Mesothelioma Awareness Day is Sat., September 26
This week researchers seeking cures and treatments for mesothelioma, a deadly asbestos-related form of cancer, will fight to raise public awareness through a day-long national campaign that will include a radio campaign and government proclamations.
>>INFORMATION: Lawyers for Mesothelioma from Asbestos Exposure
The Mesothelioma Awareness Day has been organized by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, targeting local communities and radio stations across the country. The heart of the campaign will be radio airplay of music by Warren Zevon, who died of mesothelioma in September 2003. Zevon is best known for the single “Werewolves of London.” Songs by Zevon will be followed by a 20-second spot to raise awareness of mesothelioma and its causes.
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers which get into the body through inhalation or consumption. The cancer attacks the lining of the chest cavity and lungs. Because it has a latency period of between 20 to 40 years between exposure and diagnosis, it is often at an advanced stage by the time it is detected. The median survival time following a mesothelioma diagnosis is under one year.
Every year, about thousands of Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma, and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is warning that there is likely to be an increase of mesothelioma cancer in upcoming years in New York and New Orleans. The organization estimates that 400,000 tons of asbestos was released when the World Trade Center collapsed during the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and a large amount of asbestos was likely released in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck.
According to a report released earlier this year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of asbestos deaths each year from malignant mesothelioma continues to rise each year. Between 1999 and 2005, there were 18,068 mesothelioma deaths. While the annual death rate in the United States has remained stable at around 14 per million, the number of mesothelioma deaths increased from 2,482 in 1999 to 2,704 in 2005. The CDC indicated that the number of deaths from mesothelioma could peak next year, and hopefully return to background levels by 2055.
Asbestos was frequently used in a variety of manufacturing and construction processes throughout the last hundred years. Asbestos use peaked in 1973, before the toxic substance was banned from certain uses in 1982. However, it is still in place as insulation in many older buildings, ships and other structures, and is still used in some manufacturing processes in the U.S. and abroad in various forms.
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