By Kelly Holleran

An asbestos suit naming 37 defendant companies has been filed on behalf of a recently deceased man, alleging the mesothelioma with which the man was diagnosed was caused by company negligence.
Geri A. Koons claims Lewis Ayala died from the disease on Sept. 9.

Ayala developed the disease during the course of his work in shipyards, steel mills, refineries, paper mills and chemical plants in the area, court papers say. The suit was filed by Houston attorney Mark Lanier on June 2 in Jefferson County District Court.

A total of 37 defendant companies are named in the suit, including A.O. Smith Corp., A.W. Chesterton Co., Afton Pumps, Alcoa, American Biltrite, BNSF Railway Company, Beazer East, Bird Corporation, CBS Corporation, Crane Co., Fairbanks Morse Pump Company, FMC Corporation, GE, IMO Industries, Tamko Roofing Products and Zurn Industries.

Koons alleges the defending companies failed to adequately warn Ayala of the dangers of asbestos exposure, according to the lawsuit.

She claims the companies also negligently failed to test the products to determine hazards associated with them and failed to remove their products from the market.

The plaintiff alleges the asbestos-related disease caused Ayala to experience physical pain, suffering, mental anguish, lost wages, disfigurement and physical impairment.

In addition, Ayala's family lost his care, maintenance, services, support, advice, counsel and consortium and incurred medical costs and funeral bills, Koons claims in the lawsuit.

Koons is seeking unspecified punitive and exemplary damages, plus costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief to which she is entitled.
The case has been assigned to Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court.
Jefferson County District Court case number: E184-193.

by hareyan on Jun 4th, 2009

Mesothelioma cancer patient Jon Matthews, who's story you can learn at jm21.co.uk, defied doctor's odds that he will live longer than his doctor predicted. Matthews bet on his Mesothelioma $145 that he would live longer than doctor’s predicted.

Indeed, Jon Matthews, did live longer than his doctor predicted on his Mesothelioma cancer. As Daily Mail writes "Despite originally being given just months to live, he has already won the first stage of his bet, which could see him net a total of £20,000." He could collect nearly $51,000 if he continues to win his battle with mesothelioma through next summer. Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure.

John's doctor had told him not to make any plans for Chrismtas 2006. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer.

As revealed on his site Jm21.co.uk Jon stated that he plans to give some of his winnings to cancer charity Macmillan, as he did last year. Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. Jon does this not only to contribute, but also "so that some days it doesn't have to be all about cancer. It can just be about... life."

Matthews' wife has died from lung cancer at age 57. He quit is sales job when he was later diagnosed with Mesothelioma cancer. However, his outlook changed when he met an Indian Homeopathy doctor who introduced him to some other means of living and treatment than what the mainstream doctors could do, who only prescribed morphine to manage his Mesothelioma cancer.

According to Mesothelioma Information news report "A William Hill spokesman said yesterday: 'We had never been asked to accept a bet of this nature before but as Jon approached us directly and was adamant that it would give him an additional incentive to battle his illness, we offered him the bet he wanted. 'Never, in 30 years in this business, have I been so pleased to pay a winning client.'"

Rochester, New York’s fire chief is worried about the safety of his friends and neighbors.

After an increase in the number of fires that consumed vacant buildings throughout the city, Rochester Fire Chief John Caufield is campaigning to use a portion of the city’ $3.4 million

demolition budget to board up the vacant structures. Rochester firefighters saw a 36 percent increase in fires in vacant homes and other structures in 2008. As of June 1, 2009, this year’s total fire count for vacant structures is 31.

The rise in the number of fires coincides with an asbestos-related investigation into the city’s preeminent demolition contractor. In late 2008, the city halted all demolition work and canceled contracts awarded to Sinisgalli Inc. Sinisgalli are now facing an ongoing criminal investigation. Three employees for the company have been charged with improperly disposing of asbestos. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, is highly toxic and very dangerous. Airborne particles of asbestos can be inhaled, leading to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other medical conditions.

With Sinisgalli out of the picture, the pace of demolitions has slowed, and according to Caufield “As soon as we stopped that aggressive demolition, (the number of fires) went back up.”

Caufield hopes that by boarding up vacant buildings, trespassers will be unable to get inside, lowering the risk of fires.

