L.A. lab works to improve odds against asbestos cancer
When Olympic Gold medalist
Terry McCann began having chest
pains, he knew something was wrong.
He never drank or smoked. He
worked out daily in the gym and was
a member of the San Clemente morn-
ing surf “dawn patrol” in California.
The chest pain went away, but
mesothelioma, the deadly cancer
within his chest wall, did not. Before
Terry passed away last year at age 72
— more than two years after his
symptoms had surfaced — he had al-
ready beaten the odds. Ten years ago,
men and women with mesothelioma
faced a certain and swift death. The
cancer, which kills 2,000 to 4,000
men and women a year, oftentimes
misdiagnosed as pneumonia or as an
inflamed lining of the lungs, would
quickly surround the victim’s lungs
and heart sac with a concrete-like
sheath, and crush the patient to death.
People with mesothelioma still
face a tremendous struggle, but in Los
Angeles cutting-edge research and
treatment to detect and manage the ill-
ness is is being conducted at the non-
profit Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood In-
stitute and its Punch Worthington
Research Laboratory (PWR), in col-
laboration with the David Geffen
School of Medicine at UCLA.
Dr. Robert Cameron, a surgeon and
scientist who directs the PWR Lab,
has put together an aggressive agenda
to tackle mesothelioma head-on. The
lab’s Risk Reduction Program is fo-
cusing on prevention of mesothelioma
in workers exposed to asbestos and
early detection through breath and
blood tests. The Lab’s Mesothelioma
and Asbestosis Treatment Program is
seeking to improve therapies for peo-
ple with already existing disease.
Mesothelioma is caused by inhala-
tion of asbestos fibers. It has a long la-
tency period (the time between first
exposure to asbestos and the diagnosis
of the disease). In rare cases the la-
tency period has been as short as 10 to
15 years. Typically, however,
mesothelioma occurs 20, 30, 40 or
more years after the first exposure.
Workers in the construction trades
are particularly vulnerable to expo-
sure, but the illness itself doesn’t dis-
criminate based on the color of the
collar. “This disease affects Olympic
athletes, drywallers, congressmen,
Roger G. Worthington, P.C. leads the fight to find a cure
for
Mesothelioma cancer
caused by asbestos exposure
Since 1989, we have been dedicated to helping asbestos cancer patients
get justice in the courtrooms and help in the hospitals. In the last ten years,
we have recovered over $725 million for our clients.
$34 Million:
$20 Million:
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$10 Million:
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60 year-old Navy veteran and carpenter
54 year-old engineer
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54 year-old woman exposed via father’s clothes
60 year-old Navy veteran and crane operator
800-831-9399
For a free booklet of medical/legal information, including medical experts,
patient profiles, clinical trials and asbestos products, call us or visit our website.
www.mesothel.com
Mesothelioma typically
We’ve helped hundreds
develops 20 to 60 years
after the first asbestos
exposure. Each year
about 3,000 new cases
of mesothelioma are
diagnosed in the U.S.
of patients find the best
doctors, coast to coast
and we’re known for
providing up-to-date
medical information
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Asbestos lawyers for life.
Offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Dallas, Texas • Lawyers licensed in California, Oregon, and Texas
Roger G. Worthington, P.C. has donated more than $2.5 Million to medical research
working on a cure for mesothelioma — more than all the asbestos companies combined.
PAGE 8
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
pipefitters, admirals in the Navy, Hol-
lywood icons, insulators, young
women college students, painters, in-
terior decorators, boilermakers and
everyone in between,” said Roger
Worthington, an attorney and board
member of the Pacific Heart, Lung &
Blood Institute. The Punch Worthing-
ton Laboratory was named in the
memory of Roger’s father, David
“Punch” Worthington of Salem, a
union organizer and Ph.D. in genetics
who died last year from asbestos-re-
lated cancer.
The Portland area is considered a
hotspot for mesothelioma due to its
historic shipbuilding and paper mill
industries, yet the closest treatment
centers with doctors who specialize in
mesothelioma are in Seattle (at the
Swedish Cancer Institute) and Los
Angeles, Worthington said.
“It’s too bad the local doctors
haven’t responded to the asbestos epi-
demic here in Oregon,” said Greg De-
block, a retired business manager of
Portland-based Steamfitters Local
235, which later merged to become
the United Association of Plumbers
and Steamfitters Local 290. In No-
vember, Deblock was diagnosed with
malignant mesothelioma. He is strug-
gling to find specialized care in Port-
land.
Worthington says too many doctors
are resigned to “doomsday” with as-
bestos cancers. “They assume that
mesothelioma cannot be cured,” he
continued, “ but the sad truth is nei-
ther industry nor the government has
invested in finding cures for this or-
phan cancer. How do we know it’s
‘incurable’ if we don’t try to cure it?”
To date, there isn’t a reliable test to
detect mesothelioma at an early stage.
Imaging tests, such as X-rays and CT
scans, are not satisfactory. Screening
tests exist for breast cancer, colon can-
cer, prostate cancer and lung cancer,
and have resulted in better diagnosis
of early disease and improved cure
rates. Early detection for mesothe-
lioma could lead to similar benefits.
One promising test under study at
the PWR Lab involves identifying ev-
idence of mesothelioma and even as-
bestos exposure through markers in a
person’s exhaled breath or blood.
The Institute is recruiting volun-
teers — particularly workers and
their families residing on the West
Coast — for the early detection breath
and blood screenings, although the
start date has not been finalized, the
Lab is taking names and will contact
volunteers once the trials begin.
Since asbestos inflames the lining
of the chest (pleura), the lab’s preven-
tion program also is testing agents that
inhibit inflammation as a means of
preventing the disease. Doctors be-
lieve that interrupting the long cycle
of inflammation could break the pro-
gression of changes that lead to can-
cer. Indomethacin, celecoxib, aspirin
and other agents may hold the key.
The PWR Lab is testing celecoxib
right now. This trial is for people who
have been exposed to asbestos and
who have a history of smoking. (The
testing is free, but participants will
have to go to Los Angeles to partici-
pate.)
For more information about
the celecoxib test, call Jessica
Like, executive director of the
Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood
Institute, at 310-622-4960.
For more information about
the early detection program,
or for information about meso
treatment options, contact
Dr. Cameron at 310-622-4960.
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