After years of asbestos exposure, Libby, Montana continues to live under a cloud of side effects and hazards associated with former W.R. Grace & Co. mine. For decades vermiculite mined from the Libby site tainted surrounding areas with asbestos fibers caught in the strands of vermiculite being excavated. Instances of mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses reached record highs in Libby.

In 2009, the effects of toxic asbestos dust caused Lincoln and Flathead Counties to be labeled an emergency situation. Now, the government is making Medicare provisions for local residents to receive diagnosis and treatments for mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. Although heightened exposure for longer periods of time may raise the likelihood of developing mesothelioma, experts consider one-time exposure enough to cause the cancer as well.

Once asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested they become lodged in internal tissues and began a mutative process of tumor development. Mesothelioma most often affects lung lining; although it is also know to cause tumor development in lining of other abdominal cavities.

Due to its characteristically long latency period, mesothelioma poses a diagnostic challenge; it often goes undetected for twenty to fifty years without demonstrating symptoms. In its final and most aggressive stage mesothelioma shows signs that are easily mistaken for bronchitis or pneumonia. In many cases patients have no idea they were ever exposed to asbestos and therefore have no reason to suspect they are developing mesothelioma. However, in the Libby cases, residents know their risks and can began to seek early diagnoses.

Montana’s Senator Baucus has added benefits to the list already available for Libby area residents, which will be available July 1 of this year. Administrated by Noridian Administration Services, informational sessions will be held to educate locals on new benefits available and qualification processes in place.

According to a June 14, 2011 article in Daily Inter Lake, additional available benefits will include:

• Special home-care services
• Special medical equipment
• Help with travel to get care
• Special counseling such as help to quit smoking
• Nutritional supplements
• Prescription drugs not covered by Medicare drug plans if the participant is in a Medicare drug plan

Recent studies have shown a 10% increase in mesothelioma development in Libby residents over the national average. Of course, as latency periods grow, so will the number of cases. With such a concentrated presence of asbestos dust and fibers, early diagnostic tools, treatment regimes and medical facilities are a must for Libby, Montana residents.

Austin Lacy, a senior at Pasadena high School in California, died last week in a Maryland hospital after battling mesothelioma cancer. Abnormally young to be diagnosed with mesothelioma, Austin did not know what the cause of his symptoms was until just a few weeks ago. When his mother, Karen Rogers, heard the diagnosis from Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, she was shocked and confused.  “This is a disease people who worked in coal mines get,” she said.

Rogers was not far from the truth. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos—commonly associated with mining. Additionally, however, asbestos can be found in a broad range of industries including shipbuilding, oil refining, plumbing and insulating. Asbestos catapulted industrial gains of the last century due to its fire resistance and durable qualities. Asbestos was spread through America and across the globe in products used for everything from residential and commercial construction to military equipment and munitions manufacturing. Many of these components are now beginning to wear out, creating countless possibilities for toxic asbestos fibers to be released into the air.

There is no information yet as to where or how Austin was exposed to asbestos. Most mesothelioma cases are associated with workplace exposure and are characterized by a latency period of twenty to fifty years; Austin was not old enough to fit the typical mesothelioma patient demographic.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of abdominal organ lining, most often affecting the mesothelium, protective lung lining. Symptoms include fatigue, coughing, chest pain, and other respiratory illness signs associated with pneumonia or bronchitis. Mesothelioma treatments include chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy, which are administered in combination to manage pain and extend patient life expectancy.

After five hospitalizations over the past year, Austin’s caretakers could not understand the cause of his suffering. Finally, after mesothelioma diagnosis, Roger’s took her son to a Maryland hospital to undergo a new mesothelioma treatment regime. Austin collapsed during preliminary testing and was on life support for several days before his family decided to let him go.

Austin was an avid football player in school, loved and respected by his classmates. His dream was to play professionally, or, as he told his mother, to be a coach if his health issues continued. Friend and fellow football team member Armon Easley said, “He was a leader. He was somebody to look up to. When I was on the field and down, he would always encourage me to play harder and make up for it on the next play.”

Between hospital stays Austin would try to get back in shape for football. “Almost every other day we would go out after practice and work out, because he knew he wasn’t where he was before he was hurt, so he was trying to get back there,” Easley said.

His perseverance through his health trials encouraged his schoolmates and teachers. Austin’s junior-year coach, Steve Hagerty said of Austin, “He didn’t seem to get down too much. He just persevered.”