For the time being, aggressive demolition does not seem feasible, due to the high cost of demolition and asbestos abatement. Caufield argues that by using an enhanced method of sealing off vacant buildings, the city will face fewer fires. With the enhanced method,

city crews use 3/4-inch rather than 3/8-inch plywood to cover up window and door openings. The panels are then nailed, screwed, and spiked into place. While this method is time consuming, it makes it much more difficult for trespassers to gain entrance to vacant structures.

By Emma Hitt, PhD
ORLANDO, Fla -- June 2, 2009 -- Ranpirnase added to doxorubicin improves survival in pretreated patients with malignant mesothelioma, according to findings from a phase 3 trial presented here on June 1 at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
According to the researchers, a previous study has demonstrated that ranpirnase, a novel ribonuclease, resulted in a 1-year survival rate of 42% in a multicentre phase 2 trial in chemotherapy-naïve and pretreated patients.
Martin Reck, MD, Hospital Grosshansdorf, Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues compared the efficacy and safety of doxorubicin with or without ranpirnase. Patients (n = 413) had unresectable malignant mesothelioma and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 1, and they were allowed to have up to 1 previous line of treatment. Mean age was approximately 62 years.
An intent-to-treat analysis found no significant difference in median overall survival. With doxorubicin plus ranpirnase, the median survival was 11.1 versus 10.7 months for doxorubicin plus placebo (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82-1.26).
However, in a preplanned analysis of 130 patients who had been pretreated with chemotherapy, a significant advantage in survival in favour of doxorubicin plus ranpirnase was noted, with a median survival of 10.5 months for ranpirnase versus 9 months for placebo (HR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.02-2.17).
No adverse safety issues were observed with the addition of ranpirnase. The most common side effects were associated with doxorubicin and included nausea, fatigue, and alopecia. Other side effects included neutropenia, oedema, arthralgia, and peripheral neuropathy.
The researchers concluded that the treatment is safe and feasible and may result in a significant impact on survival compared with doxorubicin alone for pretreated patients.
"Further evaluation of ranpirnase in combination with pemetrexed and confirmation of second-line efficacy will be of interest," Dr. Reck said during the presentation.

A man who was told he only had months to live after being diagnosed with terminal cancer has been betting against his doctor's prediction.
Jon Matthews placed two bets at 50 -1 odds in 2006 that he would be alive in 2008 and in 2009 despite his doctor's prognosis that he would succumb to his asbestos related mesothelioma.
The 59-year-old got his first winnings and collected about $8,000 Monday.

Matthews has placed another bet at 100-1 odds on surviving until 2010 and if all goes well he will collect close to $17,000.

Matthews says he plans on giving most of his winnings to charities.

Copyright WENN.com. The Age and BBC News contributed to this report.

World Entertainment News Network

The Mesothelioma Victims Center has just upgraded its free world class service for all mesothelioma victims to include, possible legal assistance for families who did not have lawyer in place, before, a loved one died of mesothelioma. The time frame must be within the last 12 months. What makes the Mesothelioma Victims Center's service unparalleled? At no charge to the mesothelioma victim, or their family, the Mesothelioma Victims Center will help the victim obtain Social Security disability, VA benefits, health care options in their area. Further the group will give the mesothelioma victim the names of the most capable law firms in the nation, to assist the victim and their family obtain the absolute best legal options. For more information, please call the Mesothelioma Victims Center anytime at 866-714-6466, or visit their web site at Http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

(PRWEB) June 1, 2009 -- The Mesothelioma Victims Center was created by Americas Watchdog after a close family member was diagnosed, & ultimately died from this lethal form of cancer. No other group, or organization in the nation offers anything close to the services provided by the Mersothelioma Victims Center. These services include, assistance for the victim getting Social Security, or VA benefits, a report on health care options in the area of the victim, and more. The new upgraded service being offered by the group is helping victims families whose loved one died from mesothelioma, with no legal representation, get a free legal review from one of the absolute best mesothelioma law firms in the nation. The proviso is the mesothelioma victim could not have died after the last twelve months. For more information about the Mesothelioma Victims Center call 866-714-6466 anytime, or contact the group via their web site at Http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com

Dallas, Texas (CaymanMama.com) — According to BBCNews.com, Jon Matthew, a 59-year-old mesothelioma victim who was given a few months to live by doctors, placed two bets on his life, each for 100 pounds at odds of 50/1 that he would live through June 2009.

According to the report, “He placed two bets, each with a £100 stake at odds of 50/1, that he would be alive in June 2008 and in June 2009.”

