In Libby, Montana asbestos has killed more than 200 people and the Environmental Protection Agency has now declared a health emergency because of mesothelioma. The declaration is the first of its kind in the United States.

The meso declaration will bring over $130 million to Libby, Montana in aid for asbestos cleanup and medical assistance. Roughly $6 million of the aid will go towards local health care, to screen, diagnose, and treat illnesses like mesothelioma in and around Libby, Montana.

For years the disease and death rate from asbestosis and mesothelioma have been considerably higher than the national average in the Libby area. Asbestos Dust and particles coming from the asbestos mine have contaminated the air but beyond that tailings from the facility have been used to fill driveways, gardens and even playgrounds.

"Literally no matter where these residents turned, they were being exposed yet again," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said. She said the declaration "should be a reminder of the serious consequences of mismanaging hazardous material."

In May, W.R. Grace, the company responsible for the operation of the mine that has contaminated the area, and three of their executives were acquitted of criminal charges that stemmed  from the mismanagement of the mine.

Learn your mesothelioma legal options.

The family of a former Navy worker who died from mesothelioma has been awarded $1.2 million against John Crane Inc. After a six month struggle with mesothelioma, Gerald Gray of Suffolk, Virginia died just five weeks prior to his trial.

Gerald Gray worked on several ships over the course of a 20-year Navy career beginning in 1951. During his time with the Navy he breathed in asbestos fibers during repair jobs, as parts were changed out. Gray rose to become the command master chief for the Atlantic fleet, the Navy's second-highest enlisted rank. He retired from the Navy in 1971 and became a local schoolteacher. One of his last wishes was for hospice workers to bring in a U.S. flag so that he could hold it as he died.

The lawsuit alleged that the negligence of five manufacturers led to Gray’s death. Moreover, the lawsuit contends the companies knew about problems with asbestos before the workers were exposed, but took no action. The lawsuit against the five manufacturers totaled $4 million, but four of the five defendant companies settled out of court for an undisclosed amount before the case went to trial. However, John Crane fought the case and was ordered to pay 30 percent of the blame for the damages, or $1.2 million.

Earlier this month at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), researchers presented findings from a phase three clinical trial that the drug ranpirnase added to the drug doxorubicin improves survival in pretreated patients with malignant mesothelioma.

Dr. Martin Reck, MD, Hospital Grosshansdorf, Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues compared the efficacy and safety of doxorubicin with or without ranpirnase. They studied 413 patients that had unresectable malignant mesothelioma. The patients were allowed to have up to 1 previous line of treatment and the mean age was approximately 62 years. The study found no real difference in survival rates among patients who received both drugs and patients who received one drug and a placebo. However, in a preplanned analysis of 130 patients who had been pretreated with chemotherapy, a significant advantage in survival in favor of doxorubicin plus ranpirnase was noted, with a median survival of 10.5 months for ranpirnase versus 9 months for placebo.

No adverse safety issues were observed with the addition of ranpirnase and researchers concluded that the treatment is safe and feasible and may result in a significant impact on survival compared with doxorubicin alone for pretreated patients.

Yesterday, The Union Tribune in San Diego published an article addressing the use of alternative medicine for cancer patients. At this point herbal and dietary supplements haven’t been tested enough to say whether they can help or harm an individual working to prevent or treat cancer. Below you will see a number of different forms of alternative medicine. First, techniques that are believed by scientists to ease the symptoms one would face while battling cancer; second, techniques that are not considered to be helpful and possibly even harmful; and finally, forms of treatment that offer a risk of hormone or drug interaction.

Alternative Medicine That Can Ease Symptoms           

• Massages
• Mind-Body Techniques- Includes meditation, hypnosis, different relaxation    techniques, behavioral therapy, bio feedback , and guided imagery.
• Ginger Capsules- Used to work against nausea brought on by chemotherapy.
• Yoga and Tai Chi
• Music and Art Therapy
• Acupuncture- Deals with certain types of nausea, pain, dry mouth and hotflashes.

 Alternative Options That Do Not Help And Could Cause Harm

•  High doses of vitamin E, A, and possibly C
• Laetrile
• Chaparral
• Shark Cartilage
• Pau D’arco
• PC-SPES- a herbal concoction for prostate health

Alternative Options That Offer a Risk of Drug or Hormone Interaction

• St. John’s Wort- Lowers the effectiveness of many medications.
•  Fish oil, garlic, ginger,gingko, and feverfew- All bring on the risk of bleeding.
• Magnesium and thiazide- Does not react well with cisplastin and similar cancer drugs.
• Red clover, dong quai, licorice- Offer a hormonal risk for women.
• Folic Acid- Interferes with the cancer drug methotrexate.

 All of the above information came from SignOnSanDiego.Com, Society for Integrative Oncology, American Dietetic Association, various federal agency Web sites, and AP interviews.

The family of a man who died of mesothelioma has won a $4.5 million dollar settlement in an asbestos exposure case. 

Robert Wagner installed tiles, wood, and many other materials that contained asbestos. Most of his work was done before OSHA had regulations in place to deal with asbestos on construction sites.

Wagner died of mesothelioma 30 years after he had been working with the contaminated products, his family states that he developed mesothelioma from working with the contaminated materials. Wagner’s lawsuit was filed against several different companies. The three largest companies affected by the claim were Bondex International Inc of Ohio, Allied Manufacturing of Springfield, MO, and Conrad Corporation of Wilmington, Delaware.

It took jurors 3 weeks of testimony to decide in Wagner’s favor. Two of the jurors felt that the companies were aware of the asbestos in the products but failed in determining the level of exposure that could prove to be deadly.