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Video Clip Of The Spodden Valley Scandal Part 1 is further down this page

2009-03-06T04:13:00.000-08:00

Asbestos timebomb:

Outrage of dying cancer victims forced to wait for their payouts
By Andrew Penman and Nick Sommerlad 5/03/2009
Daily Mirror campaign

These two insurance fat cats were happy to pocket the premiums.
But now faced with the enormous bill for asbestos disease payouts they are among a number of company bosses who are desperate to avoid coughing up.
Ian Willett, director of Municipal Mutual Insurance, and Ramani Ayer, chairman of the Hartford Financial Services Group, have saved their companies huge sums by dodging costs from the rising death toll.
They belong to an insurance industry which wants compensation to be triggered when a worker contracts asbestos disease - not when they first inhaled the fibres.
The trouble is, if claimants worked with asbestos in the 60s but only now are diagnosed with a related cancer, then it is highly likely their employers are no longer trading.
And a company that does not exist any more will not still have insurance cover - so no insurance company would pay up.
Four months ago, the High Court ruled against them in what became known as the "trigger" case.
Mr Justice Burton said that whoever insured the company at the time its workers were exposed to asbestos must pay compensation, even if the company itself has long since disappeared.
But the victory was short-lived as a string of insurance companies are appealing against the decision.
It means while lawyers prepare for another protracted court battle, more victims will be diagnosed with asbestosr-elated diseases and suffer terrible deaths.
Alan Ritchie of construction union UCATT blasted: "Every week 40 people die of mesothelioma. It is sickening that the insurance industry wants to block their compensation."
Just one of the insurers behind the trigger case court fight is Willett's Municipal Mutual Insurance.
Willett, who last year netted a £294,000 salary plus £43,000 in bonus and benefits, said Municipal Mutual was a special case because its clients were mainly local councils and, unlike companies, councils do not go out of business. He argued that the issue of there being no current insurance cover does not apply.
But there are unpaid victims because Municipal Mutual has not being paying asbestos compensation for six years.
Willett said that because of the time that has passed since it last issued employer liability insurance, victims diagnosed with asbestos cancer after 2003 "are not our responsibility".
In the case of Municipal Mutual, he estimates that £85million is at stake.
It could go to help asbestos victims and their grieving families.
But if the insurers win the next round in the legal battle, it will stay in the pockets of the councils and private investors who own the business.
Willett admitted during the last year's High Court hearing his bonus depended on the outcome of the case.
And he revealed that he had been paid extra in the past for saving his company money in asbestos payouts - and that potentially he would get paid more for winning the so-called "trigger" case.
Another big player in the High Court battle is Excess Insurance Company, owned by Ayer's Hartford Financial Services Group. It estimates in its latest accounts a provision for outstanding asbestos claims of £383million.
And it is not as if it cannot afford them.
It has a £9billion surplus and £8.5billion in cash and investments.
Ayer boasts on the company's website: "The Hartford is financially strong and well capitalised." He is doing nicely too - having recently made £1million on share options.
When we asked The Hartford why it was persisting in fighting the insurance battle, a spokesman said: "We don't have anything to provide at this point."
Municipal Mutual, Excess, plus Builders Accident Insurance and Independent Insurance appear determined not to pay up despite losing round one of the court battle. Ian McFall of Thompsons solicitors said: "One effect of the trigger defence is to frustrate and delay the process of obtaining compensation for people who are dying from mesothelioma and for the families of those who have died.
"It creates black holes in insurance cover.
The insurance industry knows this."
That is why the Mirror is calling for a new fund to be set up - paid for by the insurance industry - to provide compensation for all uninsured workers.
The Association of British Insurers runs a tracing scheme for workers who cannot trace the insurance policies but less than half were successful last year.
Meanwhile, uninsured workers are left to claim state handouts that are less than one third the amount they could claim on insurance. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health recently said the "voluntary approach is failing" and called on the Government to take urgent action and set up a fund of last resort.
The Motor Insurance Bureau already provides compensation for victims of uninsured drivers.
A new Employers Liability Insurance Bureau would provide fair and equal compensation for all workers - and would not cost the taxpayer a penny.
The ABI opposes the plan as it claims it could encourage bosses to break the law and not insure workers and because they do not want today's firms to pay for failures of the past.

RAMANI AYER THE HARTFORD

Job Chairman

Perks £1million profit on share options

IAN WILLETMUNICIPAL MUTUAL

Job Director

Perks £43,000 bonus on top of £294,000 salary

2009-02-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

"Amazing Asbestos" By Keasbey & Mattison
Stone that turns to floss

Though Asbestos is Rock, When mined once broken

it can be pulled apart... Actually makes a fleece

as soft and light as a wisp of wool...

This ad from the 1950s proclaims the miracle properties of asbestos, but it was identified as a serious health hazard in the 1920s ...

Spodden Valley Asbestos Scandal

2009-02-17T06:47:00.000-08:00

Asbestos Promotional Video 1950's

2009-02-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

World's First Asbestos Research Centre Opens

2009-02-17T03:17:00.000-08:00

Sydney, Australia
On January 20, 2009 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd presided over the opening dedication of the Bernie Banton Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (BBADRI). Located on the grounds of Sydney's Concord Hospital, the $12 million facility is the world's largest stand alone institute dedicated entirely to the advancement of scientific investigations into asbestos-caused malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), an aggressive, deadly, and incurable form of lung cancer. Public and private donation funded, the BBADRI will be partially staffed by physicians and researchers from Concord Hospital.
Named for a man who is considered to be a true Australian hero, the BBADRI celebrates the life of Bernie Banton, a man who had worked for years for James Hardie, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of asbestos containing cementitious building supplies and other products. While at Hardie, Bernie's job exposed him, as well as thousands of other workers, to high levels of asbestos over a period of many years.
Bernie Banton died in 2007, his name added to a list of thousands of Australian workers who have succumbed to MPM, but, before Bernie died, he fought a heroic battle against Hardie on the behalf of all the workers that had been sickened by Hardie's failure to protect its employees from the well-known hazards of asbestos. Mr. Banton's courageous and tireless efforts eventually resulted in a staggering $4 billion dollar worker compensation package from Hardie.
At the asbestos center's opening ceremonies, after praising Bernie Banton's battle against the manufacturing giant, Prime Minister Rudd pledged $5 million to the state-of-the-art facility that will conduct bench (laboratory) and clinical (patient-involved) research programs designed to better understand asbestos-caused MPM while developing novel therapies to treat it.
The Dutch head of the BBADRI, Professor Nico van Zandwijk is a thoracic oncology specialist who reports that the new asbestos center is the result of a group of forward-thinking Australians who recognized the need for such a facility several years ago. "We aim to study specific pathways to disease and relate them to prognosis and treatment," said Zandwijk, who went on to state, "We will also concentrate on education and prevention, and work on plans to ensure that the affected victim receives optimal treatment. Ultimately, the aim will be to find new ways to treat a disease that is largely resistant to most forms of traditional therapy."
As a relevant note, while it was PM Rudd who officially dedicated the Sydney cancer center, the politician has recently come under fire from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), a worker organization that accuses the Australian government of serious failures in enforcing a nationwide ban on asbestos. The ACTU, as well as five its major unions, recently sent a letter to PM Rudd, wherein it was stated that the government must establish an "asbestos task force" to investigate the thousands of daily exposures to asbestos that occur in Australia every day-many of those needlessly endangered by asbestos being Australian Navy and other military personnel. Sharan Burrow is the President of the ACTU, and she called PM Rudd's dedication of the BBADRI a "hollow gesture" by the government leader who has, to date, "failed to act to protect Australians from the very real dangers of exposure to asbestos."
At the dedication, PM Rudd stated, "Next year, around 750 Australians will be diagnosed with asbestos-related disease," and that "these are bad figures." Rudd went on to say that by 2020, Australia would be faced with over 13,000 cases of asbestos-caused mesothelioma. Bad figures, indeed, but Bernie Banton's cancer center will be there to help solve the mystery of this dreaded disease.