Jon will collect £5,000 on June 1, 2009. The winner said, “I think I’m the first person in the world to bet on my own life. When I was diagnosed I was told mesothelioma was a death sentence. I wasn’t that fussed because everyone has to die some time. But the interesting thing for me was how long it would take - would it take weeks or years?”

Such bets have been heard or seen before. Graham Sharpe’s spokesman, William Hill confirmed that Jon had himself approached them with the bet saying that such bet would help in fight mesothelioma cancer.

As the end of the 81st regular session of the Texas Legislature draws near, the future is uncertain for many proposed bills. The regular session is set to conclude on June 1st. The state capitol has been humming with activity, but between filibustering speakers and marathon approval session, it seems that many bills will still slip through the cracks.

One bill facing a great deal of scrutiny is Senate Bill 1123, and the companion House Bill 1811. These two bills are designed to change the standards relating to asbestos-related mesothelioma lawsuits in Texas. The new bills would require that plaintiffs introduce proof of the amount of asbestos they were exposed to that triggered the onset of their mesothelioma cancer. The bill hopes to prove causation in order to minimize the number of mesothelioma cases where defendants may have no responsibility.

SB 1123 was authored by state Senator Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock. SB 1123 was approved by the Senate in April. However, there was opposition against the bill from both business and legal reform activists. HB 1811 was authored by state Senator Craig Eiland, D-Texas City. HB 1811 has not yet passed, and is currently stuck in the House Committee on the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence.

SB 1123, along with literally hundreds of other bills, did not make it past the House. The deadline for the House to pass new Senate bills was midnight on Tuesday the 26th of May. This means that the fate of SB 1123 is uncertain. Currently, the future fate of this bill is unknown.

W. R. Grace & Co. has announced that it will donate $250,000 to St. John’s Lutheran Hospital—the only hospital in Libby, Montana—for the treatment of asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma.

See W.R. Grace’s Press Release. This was the tenth year W.R. Grace has contributed to St. Luke’s.

Hospital CEO Bill Patten thanked W.R. Grace for its financial support of the hospital’s work. And it is good to hear that the company will continue to donate to the hospital for the care of Libby’s asbestos victims even though the company was recently found not guilty on criminal charges related to the asbestos contamination in Libby.

Of course, without W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mining operations, Libby wouldn’t be the site of hundreds of cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

W.R. Grace’s vermiculite ore was contaminated with tremolite asbestos. As the ore was broken up and removed, miners were exposed to asbestos fibers. The crushed ore was also offered by W.R.

Grace for use as fill throughout the town of Libby, including under the school running track where the fibers were repeatedly kicked up and inhaled by children and others using the track.

Mesothelioma is often considered to be a disease that is contracted by older people. However, one young woman has been fighting mesothelioma for nearly a decade.

Now, her friends have formed a new charitable organization to raise money to pay off mounting medical bills.

Shanna Kurtz of Cuero, TX has been fighting her peritoneal mesothelioma cancer since 1999.

Gay Wickham, Cheri Travis and Kelly Young are the core members of Cook for the Cure. They gather on Sundays to prepare a delicious meal, and ask those who attend and enjoy the food to make a small donation. The donations are given to Shanna to help defray the costs of her mesothelioma-related expenses.

Although Cook for the Cure has only been in operation for a month, they have already raised more than $1,100.

Shanna Kurtz is 30 years old and lives in Cuero, TX. While attending North Arizona University, she received a heartbreaking diagnosis. At the tender age of 20, doctors told Shanna that she had developed peritoneal mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive form of cancer.

Shanna was told her doctors that 80 percent of people with this disease do not live very long after being diagnosed.

Shanna, ever the optimist, decided that she would focus on the positive side of this terrible news, and always keep in mind that she still had a twenty percent chance of survival.

Shanna leads an active life of charity work. She recently chaired Project Cinderella, where underprivileged boys and girls are given a chance to go to the prom. The project provides a prom dress or tux, dinner for two and makeup services for the girls.

Cook for the Cure members are now planning a charity bike ride to provide additional support to Shanna. This Saturday, residents of Shanna’s hometown are invited to attend the bike ride and benefit BBQ. The event will begin in the town of Victoria, TX Saturday at 2 pm.

Bike riders will pay an entry fee of $30 to ride in honor of Shanna. The entry fee also allows riders to take part in the BBQ.