Posts Tagged peritoneal mesothelioma

Clearfield, Utah Woman Receives $5.2 million in Mesothelioma Case

Posted by Colin in Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Legal Help, Financial, Mesothelioma on May 20, 2010

The daughter of a Utah home builder was just awarded $5.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages from a mesothelioma settlement.  The Utah jury determined that Vickie Warren should be awarded the sum from building manufacturing companies Georgia-Pacific and Hamilton Materials, and asbestos mining company Union Carbide after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure.  It can take 15-40 years to develop and often starts in the lungs (pleural mesothelioma) or the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).  The average life expectancy of a victim post-diagnosis is around a year.

Ms. Warren suffered her exposure as a teenager in Provo, Utah.  She often worked alongside her father, a Geneva Steel employee, who built homes on the side.  He unknowingly used an asbestos-containing compound to smooth out joints in walls as part of these jobs.   This process involved shaving the walls down and Ms. Warren helped her father by cleaning up the dust and debris left behind.  The shaving and clean-up of debris released microscopic asbestos fibers into the air which were then inhaled by Ms. Warren.

Ms. Warren is now so ill from the asbestos exposure that her story was recounted to the Deseret News by one of her mesothelioma attorneys, Bob Gilchrist.  Because many of the asbestos manufacturers were aware of the potential hazards yet hid the information from the public, the area of mesothelioma law has evolved to help compensate victims.  In this particular case, the jury awarded $1.4 million in economic damages and $3.7 million in non-economic damages.  Gilchirst has stated that the $5.2 million awarded after the 6 week trial may be the largest mesothelioma verdict ever in Utah or the surrounding states and is a victory for not only himself and Warren, but other mesothelioma victims as well.

Read the full article here

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Alimta® and Gemzar® Effective for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Posted by Emily in Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment on July 23, 2008

Researchers affiliated with a multi-center U.S. trial reported in the July 20, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology that the combination of Alimta® (pemetrexed) and Gemzar® (gemcitabine) was active in patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is much less common than pleural mesothelioma, making up less than 20% of all cases. Moreover, the latency period for peritoneal mesothelioma (sometimes referred to as abdominal mesothelioma) appears to be 20-30 years, which is shorter than the latent period for pleural mesothelioma. The most common treatment strategy for peritoneal mesothelioma involves a multimodality approach with surgical debunking followed by systemic and/or intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Due to the relative rarity of this disease, controlled trials of various treatment options are not available for peritoneal mesothelioma. Therefore, few studies of chemotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma, treatment regimens are derived from studies in patients with pulmonary mesothelioma.

This current study involved 20 patients treated between 2002 and 2004. Patients received Alimta and Gemzar every 21 days. In addition, patients also received folic acid, vitamin B12, and dexamethasone. The results from the study are listed below.

- The overall response rate was 15%.

- The disease control rate was 50%.

- The median time to disease progression was 10.4 months.

- The median survival time was 26.8 months.

- Toxicities appeared to be tolerable but with a grade 3-4 neutropenia rate of 60%.

The researchers have concluded that Gemzar and Alimta is an active regimen that is an alternative to standard therapies. This is one of the first studies devoted to systemic chemotherapy treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma and provides important baseline information.

For Full Article, Click Here.

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Doctor awarded $24.4 million in mesothelioma suit

Posted by Emily in Asbestos Legal Help, Mesothelioma on April 28, 2008

Doctor Stephen E. Guilder of Plantation, Florida, received nearly $24.2 million in a suit against Honeywell regarding asbestos exposure.  Guilder was diagnosed in September with the rare form of mesothelioma that forms in the abdominal lining: peritoneal mesothelioma.  The verdict is Florida’s largest  asbestos settlement involving a single defendant.

Guilder claims that Honeywell knew of the dangers related to asbestos but produced no warning to its employees.  Guilder worked with Honeywell’s asbestos brakes in the 1970s and early ’80s.

“I am very pleased that the jury held Honeywell accountable for the devastating harms it caused Dr. Guilder and his family,” said his attorney, David A. Jagolinzer, in a statement. Guilder has been married for more than 20 years and has three children, ages 18, 16 and 14.

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