Meridian News Interview

2009-02-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday 20th November 2008
Please click on the link to watch Meridian news.

http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/news/?player=MER_News_15&void=260535

Mesothelioma Awareness Day Friday 27th February 2009

2009-02-11T04:34:00.000-08:00

This month sees the launch of the fourth annual Action Mesothelioma Day, which culminates on Friday 27th February 2009. During this time health charities, asbestos support groups, healthcare professionals, families and people living with mesothelioma will be campaigning to improve the treatment and care of people who are affected by the disease.

The British Lung Foundation will be publishing the results of our survey into the experiences and needs of people who have been affected by mesothelioma. We will also be campaigning for full implementation of the Mesothelioma Framework by publishing the result of our audit of NHS services and the degree to which they adhere to the standards that have been set the Department of Health.

The BLF will also be focusing on the forthcoming Coroners Bill and how it could work to improve the experience of those who have been bereaved by mesothelioma. The Bill is currently passing through Parliament and the reception is therefore an ideal opportunity to discuss with MPs how inquiries are carried out following a death from mesothelioma and how the Coroners Bill can ensure that coroner’s inquiries are carried out in a way that is sensitive to the needs of the bereaved.

You can support Action Mesothelioma Day 2009 by emailing your MP to ask them to support the campaign. To do so simply click here and enter your name and address.

There are also a range of Action Mesothelioma Day events taking place throughout the UK. To find out where an event is taking place near you please click here.

It only takes a few minutes to show your support and by getting this message to MPs you can make a real difference to the lives of those people with mesothelioma.

For more information about this campaign please email campaigning@blf-uk.org

Yang recieves MARF grant for Meso study

2009-02-05T01:53:00.000-08:00

Research scientist Haining Yang, MD, PhD, has been selected to receive a two-year, $100,000 grant from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) to study the mechanism of how asbestos causes mesothelioma. She hopes the research will aid in the development of effective prevention and therapeutic interventions, according to a report in the Honolulu Advertiser. Yang is a scientist at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, in the Thoracic Oncology Program.
Yang was one of five recipients of the MARF grant, and was selected from among 59 applicants in an international competition. Her research project will include an early detection study of mesothelioma in targeted villages in Turkey that show a high incidence of the disease, the paper reports.
In addition to the MARF grant, Yang will recieve $120,000 from the Hawaii Community Foundation Leahi Fund that will help support her research.
According to the Honolulu Advertiser, people in Hawaii are familiar with mesothelioma because it often affects people who worked in the naval shipyards at Pearl Harbor, as a result of exposure to asbestos used in shipbuilding for years.
The Cancer Research Center of Hawaii is a reserach unit of the University of Hawaii. It was established as a freestanding independent institute in 1981. On July 1, 1996, the Center became a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated center, and was awarded the Cancer Center Support Grant. The Center is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. Its mission is to “reduce the burden of cancer through research, education, and service with an emphasis on the unique ethnic, cultural and environmental characteristics of Hawaii and the Pacific.”
Related posts:
UH mesothelioma research recognized
CDC grant for possible Ground Zero illnesses
DoD funding for Meso research
DoD appropriations bill has meso funding request
National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank operational

ONCONASE Effective Treatment for Mesothelioma,Tumors

2009-01-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

A report recently published in Cell Cycle supports the preferential effectiveness of ONCONASE toward tumor cells, and underlines the effectiveness of the drug in treating malignant mesothelioma. Cell Cycle is a scientific journal that focuses on molecular aspects of cancer research, and which is dedicated to research on the cell cycle and cancer.
The report is the result of collaborative research conducted at the Brander Cancer Research Institute and the Department of Pathology at New York Medical College, in conjunction with the drug manufacturer, Alfacell.
The new study provides further evidence of the impact ONCONASE has on the RNAi mechanism, said Alfacell CEO Kuslima Shogen in a company news release. Shogen said it also provides evidence as to why ONCONASE helps sensitize cells to other antitumor agents.
According to the release, “The study demonstrated that silencing the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene (an abundant and ubiquitously expressed housekeeping gene) in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells by siRNA was effectively prevented by ONCONASE. While transfection of cells with GAPDH siRNA reduced expression of this protein by nearly 70 percent, the expression was restored in the cells exposed to ONCONASE for 48 or 72 hours. The data thus provide evidence that one of the targets of ONCONASE (ranpirnase) is siRNA.”
Results of ONCONASE Phase III clinical trials, “demonstrate significant efficacy in patients with malignant mesothelioma that failed prior chemotherapy,” according to Alfacell information. The drug utilizes a proprietary ribonuclease (RNase) technology that targets cancer cells while sparing normal cells.