Saturday, May 21^st will witness the 1st International Symposium on Lung-Sparing Therapies for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, in Santa Monica, California. Sponsored by UCLA’s Mesothelioma Research Program, the symposium will host many renowned medical officials prepared to present and discuss new treatments and therapies of the rare and aggressive cancer.

There are two types of mesothelioma, pleural and peritoneal. Pleural, the most common of the two, is specific to lung lining. Peritoneal mesothelioma can occur in lining of other abdominal cavities such as the heart or diaphragm. Both types are characterized by a system of irregularly patterned tumors, a long latency period and a short life expectancy following diagnosis.

Intended to offer continuing education hours for physicians and providers, but open to all, the course will be directed by Dr. Robert Cameron, MD, FACS. Dr. Cameron is Director of the Mesothelioma Research Program at David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA and the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at West Los Angeles Veterans’ Administration Medical Center.

Dr. Cameron will be joined by Mr. Tom Treasure, MD and Mr. David A Waller, MD,, who will present and discuss recent findings of the Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) Trial completed in the UK.

Continued training for mesothelioma treatment providers could not come at a better time. Mesothelioma cases are on the rise worldwide. An estimated fifteen to twenty thousand people suffer from mesothelioma globally each year. The World Health Organization estimates that number will quickly reach ninety thousand if asbestos use is not stopped or greatly curbed around the world.

Long known as the cause of mesothelioma, as well as other severe reparatory illnesses, asbestos is used as a building material and stabilizer. Boasting fire resistance and durability asbestos has been used in numerous industries throughout the past century. Most often associated with shipbuilding, munitions manufacturing, residential and commercial construction, refineries and insulation, asbestos has spread across the globe in countless forms.

Health hazards associated with asbestos began surfacing several decades ago. Many countries, including the US, UK and Australia, have strictly regulated asbestos use. However, developing countries continue to use the toxic material without protection or safety precautions. Health care facilities and treatments for respiratory conditions caused by asbestos are minimal, if existent, in these countries.

The upcoming symposium will include discussions and reviews of mesothelioma treatments by medical experts; specifically, chemotherapies, surgeries, radiation treatments and pulmonary medicine. Events like this will greatly help in raising awareness and furthering education on mesothelioma, a threat growing worldwide.

The city of Augusta faces an expensive challenge after a non-operational California firm shirks responsibility. A three-story Augusta apartment building, owned by the California firm, was left abandoned and unmanaged. The seven apartments in the building have now become home to squatters, criminals and drug dealers.

Neighbors and locals are becoming increasingly concerned and fearful of the events taking place in the building, and the inhabitants taking up residence there.  Once considered a problem that might just go away, city officials are now recognizing the need for a proactive response to a situation fast “getting out of hand.”

City Manager William Bridgeo said of the decision to tear down the old apartment builidng, “This is one of those unfortunate situations, in my mind, where I fear Mr. Murphy and his law will kick in, and something tragic will occur if we do nothing. And there’s really no other responsible party we can go after. I have to tell you, I can’t see any other options open to us that responsibly address the concerns that police, fire, code enforcement and I have.”

Through legal process, Augusta city received the right to empty and demolish the building. However, when it was discovered that the shingles covering the buildings exterior were made of asbestos, a costly wrench was thrown in the city’s plan.

Asbestos is a toxic chemical heavily used in the US between the 1920s and 1980s in multiple types of construction, manufacturing and building industries. Known to cause severe respiratory conditions, asbestos is a public health concern and a threat to air quality. If asbestos fibers are inhaled they can cause rare cancer mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma affects about three thousand Americans each year and is characterized by a long latency period and short life expectancy following diagnosis. There are mesothelioma treatments available, but no known cure.

Augusta facilities and systems manager, Bob LaBreck, realizes the expense associated with asbestos abatement, which in this case will almost double the demolition budget. He estimates asbestos removal costs between $46,000 and $50,000, while the rest of the demolition is estimated between $30,000 and $50,000.

LaBreck said of the building, “It’s a mess, it’s covered in asbestos, and there is literally eight to 10 inches of debris on the floor, on every floor. You name it, it’s in there. It’s a tired building.”

City officials hoped to recover some abatement and demolition costs from the building’s California based owners, but chances are not looking good. Stephen Langsdorf, Augusta city attorney, considers recouping any costs a lost cause. “My opinion — it’s absolutely uncollectible.”

