After a three week trial, a Baltimore jury returned a $15 million verdict in favor of a 73 year old man who developed mesothelioma from on-the-job exposure to asbestos-containing rope manufactured by defendant, John Crane, Inc, the Baltimore Sun reported. The plaintiff, George J. Linkus worked at Key Highway Shipyard from 1952-1959; beginning in 1954 he worked on lining valves in the machine shop using rope made by Crane.
A study published in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (Vol 25, No 36 (December 20), 2007: pp. 5748-5752) examined the frequency with with cancer patients discussed emotional concerns with their oncologists and how doctors responded to empathic opportunities. The study found that when oncologists responded with empathy and allowed patients to continue expressing their emotions, rather than discouraging patients from expressing their feelings, patients had less anxiety and depression and reported greater satisfaction and adherence to therapy.
Researchers recorded 398 conversations between 51 oncologists and 270 patients with advanced cancer and found that 37% of those conversations contained at least one empathic opportunity; the total number of empathic opportunities was 292. When such opportunities occurred, oncologists responded with empathic statements 22% of the time. The study also found that the sex of the oncologists was related to the number of empathic opportunities: female patients of female oncologists had the most empathic opportunities. Younger oncologists and those who had a more socioemotional rather than technical orientation were also more likely to respond with empathic statements.
A study published in the journal Cancer found that racial disparities in cancer treatment first documented in the early 1990's still exist. The study looked at the type of treatment given to approximately 143,000 Americans over the age of 65 for lung, breast, colon, rectal and prostate cancer from 1992 to 2002 under the Medicare health insurance program. The results of the study showed that black patients were consistently less likely to receive recommended types of treatment than white patients.
Moreover, the problem was just as prevalent in 1992 as it was in 2002, with the widest disparities noted among lung, colon and rectal cancer patients. For example, according to the study, among patients with early-stage lung cancer, black patients were 19% less likely to receive surgical removal of the tumor than white patients; blacks with rectal cancer were 27% less likely to get additonal chemotherapy treatment after tumor removal; and black patients with colon cancer were 24% less likely to get such chemotherapy.
Possible reasons offered for the inequities in cancer treatments range from individual racism to larger scale institutional or societal racism, including inequal access to qualilty care. The study was limited to the initial ten year study period, therefore a follow up study would be necessary to determine whether there have been any improvements since 2002.
There has been a lot of talk about the Mesomark test. A blood test which enables doctors to monitor patients diagnosed with mesothelioma, monitor for recurrence in patients following surgery, or for measuring response to therapies. Patients and families may be interested in visiting the Mesomark website to get additional information at:
Ian Campbell, trusted doctor to the Queen of England has been forced to retire from his position after developing lung cancer which he claims was caused by exposure to asbesots over 40 years ago.
Dr. Campbell held the title of Apothecary to the Royal Household at Sandringham for fifteen years before contracting mesothelioma last year. He has filed suit against a pharmaceutical company for 1 million GBP claiming that he was exposed to asbestos while employed there. The lawsuit alleges that during his teens and early 20's Campbell worked at the Allen & Hanbury plant in Ware, Herfordshire, where he repeatedly polished, screwed, shaped and drilled Ferobestos, a plastic which contained asbestos fibers. It further alleges that the company, which is now owned by GlaxoSmithKline, failed to provide workers with the appropriate protective gear.