Having Our Voices Heard

I always credit Linda Reinstein from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) with giving me my voice. Four years ago, it was Linda who started me on this crazy journey of speaking and sharing my story with others when she approached me to speak at her conference.

When I was diagnosed with mesothelioma, I was a new mom and relatively healthy. Then my world came crashing down. Speaking and sharing my story has been instrumental for me in healing emotionally and physically from the scars that remain from surgery and treatment. It also awoke in me a fierce desire to do it more. I wanted more people to know about the dangers of asbestos exposure. If I could get mesothelioma, anyone could.



When Linda called me last summer to tell me the news that I would be a recipient of the Alan Reinstein Award and ask if I would be a keynote speaker for the brunch at the 10th annual ADAO conference, honored doesn't begin to describe how I felt. It was wonderful to see that someone was noticing all the work we had been doing to build awareness around this disease. I couldn't say no! She asked me to speak about the power in our voice; how fitting, I thought, since she gave me mine.

This journey has been a long time in the making. When I started blogging for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance it opened up the floodgates, so to speak. With the help of our blog, we are able to reach out to individuals and communities through the web and social media, and we've created our own community around mesothelioma awareness.

Our community has taught me so much about the power of a voice. The amazing people I've met through this just leave me speechless sometimes--survivors and family members who are willing to share our story and bring awareness to a disease that most people only know about through commercials on TV. People are able to hear the voice of a real family affected by dangers of asbestos.



This is what Linda and the ADAO is all about, having our voice heard. This year's ADAO conference had so many voices: there were 10 countries represented and 30 speakers from all walks of life. Present were patients, doctors, and industry experts who know firsthand the current state of asbestos use and dangers. The highlight was hearing the acting US Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak speak on Saturday. He knows from experience what a menace asbestos is to public health and, with his help, we will get the word out that no level of asbestos exposure is safe.

The conference also had patients share their stories of triumph and tragedy. A young woman from Turkey named Sinem, who is a graduate of Dokuz Eylul University, has witnessed the horrible working conditions and asbestos exposure risks that happen in shipbreaking yards in her country. She is advocating for a global asbestos ban.

What the conference did for all in attendance was give us a call to action. We can no longer just sit and hope Washington will do something, we need to reach out and make our voices heard. Asbestos Awareness Week always coincides with the annual ADAO conference, and it does so for a reason. This year's theme, Where Knowledge and Action Unite, was a call to all of us to do our part. Yes, I am a survivor, but can be so much more. The acting surgeon general even challenged me to get more involved and do more, and I intend on doing just that.

Becoming involved can be something as simple as calling your representative or Senator and telling them why they should not support harmful legislation, such as the FACT Act. Tell them your story, or the story of someone you know. Educate yourself about the dangers of asbestos, because education and awareness is the beginning, and right now the only cure is prevention.

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After 24 Years, Program Employing Inmates for Asbestos Removal to End

Rick Kornak provides sharp news and insightful articles for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Bio "



April 22, 2014

Bellingham, Washington - Washington state's Department of Corrections (DOC) has put an end to a 23-year-old program that employed inmates for asbestos abatement projects.

Although the DOC has claimed the matters are unrelated, the program's termination comes not long after a recent investigation by the Department of Labor and Industries, which found that seven crew workers at the Washington Corrections Center for Women may have inhaled asbestos-containing dust in June, 2013. The work involved two nine-hour shifts of removing contaminated floor tiles.

"They were allowing the workers to be exposed to asbestos," said Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor and Industries. Although the amount of exposure is unclear, Fischer pointed out that any inhalation of asbestos fibers can be detrimental to one's health. "There's no minimum safe amount of exposure," she said. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers can lead to a variety of respiratory health problems, including fatal afflictions, such as mesothelioma.

The DOC was originally fined $141,000 for the violations, but this amount was halved when the agency agreed to do additional training and purchase more equipment. The inmates were trained and certified for asbestos removal, but the investigation done by the Department of Labor and Industries led to the discovery that proper procedures were not being followed at all times. The contaminated material was not always wet down, as it should be, and masks, gloves, and other protective equipment was worn inconsistently.

The work crew's supervisor, Gary Baldwin, was dismissive about the potential hazards. "It would take an act of God to take any contamination off floor tiles," he said. As for the failure to wet the tiles, Baldwin claimed that too much water would deactivate the chemical the workers used to loosen the tiles.

Although Baldwin had reasons for each infraction, the investigators believed that the noncompliance stemmed from willful disregard of the law. "They're in the business," Fischer said, adding, "They're supposed to know."