Mayor David Rollins faces the expense with the city’s benefit in mind.  “As much as we don’t like the number in front of us, the potential disaster is a much greater number,” he said.

Prof Julian Peto, of London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine and the Institute of Cancer Research, believes the UK is experiences a higher national, annual mesothelioma death rate than any other country. With over two thousand British losses each year, Peto may be right.

One Scottish man is experiencing this sad statistic personally. George O’Donnell, 79, was diagnosed with mesothelioma after his doctors found scarring on his lungs. O’Donnell received chemotherapy to extend his life expectancy and raise his quality of life. His doctors advised him that there would be no full recovery.

“That’s very hard to take,” he said of the doctors’ prognosis, “but you just have to accept it.” O’Donnell is facing his struggle as bravely as possible.

Mesothelioma is estimated by the World Health Organization to affect ninety thousand people worldwide every year. Caused by toxic chemical asbestos, mesothelioma cases are not expected to drop until asbestos use is banned or at least greatly curbed. However, with its fire resistant and stabilizing qualities, asbestos continues to be used globally in countless building and manufacturing industries.

O’Donnell believes he was exposed to asbestos in just such an industry. He was employed in construction business in Glasgow for decades. Working demolitions and remodels could have exposed him daily to toxic asbestos fibers.

Elaine Darling, O’Donnell’s daughter, said of her father’s asbestos exposure, “He was never made aware of the dangers of asbestos. They didn’t have health and safety the way we do now. A lot of his work was pulling down tenement buildings and working on the roofs, where there was asbestos you didn’t know about.”

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer. Once asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs a process of tumor growth is begun in lung lining or lining of other abdominal cavities. These tumors grow in an irregularly patterned web through protective tissues, often taking twenty to fifty years to fully develop. This long latency period makes mesothelioma difficult to diagnose. It grows without showing symptoms until there is little time for treatment. Many mesothelioma patients, like George O’Donnell, have no idea they were ever exposed to asbestos, so they have no reason to consider seeking medical attention until the cancer has entered it’s final, aggressive, stage.

Elaine Darling said of her father’s disease, “It’s been hard seeing how the mesothelioma has affected my dad, seeing him lose weight and getting thinner about the face. It’s frightening how quickly something that has been inside him for years can take effect.”

Mesothelioma treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These treatments are typically administered in multiple combinations to fight the cancer directly, or as part of a palliative care plan.

ExxonMobil has appealed a New Jersey court’s decision made in 2008, but the court is not hearing it. Exxon was found liable for Bonnie Anderson’s case of peritoneal mesothelioma, which she was diagnosed with in 2001.

Mesothelioma is causes by toxic chemical asbestos. Asbestos is most often a work-related hazard. The last century brought in countless tons of asbestos containing materials for use in refining, manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, insulation and a variety of other building needs. Asbestos use went unchecked for decades before associated health concerns became widely known. In the 1980s, in the interest of public health and safety, the Environmental Protection Agency began to define regulations for its safe use and removal. However, gaining the nickname “backbone of American industry” asbestos was spread far and wide across America well before regulations were in place.

Bonnie Anderson worked as an electrician between 1975 and 1986. Although she worked in a refinery, a common location for asbestos exposure, she was not exposed to the toxic chemical on the job. It was sadly her husband, who worked in pump repair for ExxonMobil, who connected Bonnie with dangerous asbestos fibers. Much of his time was spent removing insulation material from pump components to be repaired or refitted. He would return home, covered in dust from work, where Bonnie would wash his work clothes for him. Bonnie claims she was exposed to asbestos fibers brought home on her husbands clothes. It was washing his work clothes, she stated, that led to her case of mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is characterized by a long latency period—often between twenty and forty years. Once asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs, they begin a cancerous development through the lung lining or lining of other abdominal cavities. Bonnie Anderson suffered from peritoneal mesothelioma, the less common of the two types specific to a variety of abdominal cavity tissues. Pleural mesothelioma, the more common type, is seen only in lung lining.

There are many mesothelioma treatments available, including surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Palliative care is also a common choice for mesothelioma patients who wish to focus on quality of life rather than undergo cancer-direct treatments; it may include surgery, but the goal is to aid in breathing and manage pain for patient comfort.

Exxon claims workers compensation laws do not cover the stretch made in the case of Bonnie Anderson, but the court has held its decision. Exxon is currently considering their legal options.