On Thursday, state legislators sent a bill to Governor Tim Pawlenty that would fund University research for mesothelioma affecting Iron Range miners. In total, fifty-eight Iron Range miners have died from mesothelioma.

Pending Pawlenty's signature, the University will have $4.9 million to study the disease. Pawlenty has previosuly voiced support for the bill. If the bill is passed, the University plans to analyze death records, perform environmental reviews and conduct screenings of current and former miners. The research is scheduled to take five years.

If Pawlenty doesn't sign the bill, the University would have to get funds from grants.

Read More

Every three months, a $500 mesothelioma memorial scholarship is given to a student pursuing a post-high school education. According to the scholarship's website, the award is given to "honor the thousands of people who have died from mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos, as well as the thousands of patients who are newly diagnosed with the disease ever year." The scholarship seeks to raise mesothelioma awareness.

The Mesothelioma Memorial Scholarship application can be completed entirely online, through this website.

Sometimes, mesothelioma patients seek out supplements or replacements for their traditional treatment plan. Alternative treatments provide means of relieving stress, coping with mental exhaustion, easing the side effects of traditional treatments, and helping the patient take an active role in their fight against disease.

Acupuncture is one of the most recognizable alternative treatment plans. It is based on the Chinese belief that a person's life force, or Chi, moves through the body the way blood flows through veins. If the Chi's path is interrupted, the whole body's health can deteriorate. The Chinese believe that the Chi is realigned by inserting tiny needles into the body at critical points of the life force path.

Though acupuncture is not a substitute for a pervasive treatment plan, it can help ease the discomforts of mesothelioma. The insertion of needles stimulates the release of endorphins, which act as natural pain relievers. Studies have also shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters, affecting sensory perception and involuntary body functions. The needles can help alleviate pain, shortness of breath, and bowel obstructions. Often, the procedure is especially helpful in easing pain after surgery or chemotherapy.

A common form of the treatment involves heating one end of the needle to transfer the heat into the body. This is known as moxibustion. There are hundreds of acupuncture clinics nationwide that offer this alternative treatment and different variations of acupuncture.

A study released in Melbourne last night announced that ten percent of Australian carpenters born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma.  They will be among the 30,000 Australians to die of mesothelioma between 2000 and 2050. 

The study was conducted by Professor Julian Peto, based on research and analysis of 600 mesothelioma patients.  Peto found that the cause of the disease was mostly blue and brown asbestos, both of which were used liberally in construction until the 1980s.  Even after Australia recognized the harm of blue asbestos, brown asbestos continued to be used.

According to The Australian, "Prof Peto's research also revealed that Australia and the UK have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, with 600 cases per year in Australia and almost 2,000 in Britain, and figures are rising."  Prof Peto's research also questions why it was once believed that asbestos exposure below a certain level would not cause harm.

Last Wednesday afternoon, a boiler in the campus power plant at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater exploded, possibly releasing asbestos into the air.  Seven people were in the building at the time of the explosion, but only one minor injury was reported.  The primary concern, however, is that the wind carried loose asbestos out of the building's broken windows.

The buildings near the plant, including a major dining hall, were evacuated and temporarily closed.  Crews and engineers are currently assessing the building's damages and are attempting to contain the area.  Because the power plant was the campus' principal source of heat, the school will be using hot water reserves until they have been exhausted.  Officials are requesting that students keep windows closed to preserve heat and to shield from airborne asbestos.  The full article is available here.