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Dr. Sugarbaker, Renowned Mesothelioma Expert and Thoracic Surgeon, to ...

Rick Kornak provides sharp news and insightful articles for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Bio "



April 23, 2014

Houston, Texas - Renowned surgeon Dr. David Sugarbaker will leave his position as chief of thoracic surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to lead a new comprehensive lung disease center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Sugarbaker is also giving up a role as professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Sugarbaker is highly regarded among the mesothelioma community for a variety of reasons, including being credited for the first tri-modal treatment approach to malignant pleural mesothelioma, a type of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs. He has also helped develop a clinical investigation into the effectiveness of surgery in cancer therapy trials, and he has banked more than 1,500 samples of mesothelioma for the sake of research. Mesothelioma is a direct result of inhaling asbestos fibers, which is one of the many reasons why the hazardous material has been banned since the 1970s. Despite the ban, there are approximately 3,000 mesothelioma diagnoses made each year.

As the leader of the Lung Institute, Sugarbaker will get the chance to develop a preeminent program for the Houston area. "Part of what attracted me to Baylor is the opportunity to build something that never has been done before," he said. "I see a large role for clinical and translational research, with an eye to getting new treatments to patients as soon as possible."

Dr. Sugarbaker envisions a comprehensive approach to treatment, in which the many departments and disciplines of the Baylor College of Medicine will work in conjunction with one another to provide the best care possible for the community. "Baylor is a leader in genomic research, and that will play a key part, as well as the personalized treatment of a patient's lung disease," he said. "This program also will have a strong surgical presence."

Dr. Sugarbaker will begin his work at the Lung Institute in July.

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After 24 Years, Program Employing Inmates for Asbestos Removal to End

Rick Kornak provides sharp news and insightful articles for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Bio "



April 22, 2014

Bellingham, Washington - Washington state's Department of Corrections (DOC) has put an end to a 23-year-old program that employed inmates for asbestos abatement projects.

Although the DOC has claimed the matters are unrelated, the program's termination comes not long after a recent investigation by the Department of Labor and Industries, which found that seven crew workers at the Washington Corrections Center for Women may have inhaled asbestos-containing dust in June, 2013. The work involved two nine-hour shifts of removing contaminated floor tiles.

"They were allowing the workers to be exposed to asbestos," said Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Labor and Industries. Although the amount of exposure is unclear, Fischer pointed out that any inhalation of asbestos fibers can be detrimental to one's health. "There's no minimum safe amount of exposure," she said. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers can lead to a variety of respiratory health problems, including fatal afflictions, such as mesothelioma.

The DOC was originally fined $141,000 for the violations, but this amount was halved when the agency agreed to do additional training and purchase more equipment. The inmates were trained and certified for asbestos removal, but the investigation done by the Department of Labor and Industries led to the discovery that proper procedures were not being followed at all times. The contaminated material was not always wet down, as it should be, and masks, gloves, and other protective equipment was worn inconsistently.

The work crew's supervisor, Gary Baldwin, was dismissive about the potential hazards. "It would take an act of God to take any contamination off floor tiles," he said. As for the failure to wet the tiles, Baldwin claimed that too much water would deactivate the chemical the workers used to loosen the tiles.

Although Baldwin had reasons for each infraction, the investigators believed that the noncompliance stemmed from willful disregard of the law. "They're in the business," Fischer said, adding, "They're supposed to know."

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Having Our Voice Heard

I always credit Linda Reinstein from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) with giving me my voice. Four years ago, it was Linda who started me on this crazy journey of speaking and sharing my story with others when she approached me to speak at her conference.

When I was diagnosed with mesothelioma, I was a new mom and relatively healthy. Then my world came crashing down. Speaking and sharing my story has been instrumental for me in healing emotionally and physically from the scars that remain from surgery and treatment. It also awoke in me a fierce desire to do it more. I wanted more people to know about the dangers of asbestos exposure. If I could get mesothelioma, anyone could.



When Linda called me last summer to tell me the news that I would be a recipient of the Alan Reinstein Award and ask if I would be a keynote speaker for the brunch at the 10th annual ADAO conference, honored doesn't begin to describe how I felt. It was wonderful to see that someone was noticing all the work we had been doing to build awareness around this disease. I couldn't say no! She asked me to speak about the power in our voice; how fitting, I thought, since she gave me mine.

This journey has been a long time in the making. When I started blogging for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance it opened up the floodgates, so to speak. With the help of our blog, we are able to reach out to individuals and communities through the web and social media, and we've created our own community around mesothelioma awareness.

