Articles Posted in Boston Mesothelioma

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Tremelimumab is one of several drugs that are in development as a treatment for malignant mesothelioma.  As discussed in a recent article from FDA News Alert, for patients, a mesothelioma diagnosis is one of the scariest things they can hear.  It is a rare illness and there is no cure.  Essentially, when a patient learns that he or she has mesothelioma, they are generally told that there is little doctors can do and that the prognosis is normally death within a few months to a few years.

surgeonsIt should be said that this does not mean there are no treatment options for malignant mesothelioma. It is that there aren’t many effective ones. At best, doctors have been able to slightly slow the growth of these deadly and aggressive and tumors, but nobody goes into remission like they do with other types of cancer. Continue reading

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According to a recent news feature from LABIOTECH, Sellas Life Sciences Group, based in Switzerland, has just received orphan drug status approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new drug known as WT1 vaccine.

stethascope1WT1 vaccine is an immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine that is being developed to prevent two different types of cancer that generally affect the lungs and surrounding tissues.  Those cancers are malignant pleural mesothelioma (caused by asbestos exposure in nearly all cases) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).  So far, there have been phase II trails with the drug on both conditions, and there have been what are known as positive top line results during this course of these phase II clinical trials. Continue reading

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A recent news feature from the Huffington Post looks at fights against various diseases in the United States and around the world throughout modern history.  One example was Polio, which was a major fear in cities such as Boston as recent as 70 years ago.  The disease was finally listed as being officially eradicated in the United States in 1994, which is about 50 years after the vaccine was first created.

whistle-1505616-300x225This, of course, was the Polio vaccine created by Dr. Jonas Salk.  Now that disease is listed as completely eradicated, children are no longer given oral or injectable vaccine against it, which was once commonplace. Polio is a disease that ravages the human nervous system and causes paralysis and death without the vaccine. Continue reading

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While the Green Line trolleys on the MBTA system are relatively knew and mostly made in Europe, those who ride the trolley between Mattapan Square and Ashmont still ride the vintage Presidential Conference Cars. These are the old trolley cars painted orange and off-white that one would expect to be sitting in a transit museum instead of out on the tracks.

roadtonowhereThere are variety of reasons the trolley cars are still in use, but a lot of that goes to their being a piece of living history for residents and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) system in general. As it turns out, according to a recent news feature in the Dorchester Record, the fleet consists of ten trolley cars, and, of those, only six are usually in operating condition at any given time. These cars, which MTBA workers have nicknamed Mattapan Rattlers, are not easy to keep running, and lot of the problem has to do with getting parts. Continue reading

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According to a recent article in the Madison County Record, a couple is suing various defendants in connection with the husband’s exposure to deadly asbestos fibers and subsequent illness. The couple has named over 20 companies as defendants in the asbestos lawsuit.

workonatrainIn the plaintiffs’ complaint, they alleged husband became exposed to asbestos between 1962 and 1999, which constituted his working years. During this time, he worked as an auto mechanic and a pattern maker. In both occupations during that time, workers would regularly come in contact with deadly asbestos fibers. Continue reading

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Mesothelioma is a very rare cancer that forms in a layer of tissue know as the mesothelium, hence the name mesothelioma. While most people associate mesothelioma with lung cancer, it is not technically lung cancer. It is an entirely different form of malignant cancer that often forms in the lungs, abdomen, or chest.

judgeWhile it is medically possible to develop malignant pleural mesothelioma (lungs), malignant pericardial mesothelioma (chest), or malignant peritoneal (abdomen) mesothelioma without ever having been exposed to toxic asbestos fibers, the chance of that happening is extremely remote. In reality, almost all cases of malignant mesothelioma are caused by exposure to deadly asbestos.  During the process of diagnosing a patient with malignant mesothelioma, the asbestos fibers will generally still be visible in the cancerous tissue, so the body has no ability to break them down, which is one of the major reasons they are so dangerous.   Continue reading

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When asbestos is removed from a building during a demolition or renovation process, the asbestos must first be inspected by a certified asbestos contractor and sent to a hazardous materials testing lab for confirmation that the substance is, in fact, asbestos. After the presence of asbestos is confirmed, a building owner, with the help of a certified asbestos abatement contractor, must submit an asbestos abatement plan to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and apply for an asbestos abatement permit.

mjzWfFiOnce the permit is granted, a certified asbestos abatement contractor must perform the work with properly trained employees who are provided with required safety equipment, including protective clothing and respirators or ventilators. The asbestos must be removed carefully, so as to prevent anyone from being exposed to the deadly fibers. This may involve painting exposed asbestos with a heavy coat of sealant to prevent dust from escaping. Regardless of what is needed to remove the asbestos-laden materials, the material must be wet down to suppress most of the dust and placed in approved containers. The containers must be sealed and taken to an approved hazardous waste disposal center. Sometimes, this involves taking the asbestos to an approved recycling center. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article form The National Law Review, Massachusetts Court of Appeals has recently made a significant ruling on a case involving non-payment of a subcontractor for issues involving asbestos abatement (removal) responsibilities.

gavel21In this case, Acme Abatement Contractor, Inc. v. S&R Corporation, a general contractor was working on a public demolition and hired a subcontractor to perform most of the work. However, after subcontractor performed most of the work, contractor refused to pay subcontractor for any of the work. At this point, subcontractor filed a civil contracts lawsuit against general contractor in the Massachusetts Superior Court. In this case, after discovery and hearing cross motions for summary judgment, the superior court granted summary judgment in favor of contractor. In other words, the court was convinced it was acceptable for contractor to withhold payment to subcontractor based upon the alleged deficiencies in performance. Continue reading

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Anyone familiar with the Worcester area is probably at least somewhat familiar with the historic Stearns Tavern currently located in Webster Square. According to recent article in the Worcester Telegram, the historic tavern was built in 1812 by Charles Stearns to operate as a tavern. Years later, it was operated by the hotel and stagecoach stop for travelers passing through the city of Worcester.

tosignacontract3The tavern was later sold to other people and used for other purposes. In the 1950s, it was a furniture shop, and ten years later it was a carpet store. In the mid 1970s the building was moved from its original location on Main Street to the Weber Square area, where it has sat for the past several decades. After being relocated, it was used as a local bank. The building hosted several different banks over the years, including Bank of America, which moved out about two years ago. Continue reading

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Representative Blake Fernthold (R-Texas) is speaking out about problems with the mesothelioma victims’ fund for first responders and veterans exposed to deadly mesothelioma fibers.   The funds were set up by Congress in the 1990s, and money was reserved for future victims, since it typically takes between 20 and 50 years after first being exposed to deadly asbestos fibers before they metastasize into malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, or cause other forms of serious respiratory illness.

u-s--capitol-building-918333-mThese funds were designed to provide fair payments as compensation for present and future victims, but instead there have been many funding problems with the systems and payments, which have been reduced since the 2000s, and in some cases multiple times to the same victims or their families.   Fernthold says the reason for this is because of recurring incidents of fraud and abuse of the system. He, along with a group of advocates, is supporting the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency (FACT) Act. They hope that with greater transparency, there will be less fraud, and victims and their families will finally get the compensation they deserve. Continue reading

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