Scientists Study How Asbestos Fibers Trigger Cancer in Human Cells

2009-01-09T04:03:00.000-08:00

The Strength of Disease: Molecular Bonds Between Asbestos and Human Cells”
Will be presented on Friday, December 19, 2008, at 1:40 p.m. (at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco
Ohio State University scientists believe they are the first in the world to study the molecular underpinnings of cancer by probing individual bonds between an asbestos fiber and human cells.
Though any clinical application is years away, the researchers hope their findings could aid in drug development efforts targeting illnesses caused by excessive exposure to asbestos, including the deadly cancer called mesothelioma.
The researchers use atomic force microscopy to observe how a single asbestos fiber binds with a specific receptor protein on cell surfaces. They suspect that at least one of the more lethal forms of asbestos triggers a cascade of events inside cells that eventually lead to illness, sometimes decades later.
The conditions most commonly associated with long-term exposure to airborne asbestos are lung cancer; asbestosis, a chronic respiratory disease; and mesothelioma, a cancer that forms in the membrane lining most internal organs of the body, including the lungs.
Eric Taylor, a doctoral candidate in earth sciences at Ohio State and a coauthor of the study, describes atomic force microscopy as “Braille on a molecular level,” meaning it allows scientists to feel and observe what’s happening on molecular surfaces.
“We’re looking at what molecules are involved in the chain of events when the fiber touches the cell. Does the binding occur over minutes, or hours? And what processes are triggered?” said Taylor, who presented the research at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
Asbestos comprises six different minerals that naturally occur in both fragment and fibrous forms. Because of its high durability and heat resistance, the fibrous form has been used in many manufacturing products since the late 1800s. Though its use is now highly regulated, asbestos is still present in many materials. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 1.3 million employees face significant asbestos exposure on the job. Environmental exposure is also possible because asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral in soils and exposed bedrock.
Crocidolite, or blue asbestos, is part of the amphibole group of asbestos minerals, which were banned in most of the Western world by the mid-1980s. Before that, they were used in such products as ceiling tiles and thermal insulation.
Ohio State researchers have focused so far on the crocidolite form of asbestos, but eventually hope to study how all six forms of asbestos interact with certain proteins on cell surfaces. Some forms of asbestos can dissolve in the lungs if they are inhaled, but others are believed to essentially “stick” to cells, especially at high concentrations, and eventually cause lung diseases.“For the first time, this will give us data on biological activity that should help policymakers determine which forms of asbestos are the most dangerous,” said Steven Lower, associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State and a coauthor on the study.
“The hypothesis we’re testing is that binding of cell surface receptors to asbestos fibers triggers a signal event, which initiates the cancer,” said Lower, also a faculty member in the School of Environment and Natural Resources. “There seems to be something intrinsic about certain types of asbestos, blue asbestos in particular, that elicits a unique signal, and it triggers inflammation, the formation of pre-malignant cells and, ultimately, cancer.”
The first protein to be studied is epidermal growth factor receptor, which is present on the surface of every human cell. Understanding the intricacies of the binding process between the mineral and one or more proteins will provide an index of the biological activity of a particular type of asbestos, and might lead the researchers to figure out how to prevent or undo that interaction, Lower said.
Taylor said the driving motivation behind the research is the potential to find a way to intervene and prevent illness even after someone is exposed to asbestos. Mesothelioma symptoms don’t typically appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure. After diagnosis, however, the cancer is difficult to control, and there is no cure.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.

Eastbourne Man Fined For Asbestos Removal

2009-01-09T02:58:00.000-08:00

Monday 29 September 2008 Health and Safety Executive (South East)

Eastbourne man fined £44,000 for unlicensed removal of asbestos
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging people to ensure that they use licensed companies to remove asbestos insulation board or asbestos lagging.
This follows the joint prosecution with the Environment Agency of Robert McCart today, a Director of two Eastbourne based companies, Sussex Asbestos Solutions (South East) Ltd and Sussex Asbestos Solutions Ltd. At Eastbourne Magistrates' Court, Mr McCart pleaded guilty and was fined £36,000 and £4,000 costs for breaching seven regulations under The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (please see notes to editors). He was also ordered to pay £4,000 compensation to the shop owner.
The Court clearly accepted the gravity of the offence and also disqualified Mr McCart from being a Director for four years.
Mr McCart was charged with health and safety offences following work he carried out to a shop in Gore Park Road, Eastbourne between 17 and 19 November 2007. He was employed by a local businessman to remove asbestos insulation board from his shop. Mr McCart undertook the removal of asbestos insulation board without the required licence for work with asbestos, and without notifying the HSE.
Mr McCart failed to carry out the appropriate precautions and left a white sack containing broken pieces of asbestos insulation board outside the shop, and asbestos debris inside the property. Mr McCart's actions put members of the public at risk of exposure to potentially lethal asbestos fibres.
HSE inspector, Amanda Huff, said:
"Robert McCart deliberately ignored the law for financial gain. Mr McCart was aware of the dangers associated with asbestos and yet decided to risk not only his own life but also members of the public.
"The HSE won't hesitate to take action against people who breach Health and Safety Law and put others at risk.
"Asbestos related diseases kill more people than any other single work related illness. It is essential that when any work is carried out which might potentially expose people to asbestos fibres that only competent operatives are used and the appropriate precautions are taken."
Asbestos licences are only issued to companies that are able to demonstrate that they have the appropriate training and competence in place. A list of licensed contractors can be found on HSE's web site at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/licensing/index.htm

Health & Safety Asbestos Regualations

2009-01-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

1. Regulation 9 of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: an employer shall not undertake any work with asbestos unless he has notified the appropriate office of the enforcing authority in writing of the particulars specified in Schedule 1 at least 14 days before commencing that work or such shorter time before as the enforcing authority may agree.
2. Regulation 8(1) of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: an employer shall not undertake any work with asbestos unless he holds a licence granted under paragraph (2) of this regulation.
3. Regulation 24(1) of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: Every employer who undertakes work with asbestos shall ensure that raw asbestos or waste which contains asbestos is not-(a) stored; (b) received into or despatched from any place of work; or (c) distributed within any place of work, except in a totally enclosed distribution system, unless it is in a sealed receptacle or, where more appropriate, sealed wrapping, clearly marked in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) showing that it contains asbestos.
4. Regulation 22(2) of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: every employer shall ensure that each of his employees who is exposed to asbestos is under adequate medical surveillance by a relevant doctor.
5. Regulation 18(2) of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: Asbestos areas and respirator zones shall be clearly and separately demarcated and identified by notices indicating-(a) that the area is an asbestos area or a respirator zone or both, as the case may be; and (b) in the case of a respirator zone, that the exposure of an employee who enters it is liable to exceed the control limit and that respiratory protective equipment must be worn.
6. Regulation 17 of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: Every employer who undertakes work which exposes or is liable to expose his employees to asbestos shall ensure that-(a) the premises, or those parts of the premises where that work is carried out, and the plant used in connection with that work are kept in a clean state; and (b) where such work has been completed, the premises, or those parts of the premises where the work was carried out, are thoroughly cleaned.
7. Regulation 16 of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 states that: every employer shall prevent or, where this is not reasonably practicable, reduce to the lowest level reasonably practicable the spread of asbestos from any place where work under his control is carried out.
8. A breakdown of fines and costs against Mr McCart is as follows: - HSE offences - £18,000 and £3,000 costs - Environment Agency offences - £18,000 and £1,000 costs - £15 victim surcharge as a company and £15 victim surcharge as an individual - £4,000 compensation to the victim - TOTAL: £44,030
9. For more information on asbestos please go to the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm

Mesothelioma Petition

2009-01-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

Please could you all sign the petition on the link below I am doing as much as I can to raise awareness of this awfull disease and the fact that sufferers can't even get all treatment options here in their own country. Please please could you forward it onto friends and families and ask as many people as possible to sign it..