Our community has taught me so much about the power of a voice. The amazing people I've met through this just leave me speechless sometimes--survivors and family members who are willing to share our story and bring awareness to a disease that most people only know about through commercials on TV. People are able to hear the voice of a real family affected by dangers of asbestos.



This is what Linda and the ADAO is all about, having our voice heard. This year's ADAO conference had so many voices: there were 10 countries represented and 30 speakers from all walks of life. Present were patients, doctors, and industry experts who know firsthand the current state of asbestos use and dangers. The highlight was hearing the acting US Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak speak on Saturday. He knows from experience what a menace asbestos is to public health and, with his help, we will get the word out that no level of asbestos exposure is safe.

The conference also had patients share their stories of triumph and tragedy. A young woman from Turkey named Sinem, who is a graduate of Dokuz Eylul University, has witnessed the horrible working conditions and asbestos exposure risks that happen in shipbreaking yards in her country. She is advocating for a global asbestos ban.

What the conference did for all in attendance was give us a call to action. We can no longer just sit and hope Washington will do something, we need to reach out and make our voices heard. Asbestos Awareness Week always coincides with the annual ADAO conference, and it does so for a reason. This year's theme, Where Knowledge and Action Unite, was a call to all of us to do our part. Yes, I am a survivor, but can be so much more. The acting surgeon general even challenged me to get more involved and do more, and I intend on doing just that.

Becoming involved can be something as simple as calling your representative or Senator and telling them why they should not support harmful legislation, such as the FACT Act. Tell them your story, or the story of someone you know. Educate yourself about the dangers of asbestos, because education and awareness is the beginning, and right now the only cure is prevention.

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Having Our Voice Heard

I always credit Linda Reinstein from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) with giving me my voice. Four years ago, it was Linda who started me on this crazy journey of speaking and sharing my story with others when she approached me to speak at her conference.

When I was diagnosed with mesothelioma, I was a new mom and relatively healthy. Then my world came crashing down. Speaking and sharing my story has been instrumental for me in healing emotionally and physically from the scars that remain from surgery and treatment. It also awoke in me a fierce desire to do it more. I wanted more people to know about the dangers of asbestos exposure. If I could get mesothelioma, anyone could.



When Linda called me last summer to tell me the news that I would be a recipient of the Alan Reinstein Award and ask if I would be a keynote speaker for the brunch at the 10th annual ADAO conference, honored doesn't begin to describe how I felt. It was wonderful to see that someone was noticing all the work we had been doing to build awareness around this disease. I couldn't say no! She asked me to speak about the power in our voice; how fitting, I thought, since she gave me mine.

This journey has been a long time in the making. When I started blogging for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance it opened up the floodgates, so to speak. With the help of our blog, we are able to reach out to individuals and communities through the web and social media, and we've created our own community around mesothelioma awareness.

Our community has taught me so much about the power of a voice. The amazing people I've met through this just leave me speechless sometimes--survivors and family members who are willing to share our story and bring awareness to a disease that most people only know about through commercials on TV. People are able to hear the voice of a real family affected by dangers of asbestos.



This is what Linda and the ADAO is all about, having our voice heard. This year's ADAO conference had so many voices: there were 10 countries represented and 30 speakers from all walks of life. Present were patients, doctors, and industry experts who know firsthand the current state of asbestos use and dangers. The highlight was hearing the acting US Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak speak on Saturday. He knows from experience what a menace asbestos is to public health and, with his help, we will get the word out that no level of asbestos exposure is safe.

The conference also had patients share their stories of triumph and tragedy. A young woman from Turkey named Sinem, who is a graduate of Dokuz Eylul University, has witnessed the horrible working conditions and asbestos exposure risks that happen in shipbreaking yards in her country. She is advocating for a global asbestos ban.

What the conference did for all in attendance was give us a call to action. We can no longer just sit and hope Washington will do something, we need to reach out and make our voices heard. Asbestos Awareness Week always coincides with the annual ADAO conference, and it does so for a reason. This year's theme, Where Knowledge and Action Unite, was a call to all of us to do our part. Yes, I am a survivor, but can be so much more. The acting surgeon general even challenged me to get more involved and do more, and I intend on doing just that.

Becoming involved can be something as simple as calling your representative or Senator and telling them why they should not support harmful legislation, such as the FACT Act. Tell them your story, or the story of someone you know. Educate yourself about the dangers of asbestos, because education and awareness is the beginning, and right now the only cure is prevention.

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Source : http://ift.tt/1iRYycV