A meeting in Eveleth, Minnesota will be held to figure out what is causing the high rate of mesothelioma, the lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure.

Hopes are that a survey conducted by the University of Minnesota will study 1200 taconite workers and 800 of their spouses. Dr. Jeff Mandel of U of M will be mailing letters to invite people from the area to participate in the study. Letters will be sent to people regardless of whether they are suspected to have contracted mesothelioma or not. This will provide a random sample of the workers.

Participants in the study will get an x-ray, blood test, and breathing test to screen for mesothelioma.

Get more mesothelioma information.

Earlier this month the Ohio Legislature introduced a new bill suggesting that September be declared Mesothelioma Month.

The bill is being pushed by the State Representative Kenny Yuko. The hope is that designating September as Mesothelioma Month will raise awareness of mesothelioma allowing earlier detection in diagnosing the disease as well as motivating the medical community to work towards a cure and more effective treatments.

Last July we had written about Jon Matthews, a 58 year old man from England who collected £5,000 from a bet on his own life. A year later Jon Matthews is defying the odds, 50-1 if you ask booker William Hill, continuing to live well beyond the 9 months that were given to him when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, is a year older at 59 and once again £5,000 richer. 

Matthews collected on the second bet he placed and once again the folks at William Hill are happier than ever to payout on the bet.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said: "We had never been asked to accept a bet of this nature before. But as Jon approached us directly and was adamant that it would give him an additional incentive to battle his illness, we offered him the bets he wanted. Never in 30 years in the business have I been so pleased to pay a winning client £10,000, with, I trust, a further £10,000 to come next year."

Closing arguments in the W.R. Grace trial got under way today in Missoula, Montana.

Arguments were kicked off by the prosecution this morning with the defense's closing argument being presented in the afternoon.

W.R. Grace is accused of conspiring to conceal the dangers brought on by asbestos exposure brought on by the company's vermiculite mines that were closed in the early 1990's. Many residents in the area have contracted mesothelioma, the deadly cancer caused by asbestos exposure, and they feel they have W.R. Grace to blame.

A British mesothelioma patient who was given only months to live is celebrating news her tumor has shrunk by 73 percent following experimental treatment in Germany. Debbie Brewer who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2006 is "absolutely thrilled" with the final results of a nine-month course of specialized chemotherapy.

Debbie was told by doctors that she had between six and nine months to live. So, she traveled to Frankfurt, Germany for treatment after hearing of an experimental process being carried out by Professor Thomas Vogl. The treatment is known as chemoembolization and is more commonly used to fight liver cancer. It introduces chemotherapy drugs directly to the tumor area through a catheter into the lung.

Each session costs Debbie £3,500 and she uses her compensation from a recent settlement to pay for six sessions at the clinic. She will travel to Germany in three months as her progress is being monitored by Prof Vogl, who is trialing the treatment on mesothelioma patients. Prof Vogl says he treats about 500 patients a year using the localized chemotherapy.