Confusion surrounds a prominent Des Moines developer and the state of construction at the city's Equitable Building.  Developer Bob Knapp was hired to renovate the top floors of the 19-story building, but may now be facing criminal charges filed by the US Environmental Protection Agency over alleged mishandling of asbestos fibers.  In the past 15 years, only one or two other Iowa cases have warranted the attention of the EPA, so concerns are rapidly growing.

Knapp has been accused by Iowa's Department of Natural Resources of failing to adhere to codes that were established to protect workers against harmful asbestos fibers.  According to state inspectors, Knapp's crews failed to properly contain and dispose of asbestos, they did not inspect for the presence of asbestos and remove it before remodeling, they neglected to report the renovation project to the state in time, and they illegally disposed of the wastes with normal trash at the main landfill in Polk County.  Knapp and his colleagues also used his own unqualified and improperly equipped crews — working without the required respirators and monitoring equipment — to remove asbestos, state investigators said.  The workers were not certified to remove asbestos, they did not encapsulate the areas suspected to have asbestos, and they did not test the air for asbestos fibers. 

While the upper floors tested positive for asbestos, the ninth floor showed no evidence of the hazardous material.  Knapp's lawyer Robert Douglas stated, "the asbestos has been cleaned up and people were not exposed."
 

The cost of cancer care is rising fifteen percent a year, according to a recent MSNBC article. 

The price tag on cancer treatment is sending many patients, families, and even doctors into sticker shock.  Price of cancer treatment, primarily chemotherapy drugs, is now weighing heavily on patients' choice of care.  For example, two equally effective colon cancer drugs cost a difference of $60,000; whereas the cheaper causes hair loss, the more expensive can lead to nerve damage in hands.  According to many doctors, price is now considered a side-effect of drugs: when selecting treatments, patients consider the cost just as they would nausea, hair loss, and nerve damage, for example.   Dr. Neal J. Meropol of Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center says he has seen patients calculate costs, such as a colon cancer patient who asked to switch from oral chemo to cheaper but more laborious intravenous chemo, or a woman who refused a pricey anti-nausea drug that would make her chemo more bearable.

The only up-side of rising cancer costs is drug companies' ability to donate medication to prescription-assistance programs that provide them for free to patients who otherwise couldn’t pay.  Programs like “Partnership for Prescription Assistance" have assisted about 5 million people since 2005 in obtaining costly care.

Prices are typically omitted from drug fact sheets, so doctors are sometimes unaware of the costs to patients. But because of the rising prices, doctors are now being trained in how to approach the matter of price with patients. 

Choosing a facility to provide your mesothelioma treatment and care can be a challenging task. As a general rule of thumb, larger hospitals and specialized cancer centers may have more experience in dealing with different cancers. As a result, they may offer more services for patients with rare disorders such as mesothelioma.

Asking the right questions is an important first step in choosing a place that's right for your needs. Click Here to find some of the major points to consider when researching a mesothelioma treatment facility.

A widow in England whose husband died from asbestos-related cancer has launched a legal battle to win up to £150,000 in compensation.

William Thomas, 78, died in February last year from malignant mesothelioma, a cancer effecting the tissues surrounding the lungs or stomach caused by exposure to asbestos. Now his widow Marjorie Thomas, of Netherton, has started a fight to get compensation from his former employers Tate and Lyle and Kraft Foods UK Ltd.

Read the full article here.

Watch the Fox News Interview to learn about Julie Gundlach who was recently diagnosed with Mesothelioma.