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Mesothelioma-/

If the link doesn't work just copy and paste

2008-11-25T05:38:00.000-08:00

Insurers fail in attempt to deny compensation to asbestos cancer sufferers
(pictured left Bob Tolley)

Victory for the families of mesothelioma victims was being celebrated today as Mr Justice Burton, the Judge hearing the Trigger issue litigation, told the insurance companies they had failed in their attempt to deny compensation to victims of an asbestos related cancer and their families.
Insurance companies had tried to use a legal loophole to defeat mesothelioma claims and save themselves millions of pounds. A shocked courtroom heard a director of MMI tell the judge that if they won this case they would save themselves £70 to £90 million out of money set aside to compensate asbestos victims. This is a small fraction of the overall savings that would be made by other insurers– the savings would have potentially been billions.
Although this case only dealt with workers who developed mesothelioma, some insurance companies planned to use the same arguments to avoid paying compensation to any victim of asbestos disease. This would lead to thousands of asbestos victims receiving nothing. For over 50 years insurers on risk at the time that employees were exposed to deadly asbestos dust paid compensation to those who later developed asbestos disease. This changed in 2006 when insurers refused to pay any compensation, arguing that the policy did not cover the claims, as there was no injury until about 10 years before symptoms appeared. By this time many employers would no longer exist or could be insolvent, leaving asbestos sufferers without anyone to claim against.
Betty Tolley’s, husband Bob,died in September 2006, he worked for Humphrey’s & Glasgow Ltd. During his work he was exposed to asbestos, which killed him at the age of 67. In June 2008 at the High Court, a judge told Humphreys & Glasgow’s to pay compensation but they had gone out of business and their insurers, Excess refused to pay. Betty is now owed £200,000.00. For Betty this decision is the end of a long and painful battle: “You cannot put a value on anyone’s life, but to watch my husband of 48 years suffer such a painful death was something I will never get over. This decision will help people like me and my family whose loved ones have been exposed to asbestos through their employers neglect and have paid the ultimate price with their lives. No amount of money will ever compensate the loss of my husband Bob, I miss him terribly, he deserved more time with me, his children and grandchildren, that choice was sadly taken away from him due to no fault of his own. Bob’s daughter Christine Dennis added “ It is a great relief for me and my family that Justice Burton has handed down this judgement in favour of asbestos victims and their families. The fact that they would seek to deny sufferers and their families compensation when for years they have collected premiums is unbelievable. Workers have the right to be covered by their employers for hazards which could potentially cause them harm.
Carolann Hepworth, specialist solicitor at John Pickering and Partners LLP said: “I am delighted at the result for the claimants in this case. This is a ground-breaking decision in which John Pickering and Partners LLP have secured a successful outcome for our clients and for thousands of other mesothelioma victims.
This is a landmark ruling from the Court that prevents the insurance industry from withholding millions of pounds meant for claimants. The Judge has forbidden insurers from denying their responsibilities to their policyholders who paid premiums in good faith expecting their employees to be protected.
This case not only cost the taxpayer millions of pounds but caused untold anguish and suffering for many mesothelioma victims and their families.”
Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer that affects the lining around the lungs (the pleura) and certain other organs such as the peritoneum. There is no cure for mesothelioma. Radical surgery is available to a limited number of eligible patients. The condition can be difficult to diagnose and patients generally survive less than 18 months from diagnosis. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Mesothelioma often occurs 30 to 40 years after asbestos exposure, with no upper time limit. Although mesothelioma is an occupational disease, victims include teachers, nurses, doctors, shop workers and family members of people who have worked with asbestos.

Asbestos Victims Win High Court Victory

2008-11-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 21, 2008

Victims of asbestos-related cancer today won an important High Court victory against insurers.
For many years, insurers paid compensation for the fatal lung disease mesothelioma on the basis that their liability arose at the time when a worker was exposed to asbestos dust.
But, two years ago, the Court of Appeal ruled in a different legal context that liability was "triggered" when the disease actually developed - sometimes after 40 years or more - rather than at the time of exposure.
As a result, insurers stopped paying on a "time of exposure" basis and argued they were not liable because the risk cover they provided 40 years ago was no longer in force.
This summer, during a nine-week legal battle, Mr Justice Burton was asked by employees and employers to rule that the appeal court decision - made in a case of occupiers' rather than employers' liability insurance - should not be applied generally.
Arguing that liability arose at the time of exposure to asbestos, Colin Wynter QC, for three families battling to recover compensation from insurers, said: "It cannot be right to say that a man injured today is not actually injured until tomorrow."
Mr Wynter also represented employers who, although still solvent, faced the threat of compensation claims if their insurance cover was held not to have applied at the time of their workers' exposure to asbestos.
Today, the judge gave a ruling on six test cases which means that employees can claim against the employers' historic insurers even though there is no exact proof of when life-threatening tumours develop.
He said: "For the purposes of these policies, injury is sustained when it is caused and disease is contracted when it is caused, and the policies fall to be so construed."
Thousands of families of workers who have already died and others who may contract the disease in the future were awaiting the outcome of the case.
After the ruling, Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of trade union Unite said: "This is a hugely important victory for the victims of the deadly dust and for their families.
"Having to suffer or watch your relatives suffer from a slow and painful death is horrific.
"Thousands of men and women across the UK have been negligently exposed to asbestos by their employers, but insurers have tried and failed to use legal technicalities to escape their responsibility to pay compensation under the policies they sold to employers.
"They sought to avoid their liabilities while pocketing the money."

Mesothelioma

2008-10-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

Mesothelioma’ is a form of cancer which affects the thin
membranes lining the chest (pleural Mesothelioma) or, less
commonly, the linings of the abdomen (peritoneal Mesothelioma).
It may also surround the organs within these cavities for example
the heart, lung and intestines.
Pleural Mesothelioma
The pleural lining has two layers – an inner (visceral) layer lining
the lung and an outer (parietal) layer lining the chest wall. The
pleura produce fluid to lubricate the space between the two layers
allowing the layers to slide comfortably over each other as we
breathe.
Pleural Mesothelioma causes the pleura to thicken. This may
make it press on the lung or attach itself to the chest wall. Fluid,
sometimes several litres, can collect between the two layers and
cause breathlessness. This is known as a pleural effusion.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
The peritoneum also has two layers, the inner (visceral) layer next
to the abdominal organs and the outer (parietal) layer lining the
abdominal wall. Peritoneal Mesothelioma causes the peritoneum
to thicken and fluid (known as ascites) to collect in the abdomen
causing it to swell.
What Causes Mesothelioma
Exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of Mesothelioma. It
was a relatively rare disease up to the 1980’s, but is now occurring
more frequently because of the heavy industrial use of asbestos in
the post-war years. For most people diagnosed with Mesothelioma
the exposure happened 20-40 years previously although it could,
in some instances, be a longer or a shorter interval. Sometimes the
asbestos exposure may have been very brief and not always easy
to identify. Mesothelioma is, however, more common in people
who have had repeated exposure, usually in a work environment.
There are several types of asbestos all of which have been known
to cause Mesothelioma.
How Is Mesothelioma Diagnosed
Early diagnosis is difficult. In most cases the first obvious sign is
sudden breathlessness caused by an accumulation of fluid in the
pleural space. It may be accompanied by other symptoms such
as chest pain. Scans and X-rays can provide strong evidence to
support the diagnosis especially coupled with a history of asbestos
exposure.
However, other diseases can produce these symptoms and to
be certain of a correct diagnosis more investigations often need
to be carried out. Scans, fluid taken for laboratory examination,
needle biopsy or keyhole surgery to take a biopsy (a small sample
of tissue) are likely to be carried out to help confirmation of
diagnosis. These tests and results could take several weeks to
complete.
Is There Any Treatment That May Help
Mesothelioma responds very little to the normal cancer treatments
such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Any treatment offered
depends on several factors. These should include patient choice,
how well someone is, and how advanced the disease is. At present,
there is no known cure for this disease.
The initial most helpful treatment deals with the symptoms of
the disease. Removing fluid from around the lung can help to
relieve breathlessness. It can be drained either by drawing it
off or inserting a small drainage tube. However, fluid often re accumulates and the chest physician or surgeon may perform a procedure called a 'Pleurodesis’.
This is an attempt to “stick” the lung surface to the chest wall by
inserting sterile talc into the pleural space. This may be done by
a surgeon using ‘keyhole surgery’ otherwise called VATS –Video
assisted thoracoscopic surgery.
Surgery
A relatively minor form of surgery may be carried out during the
VATS procedure, involving the removal of some of the tumour.
Surgery may also improve some of the symptoms of the disease.
A major operation called an Extra-pleural Pneumonectomy (EPP)
is suitable only for a very select group of patients with early stage
disease and who are physically and mentally able to tolerate such
extensive surgery. The operation involves the removal of the whole
affected lung along with its lining, the lining of the heart and part
of the diaphragm. A limited number of thoracic surgeons in the
country can carry out this procedure Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery
Chemotherapy
This is drug treatment to destroy or control cancer cells. Unlike
other cancers there is no evidence that chemotherapy ever cures
Mesothelioma. Some trials and studies have however indicated that
it may help to improve symptoms temporarily and may extend life
expectancy slightly.
Not all patients with Mesothelioma will benefit from chemotherapy
and there is no way of knowing which patients will benefit and
which will not. It is important for you to discuss this with doctors
and nurses involved in providing it.
Radiotherapy
This is the use of high energy radiation to kill diseased cells in the
body. In Mesothelioma it can be used in two ways:
1)A short course of treatment to the chest wall where a biopsy has
been done. This is a preventative measure and is intended to stop
Mesothelioma growing in the skin layer.
2) Some patients may benefit from some pain relief following
radiotherapy

