Familiarity breeds contempt. How accurate that is. The reason we hold truth in such respect is because we have so little opportunity to get familiar with it. – Mark Twain’s Notebook
Prologue:
I knew William for a number of years. In my childhood he repaired a sewer line outside our home on Thanksgiving Day; he was a contractor and that was the only day that he had available to do the expensive work for a famil
y without much money. In later years I knew William differently. I found out that he had worked in the shipyards during World War II where he had learned the plumbing trade. William lived to be an old man: hard-working, trustworthy, reliable, healthy until almost the end of his bountiful life.
If you are like me, I have come to ignore all the attorney commercials that so frequently come on television. I have learned to tune out these people who are so willing to sue for accidents, medical shortcomings, and a host of other things including mesothelioma. Mark Twain was right; familiarity does breed contempt. Each commercial I saw telling of a lawyer willing to sue for mesothelioma caused me to think of William and the fact that in his 90s he was healthy as a horse. My contempt for mesothelioma lawyers overshadowed the fact that it is a serious condition.
A report by Medical News Today in 2011 provides the following information about mesothelioma:
Mesothelioma, one of the most aggressive and deadliest cancers, is responsible for approximately 3,000 deaths in the USA annually. Over 50% of patients die within a year of diagnosis. In Europe and China mesothelioma incidence has been rising for the last ten years.
Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer that is virtually exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos or erionite – it is typically found in the mesothelium, the outer lining of the lungs. Most people who get mesothelioma, do so by inhaling asbestos fibers or being exposed to its dust at work. When there is no history of asbestos exposure at work, it is usually because another member of the household worked in an area with asbestos. Erionite is a natural mineral fiber found in volcanic ash and rock formations, it is similar to asbestos. According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), it has been identified in 12 US states.
People with gene mutation BAP1 have a higher risk of developing mesothelioma and melanoma of the eye, researchers have reported in Nature Genetics. The authors added that individuals with the BAP1 mutation who are exposed to asbestos have a considerably higher chance of developing mesothelioma than those without the mutation. This gene mutation may underlie other types of cancer, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic or renal cancers.
source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233508.php
Recently Joyce and I had a conversation with Mary Hesdorffer.
I have a lot of re
spect for Mary, I feel that she speaks the truth. Mary is a Nurse Practitioner who serves as the Executive Director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. Her 15 years of experience is evident as one listens to her explain facts and situations simply and clearly about this rare condition. Her bio on the website is a testimony to her passion and commitment of working with those affected by this disease and in laboring to bring about added research and treatments which will improve the quality and longevity of life. Her bio contains this accolade; Mary has been a strong voice in urging increased transparency to the medical and legal issues surrounding mesothelioma with a strong emphasis on ethics.
Let’s focus on the word ethics in the issue of mesothelioma.
We often hear of the fraudulent misrepresented claims against former manufacturers of asbestos products; a Wall Street Journal article reposted on program business.com tells of fictitious claimants and also those who were supposedly working in asbestos related industries when they were 12 years of age.
http://www.programbusiness.com/News/As-Asbestos-Claims-Rise-So-Do-Worries-About-Fraud
The litigation process too often overshadows the realities of mesothelioma and the still-existing risks of exposure to asbestos and vermiculite in our homes and many other places.As Powerful Patients we need to be aware of these risks; while most of us may be like my friend William who apparently suffered no ill effects from his exposures to asbestos the possibility that it could happen to us should cause us to be prudent and careful. The makeup of our genetic pool reminds me of a saying by Forrest Gump: “My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”
Below are links for information – this could be time well spent.
Warmest Wishes – MikeMary’s Conversation with us:
https://powerfulpatient.org//causes-and-care-for-mesothelioma/
http://www.curemeso.org/site/c.kkLUJ7MPKtH/b.3117571/k.4710/Asbestos_and_Mesothelioma_Research.htm
Environmental Protection Agency links;
http://www2.epa.gov/asbestos/protect-your-family-asbestos-contaminated-vermiculite-insulation
