CHICAGO, Illinois - A not-for-profit organization has established a grant program ot help newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients travel to consult with experts on the asbestos-related cancer.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) recently announced the establishment of the Mary and Bob Consentino Travel Grant Program. Its purpose is to provide travel assistance to patients who have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma so that they can travel to consult experts and explore avenues for treatment that is not available locally.

Mesothelioma is a small cell cancer that aggressively invades the lining of the lungs, stomach or heart. Because it is a rare cancer, research into its causes and into effective treatments has lagged behind the efforts to treat other cancers. Most of the treatments for mesothelioma are experimental and only available at a handful of medical centers in the country.

For families of limited financial means, those treatments may be impossible. Chris Hahn, director of the Meso Foundation explained that mesothelioma patients and their families face enormous financial losses. They lose employment income because of their illness, and because a caregiver needs to stay home with a patient to care for them. Often, available treatments are not covered by medical insurance because they are still considered experimental. Add the cost of traveling across the country to access those treatments, and many of the patients who could benefit from treatment are financially blocked from doing so.

Mary Consentino is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Meso Foundation. She passed away of peritoneal mesothelioma January 26 of this year. She had survived more than five years after her original diagnosis - a very rare feat for those suffering from mesothelioma. Typically, those diagnosed with mesothelioma have a survival rate of a year or less. Mary was able to travel to seek clinical trials and experimental protocols offered by specialists across the country.

In her memory, Bob Consentino and The Meso Foundation have established the Travel Grant Program for those who are unable to consult with experts at major mesothelioma centers across the country because they can’t afford the travel expenses.

The Meso Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation formed of patients, families, physicians, advocates and researchers dedicated to eradicating the vicious effects of mesothelioma. It funds $1 million a year in research grants to develop more effective treatments for the disease. In addition, the Foundation hosts an annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma to bring together doctors, researchers, patients and families to exchange information and advance mesothelioma research.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Illinois, Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.