Approximately 1800 new cases of Mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in England. The large majority of patients will die within a year of diagnosis and only a very small minority will survive 5 years.
It is imperative that Mesothelioma patients should be diagnosed as early as possible, offered radical treatment where this is appropriate, have access to optimal palliative interventions and care and be offered appropriate information and advice including on financial benefits and possible compensation.
A Framework has been developed by the Department of Health on advice from members of its Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Advisory Group and from the British Thoracic Society. It includes comments received during consultation with cancer networks, professional groups and patients groups. I have no doubt that implementation of the recommendations in this Framework will improve quality for care for patients with Mesothelioma.
Professor Mike Richards (National Cancer Director )

There are around 1800 new cases of Mesothelioma a year in the UK and the disease is almost always fatal. More people die of mesothelioma than of cervical cancer, malignant melanoma or endometrial carcinoma. Mesothelioma incidence is still rising and is expected to peak between 2010 and 2015. Between 2006 and 2020 up to 30,000 people will die of the disease in the UK.
In most cases, Mesothelioma is an industrial disease which leads to complicated legal and financial information needs.
More research is necessary if outcomes are to be improved;

Mesothelioma is a cancer which principally affects the lining of the lungs (pleura). However it can also affect the peritoneum (a thin lining in the abdomen), and occasionally, arises in the membranes covering either the testes (tunica vaginalis) or the heart (pericardium). Over 90% of Mesothelioma with a known first site occurs as pleural Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma has a very strong association with exposure to asbestos and is exceedingly rare in its absence. When asbestos fibres are inhaled, malignant change occurs in a proportion of individuals and cancer of the pleura can follow. It is believed that nearly all deaths caused by Mesothelioma are linked to asbestos exposure.

There is a long ‘lag time’ between exposure to asbestos and the development of Mesothelioma, this varies from a minimum of about 10 years upwards, the average interval being in the order of 30-40 years

Cases of Mesothelioma in the UK used to occur mainly in people who had worked in ship building and heavy engineering (which used significant amounts of asbestos) and asbestos product manufacturing industries. For this reason, Mesothelioma was more common in areas such as Scotland, the North East and Southern England where many of these industries were based.

An increasing proportion of cases are now being diagnosed in individuals who may have had less intense exposure such as the building industry (carpenters, electricians, demolition workers etc.) and people who have worked in buildings where asbestos construction materials have been used and become disturbed in some way. It is estimated that these now represent the majority of new cases and therefore there is a large number of people who are at risk of the disease who may be unaware of their exposure to asbestos.

Men are far more likely to develop Mesothelioma than women, mainly because they were more likely to have been exposed to asbestos in the course of their work than women were. However, family members of people exposed to asbestos also have a higher risk of developing Mesothelioma because of fibres brought into the home on work clothes. A third group of cases probably arise because of ‘environmental’ exposure, for example in individuals who have lived in close proximity to asbestos factories or dumping sites. There is also a small number of deaths each year in people with no history of asbestos exposure – evidence suggests that there are likely to be at least 50 of these so-called “spontaneous” Mesothelioma cases each year in Great Britain.

The use, supply and importation of asbestos and asbestos products is now banned for all but a few exceptions by the Asbestos (prohibition) Regulations. Work with asbestos generally requires a licence and the use of strict control measures, including personal protective equipment such as respirators. The latest revision of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations introduced, from May 2004, a duty on those responsible for commercial premises to manage the asbestos contained in them (source: www.HSE.gov.uk).

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has found that the geographical variation in incidence is associated with the geographical locations of asbestos related industries. High risk areas tend to be those containing, or near to, industrial sites where asbestos was used extensively in the past – shipyards, asbestos manufacturing factories and railway engineering works for example (source: www.hse.gov.uk).

Information from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) also shows that the annual number of Mesothelioma deaths is increasing from 153 in 1968 to 1633 in 2000 to 1969 in 2004. The annual total number of Mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain is predicted to peak during the period 2011 to 2015 at a level up to 2450 deaths per annum

The survival rate for Mesothelioma is poor compared with other cancers. This is thought to be due to the advanced nature of Mesothelioma at the time of diagnosis and the lack of effective treatments. However, with earlier detection and improved services it could be possible to extend and improve the quality of life of Mesothelioma patients and there is the potential for radical therapy in a small minority of patients which could significantly increase their length of survival. At the very least, such early stage patients should have the opportunity to be entered into high quality trials of new therapeutic approaches.

Raising Awareness
As with all cancers, it is likely that the earlier Mesothelioma is diagnosed the better the outcome for the patient in terms of improved symptom control and possibly length of survival. To ensure early presentation, the awareness of Mesothelioma among two target audiences needs consideration:
A. The Public;
B. Clinicians (both in primary care and non-specialist hospital departments).

