The estate of a Bernard Lichtenstien, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma on June 1, 1998 and died on Nov. 10, 1999, is suing two companies alleging that asbestos caused the man’s death. The lawsuit, filed on June 30th, claims that Bernard used certain products while employed from 1957 through 1978 as a laborer at various sites that exposed him to dangerous asbestos fibers that were inhaled and made their way into his lungs.

The lawsuit claims that the two companies knew about the asbestos that was in their products and the potential dangers it possessed, but failed to do anything about it. In addition, the estate claims that the defendants did not do enough to advise employees of the potential dangers of asbestos nor did they teach employees the correct procedures for handling and removing asbestos laden products. Lastly, the estate believes that the two companies continued to use asbestos containing products even though there were sufficient replacements.

Due to the negligence of the defendants, the lawsuit alleges that Lichtenstien suffered severe physical and mental pain due to his battle with mesothelioma. Moreover, due to his inability to work, he allegedly lost financial earnings and was not able to lead a normal life. The estate is seeking $100,000 in damages.

Jim Brophy and Margaret Keith, two of the most prominent Canadian occupational health activists, have decided to retire from their current roles. The pair announced their decision to retire at an occupational health clinic in Port Edward, Ontario, where they were honored for their long service to the community, particularly their work in raising the profile of occupational diseases in Canada.

Brophy and Keith have served as executive director and research coordinator, respectively, of the Sarnia OHCOW (Ontario Health Clinics for Ontario Workers) clinic since it opened in 1999. During their time at the clinic, the pair filed roughly 700 cases of asbestos-related occupational disease to the province's compensation board. Moreover, they helped another 1,000 patients identify the presence of asbestos markers in their lungs.

Those that benefited from the work of Dr. Jim Brophy and Margaret Keith say no individual(s) before have brought so much attention to the issue of work-related illness in the community and that the pair will be deeply missed. Sandy Kinart, widow of a mesothelioma patient, has the utmost praise for the pair. She acknowledges that Brophy and Keith’s efforts have benefited the community as a whole and have personally given her strength, hope, and direction.

Brophy and Keith, however, are not retiring for good. The efforts they once made against asbestos-related disease will now be carried over towards the fight against breast cancer – specifically to identify the cause of the recent increases in breast cancer.

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It all started about 10 years ago, when Dr. Michele Carbone, director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at the University of Hawaii and an accomplished chef, visited Turkey as a keynote speaker. He discovered that in several villages, 50 percent of the residents died of mesothelioma. Houses in these villages were constructed from soft volcanic rock containing erionite, a naturally occurring fibrous mineral similar to asbestos. Furthermore, “houses of death” were usually destroyed, sending the contaminated dust into the air for all to breathe. Carbone discovered that in some houses, everyone died, yet in other houses, made from the same material a few yards away, everyone remained healthy. This led to Carbone researching why some people remained harmless from the deadly toxin. Years of research resulting in a study Carbone published in the prestigious journal Nature revealed a genetic predisposition for mesothelioma.

Scientists call it a "gene-environment interaction." Carbone says he and his team are close to isolating that gene, which means more hope for early detection, treatment and a cure. They also identified the exposure to erionite as the likely trigger for developing the disease. Carbone became determined to reduce residents' contact with the mineral fiber and persuaded officials in Cappadocia, Turkey to construct a new village to prevent more illnesses and deaths. They wasted no time and eventually more than 2,000 people had new brick and mortar houses.

Carbone decided to take things a step further. He invited the Turkish surgeon general to attend the National Cancer Institute meeting last August at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in which he hosted. Of course, the visit included a multi-course gourmet dinner that Carbone prepared himself. During the visit, he convinced the surgeon general and members of the cancer institute that he needed to study early detection of mesothelioma in Cappadocia, where the high incidence allowed him to “get an answer in a short time at a fraction of the cost.” Unfortunately, no infrastructure existed, but the surgeon general agreed that the research called for a new hospital, and by April, the structure was completed.

Carbone has taken his research to the states and is currently studying three families with a high incidence of mesothelioma. For this work, the American Association for Cancer Research presented the prestigious Landon Innovator Award for the best international collaboration related to the advancement of cancer prevention research - a $100,000 grant over two years - to Carbone and his team of researchers in April. Carbone says, “This is a big issue and it’s my passion.”

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When Lexi Miletto's grandfather died three years ago, she found an outlet for her grief in writing letters -- to medical foundations, congressmen, and even Oprah Winfrey and the president. Lexi wrote these letters to call attention to the disease that killed him, mesothelioma.

Although she never heard back from Oprah or the president, she did get a call back in May from June Breit of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF). Breit invited Lexi to give the keynote address Friday, June 27, at the International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma held in Washington, D.C. Lexi enthusiastically accepted the invitation. ''I was very excited about it,'' she said. ''It means a lot to me because I want to raise awareness for others so they won't have to suffer like my grandfather did.''

Lexi’s grandfather, Joe Miletto, worked a string of hard-labor jobs, including demolition and brick-making, where he could have been exposed to asbestos. His widow, Diane, thinks he inhaled the asbestos that would kill him when he served in the Navy, building ships.

Lexi’s goals are to increase mesothelioma research and raise money for it through fundraisers. She also wants to push a strong Capitol Hill lobby for a national asbestos ban.

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On Friday, a French court ordered the former employer of 17 workers forced to retire early because of asbestos exposure to pay compensation of up to €85,000 ($133,800 USD) for lost earnings.

The employer, papermaker Ahlstrom Labelpack, was ordered to pay the 17 workers between €9,000 and €85,000 ($14,044 and $132.634 USD) each for the loss of 35% of their earnings up to the legal retirement age. In addition, it ordered the company to pay €10,000 ($15,604 USD) for stress and anxiety to the workers, none of whom has so far contracted an asbestos-related disease.

If confirmed by an appeal court ruling in September, the decision could add significantly to compensation costs for asbestos-related diseases, expected to total between €11.7 billion and €22 billion ($18.26 billion and $34.33 billion) over the next 20 years, according to a report to parliament in 2004.

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