Archive for category Support

Why being a bad mesothelioma patient (or any other kind) can save your life

Posted by Katy in Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment, Support on August 31, 2010

evan handler californication 199x300 Why being a bad mesothelioma patient (or any other kind) can save your life

Evan Handler photo: sitcomsonline.com

“Sex in the City” and “Californication” actor Evan Handler (Harry Goldblatt) is the first to admit he was a bad patient when he was undergoing treatment in the 1980s for leukemia. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way: being a “bad” patient saved his life.

In his two books about his experiences – “It’s Only Temporary” and “Time on Fire”- Handler reports egregious mistakes in his care that could have been disastrous if he had not been so vigilant. He was given intravenous drugs meant for another patient, almost given medications by nurses that his doctors had forbidden for him and that other hospital staff refused to follow the hospital’s posted hygiene precautions for immunosuppressed patients like himself. During his eight months in the hospital, Handler became the ultimate empowered patient by learning to double-check everyone’s work and trust no one – including doctors and nurses completely. He even started forging his doctor’s signature on his blood tests so that they would make it to the lab faster.

“I was lucky to be able to maintain my strength and do it as long as I did, and my girlfriend at the time, Jackie, was willing to sit by my side and advocate for me, and she was very skilled at doing it. You wonder, how many people die from illnesses because the strength to keep up vigilance runs out?”

Unfortunately, many do die. It is estimated that medical errors in hospitals kill between 44,000 – 98,000 patients a year. If you have mesothelioma cancer or any other medical condition, being vigilant, informed, and an all-around bad patient may save your life.

Read the interview between Handler and CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

, , , ,

No Comments

Cyclist raises awareness for Meso in ride to Nation’s Capital

Posted by Marc in Mesothelioma, Support on August 30, 2010

frank cavaluzzi mck daily news1 200x300 Cyclist raises awareness for Meso in ride to Nations Capital

Frank Cavaluzzi sporting one of our BAN t-shirts (Ben Filio | The Daily News)

He doesn’t have a bicycle seat and will be carrying pounds of gear on the sides of his two wheels, but that won’t stop Frank Cavaluzzi from riding all the way from his home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. — with the goal of raising awareness about Mesothelioma and its deadly grip on thousands of Americans suffering from the form of cancer every year.

Cavaluzzi, who himself suffers from a different lung ailment (allergic asthma), took up biking as a way to open his diaphragm and help his breathing, now wants to use his new-found skill in long-distance biking to help those struggling with mesothelioma.

Sponsoring him is Larry Davis — someone we’re very familiar with here at MesoRC — who has been one of the leading figures behind raising awareness for mesothelioma patients.

“Larry Davis is the inspiration for this ride,” Cavaluzzi told the McKeesport Daily News. “He’s helping to sponsor and support it by being an activist.”

You can read the entire article here, and follow Cavaluzzi’s trek to D.C. on Davis’ website — actionagainstasbestos.com

, , , , , , ,

No Comments

Workers Memorial Day remembers those killed on the job

Posted by Marc in Asbestos Industry, Mesothelioma, Support on April 29, 2010

Workers Memorial Day poster 200x300 Workers Memorial Day remembers those killed on the job

Worker's Memorial Day poster from the Dept. of Labor

Yesterday’s observance of Workers Memorial Day comes as a solemn reminder to those who have spent their lives working in dangerous and hazardous conditions to provide for themselves and their families – especially those who sacrificed their life in doing so.

The reminder is especially poignant for the many that have been exposed to asbestos or living with Mesothelioma, as this exposure largely occurred in the workplace. With 2,000 to 3,000 newly diagnosed cases of Mesothelioma each year and thousands of lives already claimed by the disease, today should prompt all of us to reflect on how Asbestos has become one of the biggest threats to workplace safety, and what we can do ourselves to ban the use of Asbestos once and for all in the U.S.

The observance began in Canada in 1984, with the date of April 28 significant as it was the date of the first Workers Compensation Act in Canada. It was observed in the U.S. for the first time in 1989.

The motto – “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living” – is a quote from prominent Gilded Age labor advocate and community organizer Mary Harris Jones (a.k.a. “Mother Jones”), and is especially applicable to the fight to ban asbestos and advocating litigation for those suffering from Mesothelioma. Asbestos companies knew the danger their product posed for decades, yet chose to hide these findings because they deemed profits to be more important than the health and safety of thousands of workers.

According to statistics from the International Labor Organization (ILO), more than 160 million fall victim to work-related illnesses around the world each year, with Asbestos claiming and estimated 100,000 lives.

No Comments

Recognizing National Asbestos Awareness Week

Posted by Administrator in Asbestos Legal Help, Mesothelioma, Support on April 1, 2010

Today marks the first day of “National Asbestos Awareness Week,” as declared by the United States Senate in  S.RES.427, which was a resolution passed with unanimous consent on March 26, 2010.  The resolution also urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate people about the public health issue of asbestos exposure.

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and exposure can result in various asbestos-related diseases, including malignant lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.  There are approximately 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma in the U.S. every year, and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization estimates that during the next decade, 100,000 workers around the world will die of an asbestos-related disease.  Despite the known risks, there is still a significant lack of resources promoting asbestos safety, and the material is still present in many consumer products today.

In recognition of National Asbestos Awareness Week, Sokolove Law’s Ban Asbestos Now (BAN!) advocacy program is striving to increase awareness of the national asbestos problem while supporting the larger fight against cancer by donating $1 to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute for every letter to Congress submitted through the website petitioning for the altogether ban of asbestos in the U.S.  The Dana Farber Cancer Institute is one of the premier facilities for cancer treatment in the world, providing expert care and cutting-edge research with the ultimate goal of eradicating the disease entirely.  Through this promotion, BAN! hopes to address the cause AND the cure of these devastating ailments.

Now is the time for those affected by asbestos diseases to share their stories and bring attention to the hazards these materials pose.  With your help, BAN! can make a difference.

No Comments

UK Government Pledges Support for Victims of Asbestos Exposure

Posted by Marcus in Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Legal Help, Mesothelioma, Research, Support on March 17, 2010

The Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom has unveiled a series of measures aimed at supporting victims of asbestos exposure.  They were announced after a government conference on how to respond to a 2007 ruling by the Law Lords which ended the right to compensation.

The proposals are a result of years of campaigning by advocates, who have fought for better treatment, support and compensation for victims and their families even after the 2007 legal setback.

Included in the measures are:

  • The creation of an Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, which helps victims track down a company’s insurer (at the time of exposure).  Since many manufacturers of asbestos products are no longer in business, finding their insurers from a given period has been extremely difficult.
  • The creation of an Employers’ Liability Bureau which will act as a fund of last resort in the event the insurer cannot be found.  Victims will receive compensation from this fund, if necessary.
  • A series of payments of £5,000 for people who had begun, but not yet resolved a legal claim for compensation at the time of the 2007 ruling.
  • A pledge to increase funding for mesothelioma research.

A local coroner, William Armstrong, supports the plans.  He told the Norwich Evening News,  “I deal with a substantial number of inquests into people who have died from asbestos-related diseases and the numbers seem to be growing.

“There are unfortunately people who have been exposed to asbestos many years before the condition manifests itself and many of them die in very distressing circumstances.

“Anything that can be done to help their relatives and loved ones claim the compensation to which they are entitled is very much to be welcomed.”

Ministers have also vowed to set up a working group consisting of mesothelioma lawyers, unions, insurers, the judiciary and civil servants to review asbestos law practices and procedures for obtaining compensation.  They also hope to streamline the process in order to reduce the time it takes for cases to conclude.

Click here for the full article.

No Comments