"Dying was not an option," says Heather Von St. James of Minnesota, who has defied the odds and conquered mesothelioma.

She was diagnosed with the disease nearly three years ago now; Heather believes she was exposed as a child to the asbestos in her father's work clothes. Now, two and a half years after undergoing radical treatment, Heather remains disease-free.

Heather had been experiencing health problems and shortness of breath, but had chalked it up to her first-time pregnancy. When she couldn't ignore the weight in her chest any longer, she consulted her doctors. Three months after giving birth to her daughter Lily, doctors in Minnesota found a lump in Heather's lung the size of an orange. She was given three options: do nothing and live maybe 15 months, try chemotherapy and radiation and live an expected 5 years, or go see Dr. Sugarbaker in Boston.

Heather's husband made the decision immediately, and the family moved to Boston to begin treatment with the head of the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Sugarbaker performed surgery to remove Heather's left lung, the lining around her heart, half of her diaphragm, her sixth rib and a few lymph nodes. The cancer has not returned and Dr. Sugarbaker is calling Heather a shining example of the progress he is beginning to see in the fight against a disease that traditionally carried a maximum survival of 12 to 18 months.

"I claim cured," Heather says.

She underwent surgery on Feb. 2, 2006, was in the hospital for 18 days and stayed in Boston for a month. When Heather left Boston, she moved in with her parents for two months. In May, she returned home and began chemotherapy -- every three weeks for 12 weeks. Now, she returns to Boston every four months for a CT scan; so far, so good.

In 2006, Heather filed suit against her father's employers and asbestos manufacturers. The trial was set for September, but was suspended. Heather and her attorney filed an appeal and are waiting for the results. In the meantime, Heather has focused on caring for Lily and maintaining proper health.

"I'm going to be the first meso patient to live 50-plus years. I told my doctor he would retire before I did," Heather said. "And he's OK with that."

To read Heather's full story, click here.

A drug used to treat high cholesterol is now being administered to help fight tumors.  The treatment, lovastatin, is part of a new trial in which it stopped or eradicated tumors in 80% of patients.

Lovastatin was introduced in 1980 to fight lipids and lower cholesterol.  In early studies, researchers noticed a strange side effect: the drug killed cancer cells in laboratory trials.  In order to safely administer the drug, researchers have had to combine lovastatin with other treatment plans.  According to NeoPlas Innovation Director of Research Dr. Stephen Cantrell, "When we have administered a precisely timed regimen of low-dose interferon with lovastatin, tumors have begun regressing, sometimes within just a few weeks."

The lovastatin regimen is expected to fight a number of malignancies, including mesothelioma.  The drug's initial trial occurred in 2000; a patient who then had stage 4 melanoma remains disease-free today.

Unlike chemotherapy, lovastatin's most commonly reported side effect is fatigue.  Patients will not experience nausea, hair loss, vomiting, or immune system suppression.  For the full press release on lovastatin, click here.

For information on clinical trials and studies, visit the MesoRC page here.

As the seven-year anniversary of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks approaches, studies are showing that for many of those who aided in rescue and recovery efforts, physical and psychological ailments continue to be a problem.

One of the biggest question marks surrounding the lingering ailments is the effect of the dust-laden air surrounding the collapse of the WTC towers. "What was in the air that day? Pretty much everything that had been in two 100-story buildings--but in vaporized form," says Mike Magee, M.D.

Magee goes on to say "The problem is that it is possible we were not measuring the right things at the time. For example, we are now learning the dangers of nanotubes, micro-miniaturized rolled up sheets of carbon that may be of future use in electronics. A study revealed that mice exposed to the substance responded with cancer development in the same way as when exposed to asbestos. There were no nanotubes in the Twin Towers, and asbestos measures at the time were supposed to be OK. But what about all the other vaporized computers, electronics and building materials we'd never expect to be in our air under normal circumstances?"

The full scope of physical and psychological problems stemming from the September 11 attacks may not be known for many years and there are certainly many challenges that lie ahead. Experts predict that it’s likely we will see problems surrounding 9/11-related illnesses for years to come and that thousands of these individuals will likely need lifelong care.

A recent explosion at the Sunrise Propane facility in Toronto, Canada has left local residents alarmed. While the immediate dangers of the explosion have passed, many residents are still uneasy as they believe asbestos fibers were released into the atmosphere during the explosion.

Despite their concern, experts believe that residents should not be too concerned. Experts believe that a one-time exposure to asbestos, such as that experienced in the area around the Sunrise Propane blast, is unlikely to raise an individual's cancer risk. "People need to know if they inhale a little, it's not game over," said Mark Smith, a senior consultant with GTA Environmental. “It's not like a poison gas. The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of the Environment both identify low levels of asbestos exposure, which they deem acceptable,” he said.

Paul Bozek, a professor from the University of Toronto's school of public health, believes that even if experts find that there were very high asbestos levels in the air for a few hours after the explosion, there is no data to say that a one-time intense exposure to asbestos will cause cancer or asbestosis in 20 to 40 years.

Experts note that the real danger comes from asbestos fibers that might remain on the ground several weeks and months after the exposure. If those fibers get ground up underfoot and released into the air, the exposure to asbestos would become a major problem. "If residents were exposed to that over the next couple of months, then there would be slight elevations in cancer rates around there," said Bozek.

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A recent mesothelioma settlement has been attributed with "clearing a new path to justice in asbestos litigation."

Marvin Penn, 71, and his wife Josephine were awarded $16.25 million for Marvin's mesothelioma. The case involved a three-week trial featuring state-of the-art medical experts, which culminated in a complex verdict.

Marvin was exposed to asbestos when making castings by carving wax replicas of teeth using asbestos-containing dental tape in dental technician school in the 1960's: 40% of the liability was attributed to two separate dental supply companies.  Forty percent of the liablity was attributed to the asbestos spray used in the construction of the former World Trade Center, around which Marvin delivered mail.  Another 20% of the liability was placed on Marvin's father's employer, Todd Shipyards, from which Marvin's father brought home asbestos fibers on his clothing.

The case is yet one more example of the importance of persistent legal action in asbestos litigation.