When the planes crashed into New York City’s World Trade Center, causing their eventual collapse, a cloud of toxic dust settled over Manhattan. Asbestos was just one of many chemical hazards that could be found floating in the air. This dangerous mineral fiber was used to manufacture a wide variety of construction materials throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and prolonged exposure causes such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.
Chief Medical Officer of the Bureau of Health Services compiled a post-9/11 report that noted that 99% of all responding firefighters have since reported at least one respiratory illness related to working at ground zero. Plus New York residents have also seen an increase in respiratory issues since the attacks. Only 10 years later has the US government responded to treating 9/11 first responders by finally passing the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Law.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Former mayor campaigns for radiotherapy unit
The 72-year-old former mayor of Swindon, England, Rex Barnett, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May, during his final week in office. This rare cancer of the protective lining of the body’s major cavities and organs is caused almost exclusively by prolonged asbestos exposure. It is believed that Barnett was exposed to asbestos during the eight years he spent working at the British Rail workshops.
The former mayor is suffering specifically from pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs. When microscopic asbestos fibers are inhaled, they lodge in the lungs and remain for decades, causing the slow and silent development of asbestos cancer. Because the cancer is asymptomatic until it reaches stage three or four, it is often goes undetected until it is too late to save the patient’s life, making the average life expectancy for a mesothelioma patient between six and 18 months past diagnosis.
Mayor Barnett is undergoing chemotherapy every three weeks. Mesothelioma treatment usually combines chemotherapy with either surgery or radiotherapy. Although Barnett will not be undergoing radiation, believes a radiotherapy unit in Swindon would be a huge help for the town’s cancer patients.
“Radiotherapy takes just a few minutes to have done, but Oxford is really a long way to go and it is very tiring for patients,” says Barnett. “I know the PCT (Primary Care Trust) have been looking into having radiotherapy here in Swindon for a long time. Everybody would love to have it but there is just a question mark over the amount of cash it is going to cost, plus getting the staff and a suitable building.”
source: mesothelioma.com
The former mayor is suffering specifically from pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs. When microscopic asbestos fibers are inhaled, they lodge in the lungs and remain for decades, causing the slow and silent development of asbestos cancer. Because the cancer is asymptomatic until it reaches stage three or four, it is often goes undetected until it is too late to save the patient’s life, making the average life expectancy for a mesothelioma patient between six and 18 months past diagnosis.
Mayor Barnett is undergoing chemotherapy every three weeks. Mesothelioma treatment usually combines chemotherapy with either surgery or radiotherapy. Although Barnett will not be undergoing radiation, believes a radiotherapy unit in Swindon would be a huge help for the town’s cancer patients.
“Radiotherapy takes just a few minutes to have done, but Oxford is really a long way to go and it is very tiring for patients,” says Barnett. “I know the PCT (Primary Care Trust) have been looking into having radiotherapy here in Swindon for a long time. Everybody would love to have it but there is just a question mark over the amount of cash it is going to cost, plus getting the staff and a suitable building.”
source: mesothelioma.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)