Author Archive

Fernanda Giannasi of Brazil is respected around the world for her relentless work in policing the asbestos industry.

She also is despised for what she does.

It's a balance she must face every day. Rarely has anyone been both so revered – and so reviled – for doing their job so well.

Regardless of the outcome now, Sheri and Leon Delikat always will be grateful for the way they were treated, for the assistance they received, for the doctor who cared so much.

It gave them hope.

A diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma back in October was a devastating blow initially, but the help came quickly once they found the Mesothelioma Center through Asbestos.com.

Slowing down doesn't help Angela Winsor feel any better. Speeding up does.

Winsor, who was first diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma just after Mother's Day last spring, returned to work four months ago, thankful that the grueling chemotherapy had ended, and the latest clinical trial had begun.

Winsor, 44, is the chief operating officer for a small workforce development company near Lansing, Michigan. She is preparing to expand her workload again from the typical 40 hours a week to 50 hours and beyond.

Bob Oberstar already has his spring calendar so booked – a garden to plant, grass to cut, fish to catch, wild turkey to shoot – there isn't time to worry if he'll be around to see it through.

He's too busy for that.

Surviving mesothelioma has not been easy by any measure, but Oberstar has become an unassuming beacon of hope for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis that includes a quicker-than-anticipated end.

Alexis Kidd smiles warmly, sincerely, when she hears friends talk excitedly about their upcoming wedding anniversaries, especially those celebrated milestones at 10, 20 and 30 years together.

Those are the ones she may never see.

Alexis married Christian Arnheiter two months ago in Houston, Texas, beaming with happiness as she walked down the aisle, a bride so beautiful she glowed, eyes filled with love for the man who cherishes her with the same joyful heart.

The number of living American veterans who were at Pearl Harbor 70 years ago when the United States was attacked and drawn into World War II is dwindling to a precious few.

Yet the historic significance of Pearl Harbor Day has only grown.

"To a lot of veterans, that date (Dec. 7) is engrained in their psyche," said Carl Jewett, retired Navy and director of the Veterans Department at the Mesothelioma Cancer Center. "This really is a special day."

Wayne Neal knows exactly what caused the mesothelioma cancer that pushed him into an earlier-than-planned retirement as a union electrician in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He also knows what stopped it from killing him.

Asbestos was the culprit. Cherries were the cure.

Knowledge is strength. The more you know about mesothelioma, the better equipped you will be to tackle it, both physically and emotionally.

Caused almost exclusively by an exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma has a latency period of anywhere between 10 to 50 years before the symptoms even start to appear. Unfortunately, the typical prognosis is considerably shorter, anywhere from four months to 18 months.

Because mesothelioma is a rare cancer – an estimated 3,000 cases diagnosed annually in the United States – most people don't understand it. Many can't even pronounce it.

Mesothelioma is a cancer most often associated with military service and blue-collar professions, but the asbestos-created disease has touched all walks of life. That includes the rich and the famous.

Professional athletes, Olympic gold medalists, government officials, musicians and world-renowned actors all have died from mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is diagnosed in an estimated 3,000 Americans each year.

The only common link to all of them is an exposure to asbestos, the naturally occurring mineral that is toxic and potentially fatal when its fibers are released into the air and inhaled or ingested. It can take anywhere from 15 to 50 years after exposure before the symptoms become obvious.