Registration is now open for the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s (ADAO) 5^th annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference, March 27-29, 2009 in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Those attending the conference will include individuals and families that have been affected by asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, as well as employers, employees, research scientists, and medical experts from around the world. If you plan on attending the conference, you can expect a great deal of medical, occupational, and environmental information about asbestos-related diseases. This year’s conference will place a special emphasis on prevention and early detection of exposure to asbestos.

This year’s key note speaker will be musician, Jordan Zevon. Jordan lost his father to mesothelioma and is one of the most prominent advocates for the rights of asbestos victims and their families. Other speakers are expected to discuss the global asbestos crisis with an emphasis on India as they are currently the world’s largest importer of asbestos.

Registration for the conference includes a continental breakfast, lunch, Sunday brunch and a remembrance service. The Sunday Remembrance Brunch is $25 with a conference registration, and $50 without a registration. All organizations that have 10 or more registrations will receive table recognition.

If you would like more information on the conference, or would like to register, please click here.

With the holidays approaching everyone can feel a bit overwhelmed at times. But when you’re battling mesothelioma it can be a particularly challenging time of year. The MesoRC will be putting out a series of tips for those suffering or have a loved one suffering from mesothelioma to help during the busy holiday season. 

Today’s tip is- When you have mesothelioma, make rest a priority.

It's important for mesothelioma patients— especially those going through treatment— to rest frequently. This is especially true during the holidays. Learn to recognize when your body needs rest, and take the time to lie down or nap—even if it's just for 20 minutes. Meeting your body’s needs for rest can help you keep your energy levels up—and stress levels down.

If you would like to read a full list of tips, click here.

When patients enroll in clinical trials, they do so with the knowledge that their own health might not benefit and could even be compromised. What they may not have knowledge of, however, are the actual results of the clinical trial as is the case with many clinical trials including new drugs. “There's usually not much additional effort done to reach out to participants and inform them (of the results) in a timely manner," says Ray Dorsey, a University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center neurology instructor. More surprising, participants usually don't even learn if they were taking an actual drug or a placebo or comparator drug, information that could impact their own care.

"Why isn't this standard?" Dorsey says of efforts to inform participants of study results. "I suspect it's just not a priority."

It should be, says Conrad Fernandez, a pediatric oncologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who has surveyed researchers about why they don't inform patients of results.

"We have a moral obligation to offer research results to participants," Fernandez says. "It needs to be done in a very carefully planned way."

Back in November, we wrote about James Ross’s legal battle to have the courts in King County, Washington waive the requirement that participants in asbestos exposure lawsuits undergo an autopsy to prove that an asbestos-related disease was present at the time of death. In Ross’s eyes, a physician diagnosing him with mesothelioma should be more than enough proof. Moreover, Ross believes an autopsy does nothing more than put his wife, Esther, through greater emotional stress while trying to prepare for his funeral. 

Matthew Bergman, a Seattle based attorney representing Ross, said the requirement for an autopsy came about in the 80’s when King County Courts were overwhelmed with claims stemming from cancer causing building materials. “Twenty years ago, it was impossible to detect mesothelioma without an autopsy, but medical technology has evolved and now mesothelioma can be diagnosed before a person dies”, Bergman said.

A final decision was handed down last Thursday, as King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas waived the autopsy requirement for him in a carefully worded order. Kallas’s ruling does not overturn the county's autopsy policy for mesothelioma victims embroiled in litigation, nor does it forbid defense lawyers from later petitioning a judge to order an autopsy on Ross' remains. For Ross, the judge's order means his remains will not be automatically subjected to an autopsy if he dies in the midst of litigation.

With the holidays approaching everyone can feel a bit overwhelmed at times. But when you’re battling mesothelioma it can be a particularly challenging time of year. The MesoRC will be putting out a series of tips for those suffering or have a loved one suffering from mesothelioma to help during the busy holiday season. 

Today’s tip is- Have your holiday meal catered.

If you or your spouse is traditionally the one to do all of the holiday cooking, consider other options for your family feast. Many supermarkets today will prepare a scrumptious holiday meal with all the fixings for a reasonable price. Other ideas for hassle-free holiday meals: make it a "potluck" affair, meaning that everybody brings a dish instead of one person having to do all the work. Some mesothelioma patients invite everybody to meet up at a favorite local restaurant.

If you would like to read a full list of tips, click here.