There is very little known about public awareness of this condition and whether/if there is benefit to be gained by raising awareness of the risk across the general population given the potential psychologicial impact of knowing that, even if you were diagnosed early, Mesothelioma is at present an incurable disease.
Supportive and Palliative Care
As Mesothelioma is almost always fatal, all patients will need palliative interventions and care at different stages of their illness. Supportive and palliative care therefore has a key role to play for both patients and their families and carers.
Patients with Mesothelioma frequently suffer distressing symptoms. These may include breathlessness, chest pain, fatigue and weight loss. Intractable pain in particular is a key issue. Specialist palliative care including specific interventions such as radiotherapy to the site of chest drainage/biopsy, nerve blocks & cordotomy, are of particular importance in providing relief for some patients.

The MARS (Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery) study (funded by Cancer Research UK and the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund). This is a pilot study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of performing a randomised trial comparing extra-pleural pneumonectomy (EPP) against no EPP surgery within the context of trimodality therapy (chemotherapy, surgery, post-operative radiotherapy). It is currently recruiting ahead of schedule;

The MESO-VATS study (funded by the BUPA foundation) – a prospective randomised controlled trial of video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) cytoreductive pleurectomy compared to talc pleurodesis in patients with suspected or proven malignant Mesothelioma. This has been underway for 2 years and is expected to expand into further centres.

The MES01 trial - a trial which compared chemotherapy against active supportive care alone for patients with malignant pleural Mesothelioma recently closed for recruitment. It is expected to report in 2007 and planning is underway for MES02.

The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Lung Clinical Studies Group has established a Mesothelioma sub-group to facilitate the development of these and other clinical trials in the disease

Benefits Related to Employment - A patient (except if they were self-employed) may be entitled to the following benefits, if they have developed Mesothelioma after coming into contact with asbestos as a result of paid employment:
a) Pneumoconiosis, Byssinosis and Miscellaneous Diseases Benefit Scheme – a patient may be eligible to make a claim under this scheme if it is believed that the disease developed because of a job done before 5 July 1948;
b) Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) – a patient may be eligible for this benefit if the disease developed because of a job involving working with asbestos or being exposed to asbestos after 4 July 1948
Claims for both these benefits should be made as soon as possible so that a patient does not lose out on benefits they may be entitled to. Patients, their families, or NHS staff can contact the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 88 22 00 if they need further information.

If exposure to asbestos might have happened during service in the armed forces rather than in other employment, a claim can be made for a war disablement pension from the Veterans Agency by contacting on 0800 169 2277.

Other Benefits
Other benefits that patients with mesothelioma or their carers may be eligible to claim (sometimes in addition to the benefits above) include:
a) Disability Living Allowance – if someone is under the age of 65 they may be able to claim this allowance if they need help with personal care needs or have difficulty getting around because of their illness.
b) Attendance Allowance – if someone is over the age of 65 and needs help with personal care needs because of their illness, they may be able to claim an Attendance Allowance. If a patient’s illness means that they are not expected to live for more than six months, special rules apply to claims for this allowance to make sure any entitlement is received quickly and easily.
c) Constant Attendance Allowance – if a patient is in receipt of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or a War Disablement Pension and needs daily care and attention because of the disability they may also be entitled to claim a Constant Attendance Allowance.
d) Carer’s Allowance – if a patient is in receipt of the highest or middle rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or some rates of Constant Attendance Allowance and has someone helping to look after them, they may also be entitled to claim a Carer’s Allowance.
e) Other Benefits may also be paid to replace or top up earnings and
help with housing costs - it is important that patients get expert advice about all these benefits and the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 88 22 00 is a useful starting point.
Compensation

If Mesothelioma is likely to have been caused by exposure to asbestos at work, it may be possible to claim compensation from the employer, or from several employers, by suing them for negligence. If Mesothelioma is likely to have been caused because of clothing contamination or environmental exposure, it may also be possible to claim compensation from the relevant firm.

This is a very specialised area of law and a patient or their family should seek advice from a specialist solicitor who will know how to deal with a claim and to make sure it is dealt with as quickly as possible. If the person with Mesothelioma is a union member, or was when they worked with asbestos, their union may be able to refer them to an experienced solicitor. If not, a local Asbestos Victims Support Group if one exists in the area, will be able to help with advice. They will know of expert solicitors. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers also has a list of experienced asbestos solicitors and the Law Society, or the Law Society of Scotland, will be able to provide a patient with a list of solicitors in their area.

As exposure may have happened several decades ago, an employer may no longer be in business. This does not mean that a claim cannot be made, as the solicitor may be able to claim against the employer’s insurer.

In addition, the Pneumoconiosis Etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 provides one-off lump sum compensation for sufferers (or their dependants if they have died) of this disease who are unable to claim damages from the employers who caused the disease, because they have ceased trading.

Sources of help, advice and support
Leaflets are available for some of the benefits referred to in this annex setting out more information about the qualifying conditions, how to claim and where to obtain the relevant claim forms. These can be downloaded and printed from: http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/jcp/customers/leaflets_and_guides/dev_011720.xml.html.

In addition, the following are useful sources of advice for patients with, or families affected by, Mesothelioma along with NHS employees who may require advice:

a) Mesothelioma UK (the National Macmillan Mesothelioma Resource Centre): 0800 169 2409
b) Cancer BACUP: 0808 800 1234
c) British Lung Foundation helpline: 0845 850 5020
d) Department for Work and Pensions benefit enquiry line 0800 88 22 00, Textphone 0800 24 33 55
e) Forum of Asbestos Victims Support Groups: 0161 636 7555
f) Association of Personal Injury Lawyers: 0870 609 1958
g) Law Society: 0870 606 6575
h) The Law Society of Scotland: 0131 226 7441
i) Local Citizens Advice Bureau, Veterans Agency, Welfare Rights Organisations and Trade Unions can be found in the phone book.
j) Veterans Agency 0800 169 2277, Textphone 0800 169 3458
k) Benefit Enquiry Line: Phone: 0800 88 22 00Textphone: 0800 24 33

http://www.direct.gov.uk/disabledpeople

Roselands Fishing Club Charity Donation

2008-10-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

The Roselands fishing club held two matches in memory of Bob Tolley and raised £250.00 for the Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund.
Prizes were kindly donated by Polegate Angling, Anglers Den, JF Construction, Anglers Cabin and PACES who also donated match fees for the day.
Our thanks to Stuart Hobden, Nigel Hagar and all the members for their kind donation to the fund.
Above left Stuart Hobden and Nigel Hager present the cheque for £250.00 to Betty Tolley on the charity night Saturday 20th September 2008 at Eastbourne United Football Club.
Above right the Roselands Fishing Club members.

Charity Day 2008

2008-10-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

The charity day held on Saturday 20th September, in aid of the Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund was again a great success, we raised with your help over Three Thousand Pounds for Mesothelioma research, which is great news.
The Bob Tolley Golf Trophy held at Horam Park Golf Club was won by Dan Isted.(Pictured above). The club very kindly donated a golf club for our auction and also looked after the thirty three golfers who played. So a huge thank you to Steve Greenfield and his team there.

Bernie Barnaville was again our excellent auctioneer, he managed to get over a thousand pounds on the auction alone.

