Seventh Annual Asbestos Awareness Conference
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, or ADAO, recently announced the Seventh Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference, slated for April 1 through the 3, 2011, in Atlanta, Georgia.
At this conference, noted scientists, oncologists, physicians, researchers and medical educators will discuss asbestos and its effect on public health from both an economic and environmental point of view.
As the biggest organization in the United States acting as an advocate for the victims of asbestos-related diseases, the ADAO is dedicated to the principles of education, advocacy and community.
Founded in 2004 by two individuals, one intimately acquainted with the ravages of asbestos disease – Linda Reinstein, whose husband died of mesothelioma – and one dedicated to speaking for such victims, Douglas Larkin, the organization has as its spokesman Jordan Zevon, whose father, Warren Zevon, a nationally recognized singer and songwriter, also died from mesothelioma in 2003.
The conference is to be held at the Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center in Atlanta, and the various programs will include presentations by noted speakers on the subjects of occupational and non-occupational exposure, as well as mesothelioma detection, diagnosis and treatment. Other speakers will delve into the nature of national and global policy issues surrounding asbestos manufacture and public exposure to this substance, as well as its impact on people, the economy and the natural world.
Mesothelioma, according to MesotheliomaWeb.org, the most comprehensive website available on the disease, is an asbestos-related cancer of the lining of the lung (pleura), the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum). It can also occur, though rarely, in the lining around the heart (pericardium), and is sometimes called “asbestos lung cancer”.
Unlike other cancers, including the more common ones in the lungs, mesothelioma tends to lie dormant for up to five decades before producing symptoms distinctive enough to allow for an accurate diagnosis.
Unfortunately, by that time the cancer has invaded a considerable amount of vital tissue and even vital organs, and treatments are aimed more at improving breathing and reducing pain. These palliative measures (as opposed to curative measures) can involve surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, singly or in combination, providing the patient is strong enough to tolerate them. Once diagnosed, most mesothelioma suffers are given a prognosis of about a year to live. There is as yet no cure.
In an effort to change this paradigm, the Seventh Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference will bring together experts from around the world who will work together to bring about a universal asbestos ban. They will also offer reports and documentation on the latest information on medical advances, occupational safety measures and other disease prevention and treatment options.
The ADAO conference is supported by the efforts of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, one of 40 national cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, and a powerhouse research and treatment facility that stands alone within the state, winning preferred status in 2007, 2008 and 2009, according to Cancer Treatment Preference Profile Surveys conducted by the National Research Corporation.
As Karmanos Center physician and researcher, Dr. Michael Harbut (M.D., MPH, FCCP) notes, the ADAO conference is “one of the best educational and awareness opportunities” available to those involved in the fight against mesothelioma.
Please contact us at: info@mesotheliomaweb.org
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org
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