Once again we could not have done so well without help from friends, family and Eastbourne United Football Club. We would like to thank you all for your continued support of our charity in memory of my dad.

A big thank you also to C Brewer & Sons who donated £500, Serco Eastbourne £250, Hotchkiss Ltd Eastbourne £100.Andy Shelley £50, Adam Burke £15, Mrs Norwell £10, Jon & Rachel Humphrey £30, Jill & Phil (Tesco Eastbourne) £20, Keith & Jean Garner £10, Mick & Jan Sands, £10, Dave Sands £5,Willingdon Golf Club, The Royal Eastbourne Golf Club, Eastbourne Golfing Park, Wellshurst Golf Club, Malcolm Farrow of Antalis Paper Merchants, Nicky at Beauty Basics, Mo Mambo Restaurant, Pizza Express, Domino's Pizza, Rumblebellys, Pete Veevers Plumb Centre, Ministry Of Hair, Split Endz, Starbucks, Southern FM, WH Smith, Sarah Mason NC Soft, Nick Faldo Enterprises, Colin Montgomerie, Justin Rose, Game Group, Roy Galloway Curzon Cinema, Horam Park Golf Club. Who kindly donated money and auction prizes.

Thank you also to everyone who donated raffle prizes and gave us their time.

This is an annual event to not only raise funds but also awareness of Mesothelioma & Asbetsos diseases.More Details can be found on www.bobtolleyfund.co.uk

2008-09-10T04:09:00.000-07:00

In June, we reported the wonderful news that our friend in the UK Debbie Brewer’s mesothelioma tumor had shrunk by 10 percent following an initial round of a special treatment called chemoembolization, which she is undergoing in Germany.
She had her first round of chemoembolization therapy in May, and a second in June. Since the June treatment, her tumor is now 18 percent smaller! Debbie returns to Germany for another round of treatment this month, and is hopeful that the tumor has continued to shrink.
In July, the BBC featured Debbie in an interview, talking about chemoembolization. She hopes to spread the word about this treatment so that more people might explore it’s possibilities for mesothelioma. Click here to view the BBC video.
Debbie shares her mesothelioma story on her blog, http://www.mesothelioma-and-me.com/. She was diagnosed with meso in November 2006. It is suspected that she contracted meso as a result of being exposed to asbestos dust on her father’s work clothes as a child. He was a lagger and would often scrape asbestos from pipes during his day’s job.
According to the web site http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=chemoembol, chemoembolization is a combination of chemotherapy and a procedure called embolization, to treat cancer. Debbie is being treated by Dr. Thomas J. Vogl, Chairman, Department of Radiology, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology - University Hospital, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, University of Frankfurt am Main.
In this procedure, Dr. Vogl catheterizes the tumor and administers localized chemotherapy directly into the arteries feeding the tumor. Once the chemo has been administered, other agents can be administered to block off the blood supply to the tumor.
We look forward to another stellar report following Debbie’s visit to Germany this month!

Charity Event 20th September Eastbourne

2008-09-03T05:28:00.000-07:00

Bob Tolley Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund

Charity Event Saturday 20th September 2008

Golf at Horam Park Golf Club

10.30 am tee off

Lunch Included £26.00

Afterwards at Eastbourne United Football Club 7.30 pm onwards

Insurance Companies Fight To Deny Asbestos Claims

2008-09-03T04:58:00.000-07:00

MP's Criticise Insurance Industry On Asbestos Claims
MPs spoke out in disapproval of the insurance industry’s treatment of asbestos victims.Michael Clapham MP described the insurance industry as acting like “jackals” in their concentrated attack on paying compensation to victims of industrial illnesses.After Excess Insurance Company Limited’s ‘trigger issue’ High Court challenge that could dramatically reduce the likelihood of mesothelioma sufferers being compensated. Mr Clapham accused the insurance industry of gross “hypocrisy” saying that on the one hand their representatives make statements that they want to ensure that payments to mesothelioma victims easy and straightforward, then in the next breath they launch expensive legal cases to deny victims compensation.MP Jim Sherdan described asbestos victims as “being treated worse than cattle”. He argued that if animals experienced the same diseases, then the middles classes would demand that swift action was taken.The MPs were speaking in a Westminster Hall debate about the fight to restore compensation to victims of pleural plaques.Pleural plaques are scarring of the lungs caused by heavy and long term exposure to asbestos. Pleural plaque victims are a thousand times more likely than other people of contracting the fatal lung cancer mesothelioma which kills 2,000 people a year.A medical expert on pleural plaques, and Consultant Physician, Robin Rudd has stated that pleural plaques are a pathological change in the membrane which surrounds the lung, victims of pleural plaques are liable to pleural thickening causing breathlessness, lung cancer and mesothelioma.Dr Rudd also found that pleural plaque sufferers suffer severe mental anxiety following diagnosis, as they fear that they will die from mesothelioma, which is incurable. During the debate it also emerged that a leading accountancy firm has estimated that the Law Lords decision on pleural plaques will save the insurance industry £1.4 billion.

Mesothelioma Claims 28 Year Old Victim

2008-09-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

Did Asbestos At School Kill This Woman

For two years Leigh Carlisle courageously battled the killer disease mesothelioma, which is almost always caused by asbestos, and searched for the reason why she might have contracted it at the age of 26. She was believed to be the UK's youngest recorded victim of a disease normally associated with older people. To have developed it at such a young age, she must have been exposed as a child. But how and where?
Leigh, from Failsworth, Oldham, never got her answer. She died on Wednesday, aged 28, at a hospital in north Manchester, with her boyfriend by her side.
Not long before her death, her lawyers began to investigate the possibility that she could have contracted the disease at her primary school. As her family and boyfriend paid tribute to her fight, solicitor Geraldine Coombes of Irwin Mitchell, a firm specialising in industrial diseases, said they were awaiting a response to a Freedom of Information request about the buildings in which Leigh was taught as a youngster.
'We had been working with Leigh and her family to establish how she was exposed to asbestos. We know that she must have been exposed to it as a child,' said Coombes, adding: 'We know that asbestos in schools in a real problem.'
Leigh's boyfriend, Michael Price, said: 'Leigh had so much courage and strength - she was an inspiration to me and to others.' Instead of flowers at her funeral, he said she wanted donations to the Oldham Cancer Support centre in Failsworth. 'Leigh would have liked to think that she helped the cancer centre to support other people.'
Her parents, Sheila and Mark, sister Sarah and niece Bella said in a statement: 'Leigh is still very much part of our family, always a treasured daughter, sister and auntie. Everyone is so proud of her.'
Leigh, who completed an MA degree in marketing last year, was eventually diagnosed after suffering abdominal pains. The disease, which attacks a thin membrane coating the lungs and abdomen, is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, but usually takes more than 20 years to develop.
Leigh once speculated that she could have been exposed to it while taking a regular shortcut to her primary school through a builder's yard.
Although the precise cause of her illness is not yet known, her story has highlighted the cases of around 200 school workers who have died or are suffering serious illness as a result of asbestos being used in schools. The National Union of Teachers has described the issue as a 'ticking time bomb'. Research and campaigning work by Michael Lees, whose teacher wife died from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the school where she worked, had made the public aware of the extent of the problem, said Coombes. 'We hope the government will act to protect teachers and schoolchildren,' she added.
It is estimated that today around 13,000 schools contain asbestos. It was widely used in school building projects during the second half of the 20th century.
It is claimed in an investigation in the New Statesman this week that even though the Department of Education and Science became concerned about its use as early as 1967, pressure from the asbestos industry meant that it continued to be used.
Around 2,000 people die from mesothelioma in Britain each year, a figure which has doubled since 1992 and looks set to rise further. Professor Julian Peto of Cancer Research UK has called the use of asbestos in Britain an 'extraordinary industrial error'. He believes that 90,000 more people will die from mesothelioma in Britain and that a further 90,000 will die from other lung diseases related to asbestos exposure.
'Leigh will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her,' said her solicitor. 'She was always friendly and kind to others, no matter how bad things were with her health. She was an exceptional young woman, spending time raising money for charity and raising awareness among younger people about cancer

Mesothelioma Compensation

2008-09-03T02:02:00.000-07:00

Unite backs High Court test case on behalf of thousands of asbestos victims
2 June 2008
UNITE the Union is backing a High Court test case next week to protect the legal rights of thousands of vulnerable asbestos victims throughout the UK.
The UK's largest trade union, represented by Thompsons Solicitors , is backing a lead case in a nine-week court battle, starting on Tuesday, June 3, 2008, against insurance companies who deny liability to pay compensation in mesothelioma cases. Unite is fighting to preserve the right to compensation for people who develop the fatal disease, mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos in the work place.
Unite joint General Secretary Derek Simpson said: "The union is supporting this test case to protect the right of mesothelioma sufferers and their families to obtain compensation, and to make sure that insurance companies pay out on behalf of the employers they insured when workers were being negligently exposed to asbestos.
"What's at stake here is millions of pounds which should be used to compensate asbestos victims and not be pocketed by the insurance industry. It is a sickening scenario and we will fight every step of the way to see that insurers are not allowed to pass the buck and dodge their liabilities."
Charles' daughter, Maureen Edwards said: "It's important to us that we win this test case, not just for our family, but for all those families, now and in the future, who will be devastated by this awful disease."
"My dad died a painful death due to mesothelioma and watching him go through it was agonising for all of us. But now our grief and sorrow is being dragged out and made worse by the insurers who we feel are doing all they can to get away without accepting any responsibility.
"We will not be able to move on with our lives until we have finally achieved justice for my dad."In what has become known as the "trigger issue" test case the insurers are arguing that the policies they sold to employers to insure against liability for workers becoming ill or injured due to their work, are "triggered" by the development of the disease rather than by the exposure to asbestos. Their argument breaches the fundamental principle that the person who caused the damage (i.e. by exposing workers to asbestos) pays and will be indemnified by their insurer. It is a heartlessly opportunistic attempt by insurers to take advantage of a recent Court of Appeal case involving ' Public Liability' insurance. Public Liability insurance policies are written to trigger liability when injuries develop, but Employers Liability insurance, as in this test case, was written on the understanding that the insurer's liability is triggered by the asbestos exposure which caused the damage .
Often the time lapse between exposure to the deadly dust and the development of mesothelioma can be longer than 40 years.
If the insurance companies are successful it will lead to thousands of asbestos victims and their families being deprived of their right to compensation.
In the test case, supported by Unite, the family of mesothelioma victim Charles Michael O'Farrell have previously been awarded compensation by the court of £152,000. The insurers have refused to pay this.
Whether the family ever receive the compensation depends on the outcome of the High Court test case. The decision is expected in the autumn but is likely to be appealed by whichever party loses. It is widely anticipated that the trigger issue test case may eventually be taken to the House of Lords.
Charles O'Farrell, a retired member of Unite, who died in 2003, was exposed to asbestos while working as a steel erector for Humphreys & Glasgow Limited from 1964 to 1967. The company ceased trading in1986 and is currently in liquidation.
When Charles was exposed to asbestos his employer was insured by Excess Insurance Company Limited.Excess is now refusing to pay to Mr O'Farrell's family the damages the court ordered against the employer it insured.If the High Court finds in favour of Excess it will mean thousands of mesothelioma victims and their families will be unable to obtain compensation because, if by the time the worker develops the disease the employer who exposed them to asbestos is defunct, no insurance will exist.
- ends -
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
Notes to Editors
1. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos. There is no cure and around 2,000 people a year are currently diagnosed with the disease in the UK.

Trgger Issue

2008-09-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Family wins High Court judgement for Mesothelioma Death

The family of Bob Tolley who passed away from Mesothelioma in September 2006 were successfully awarded compensation against Mr Tolleys previous employer, Humphreys & Glasgow Ltd. A judgement was issued in the High Court on Thursday 12th June, for asbestos exposure which led to mesothelioma.

This turned out to be double edged sword for the family, who although awarded compensation may not receive any of it due to the Employment Liability trigger issue being heard in the high court at the moment with six test cases going before Mr Justice Burton. The case hinges on the wording of Employers Liability Policies, insurers are arguing that the policies sold to employers insure against liability for workers becoming ill or injured due to their work, are triggered by the development of the disease rather than the exposure to asbestos. At what point does the disease begin to "exist", at the time of exposure or when it begins to develop or when symptoms actually appear?.

Often the time lapses between exposure to the deadly dust and the development of Mesothelioma can be 40 years or more, so many employers have ceased trading or gone into liquidation.

Bob's wife Betty who attended the court with her solicitor Carolann Hepworth of John Pickering & Partners, said after the judgement was awarded: "I am relieved that someone had finally taken responsibility for what happened to my husband, it has never been about the money for me or my family, how do you put a price on someone's life.
Bob was always very fit and healthy and only just 67 when he died, he did not deserve this disease and I find it very unfair he was exposed to asbestos whilst just going about his normal working life due to someone else's negligence. Ignorance is no defence for putting employees in any kind of danger at work".

The family continue to raise funds for Mesothelioma research. A charity event is being organised on Saturday 20th September comprising of a golf tournament in the day and an evening auction raffle buffet and disco at Eastbourne United football club Channelview road. Last years event raised £1403.00 for research, this year the family hope to raise even more. money. There is also a website http://www.bobtolleyfund.co.uk/ set up in memory of Bob, in conjunction with Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Snowdrop Fund & The British Lung Foundation.

If you need advice about an asbestos related illness contact any of the asbestos support groups, or John Pickering & Partners for information about making a claim for compensation.

FREEPHONE: 0800 854201
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk
www.mesotheliomaadvice.co.uk
FREEPHONE: 0800 854201
Website: www.johnpickering.co.uk
www.mesotheliomaadvice.co.uk
Carol Ann Hepworth
Old Exchange Buildings
St Ann's Passage
29/31 King Street
Manchester, M2 6BE
Email: ch@johnpickering.co.uk
Tele: (0161) 834 1251
Fax: 0161 834 1505

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