Category: Featured News
Woodworkers Unite to Support Mesothelioma and Other Cancer Survivors With Fundraising Build Event Through December 9
Marc and Nicole Spagnuolo, owners of The Wood Whisperer, with their son Mateo.
Woodworkers across the United States have the chance to turn their hobby into an opportunity to make a difference for cancer sufferers. Through December 9, the 2013 Woodworkers Fighting Cancer build event challenges woodworkers to build a small woodworking project – a young artist’s easel. For each submitted photo of a completed easel, a donation will be made to CancerCare on the builder’s behalf. CancerCare provides support services to patients, caregivers, and their families dealing with mesothelioma and other cancers.
With a theme of ‘Building for a Cure,’ Marc and Nicole Spagnuolo, co-owners of The Wood Whisperer, an Arizona-based provider of online woodworking education for the modern woodworker, have once again organized a build project with a goal to raise money for a cancer charity. Started in 2010, the Woodworkers Fighting Cancer events have raised nearly $25,000 for cancer support organizations, including the American Cancer Society and Livestrong.
For every child’s artist easel completed, the builders can submit a photo to Marc Spagnuolo and he will donate $5 per entry, with other corporate sponsors matching the donation. This year they hope to raise $10,000. 100% of the money raised will go to CancerCare.
“CancerCare is incredibly grateful for our supporters at The Wood Whisperer,” said Jhara Navalo, CancerCare Director of Donor Development, in an email to Mesothelioma Help. “Their creative and inspirational campaign will greatly improve the lives of our clients.”
Many builders have already jumped at the chance to participate. Bobby commented on the challenge on The Wood Whisperer’s website, “Congratulations for motivating us to make the world a better place. Count me in.”
“I’m in for this year! Looks like another fun build for a great cause,” added John who said he had already downloaded the plans.
“The great thing about this project is that not only do we get to support a great cancer organization, but many of the woodworkers go on and donate their project to a holiday children’s charity and give back to their community,” said Marc Spagnuolo in an interview with Mesothelioma Help.
Inspired by a Woodworker Fighting Cancer
In 2006, Marc left the security of a full-time job to turn his passion for woodworking into a business. Now, after years of perseverance, hard work and the support of the woodworking community, Marc and Nicole both work full-time supporting the growing business. Once the business started to expand, the couple began looking for a charity to support. It wasn’t until they got a call from a stranger that they found their inspiration.
The Spagnuolos were moved to give back to the cancer community when a man battling pancreatic cancer contacted Marc in 2010 for help in completing a steamer trunk. Duane Moore told Marc that woodworking was “an important part of his recovery” and he wanted to leave something for his children and his family, but he needed some help with completing the project.
Marc developed the Steamer Trunk video series specifically to show Duane how to build the project. But when Duane’s health began to fail, Marc and Nicole dropped everything and flew to Duane’s house in Ohio to give him some one-on-one help in completing his remaining projects. Duane passed away a short time later.
“When we watched Duane work so hard to finish his projects in his short time left, Nicole and I knew that we had to find a way to help others fighting cancer,” said Marc. “We have been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement of not only our fellow woodworkers but the companies and corporations who have helped us achieve our goal.”
The Need for Cancer Support Gets Personal
Pleural mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused form of lung cancer, and pancreatic cancers are two of the most aggressive and deadliest forms of cancer, both of which have limited treatment options. While chemotherapy and radiation are most often used to relieve symptoms, the cancers often metastasize leaving the patients with a very short survival. Organizations such as CancerCare are critical for helping cancer patients and families deal with some of the emotional and financial issues that come with a cancer diagnosis.
When Nicole’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, Nicole wanted to find an organization that helped patients and their families in their day-to-day battle with cancer.
“There are so many costs around cancer, beyond the medical care, that cancer quickly became a financial burden for Dad,” said Nicole. Her father lives in a rural area of Missouri and he had to drive over 40 miles one-way each day for his radiation treatments. “The cost of gas and wear and tear on his car was becoming challenging,” she added.
Nicole set out to find organizations that support families with the immediate needs facing them while they fight cancer.
“I found CancerCare, and I really liked the support they offer patients for helping them get through the daily stressors of cancer,” said Nicole. “When I told Marc about the organization’s services we decided to select them as our charity this year.”
“It’s thanks to advocates and generous donors like The Wood Whisperer that we are able to provide emotional and practical support to anyone affected by cancer,” said Navalo.
How to Participate
The Spagnuolos make it easy to help them support CancerCare. Plans for the easel were donated by WOOD Magazine and can be downloaded for free. Kits with materials needed to build the easel can be purchased at Bell Forest Products. For each kit purchased, the company will donate $10. In addition, people can purchase a coffee mug or T-Shirt. Donations can also be made directly to CancerCare. For more information on the 2013 Woodworkers Fighting Cancer charity event visit The Wood Whisperer.
About CancerCare
CancerCare is the largest, long-standing national organization helping all people affected by any type and any stage of cancer. 87% of donations directly support its suite of services, which include telephone, online and in-person counseling and support groups, educational workshops and resources, as well as financial assistance. Approximately $.13 on every dollar is spent on administrative cost. The organization constantly strives to reduce cost. Donors can designate their gifts to support general operations or medication co-pay assistance.
Supporters have the ability to setup their own fundraising page at http://community.cancercare.org/team. Users can include pictures with personalized messaging and receive online donations.
Visit CancerCare.org for more information on how they can support you.
Sources:
- 2013 Woodworkers Fighting Cancer
http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/woodworkers-fighting-cancer-2013-the-young-artists-easel/ - CancerCare
http://community.cancercare.org/wwfc - submit a photo
https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/submit-projects-and-shops/
Mesothelioma Survivor Lou Williams Fights for Her Life, For Others and For an End to Asbestos Use
In March we shared Lou Williams’ story as she struggles with both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma. Through it all, Ms. Williams has maintained a positive attitude and has fought tirelessly to keep others from having to endure what she has gone through. In this article, we outline Ms. Williams’s advocacy efforts and her goal to end the use of asbestos in Australia and throughout the world.
Although Louise “Lou” Williams is a Mesothelioma Survivor – it has been nearly 10 years since she began her treatments – she is a mesothelioma patient advocate first. Nearly every day you can find her tweeting about another mesothelioma treatment, another company being held accountable in Australia for placing others in harm’s way, or about a new activity to ban asbestos. But many of her tweets are focused on the lives of the other mesothelioma warriors battling the cancer.
Ms. Williams’s positive, uplifting comments can also be found on her Facebook page and on the social media pages of her fellow mesothelioma warriors. Her messages encourage them to fight another day, or to call their doctor’s office and get in ASAP. Sometimes she simply sends a ♥ across cyberspace. Even as Ms. Williams endured another chemotherapy infusion, she reached out to her good friend Jan Egerton in England as she also struggles with the disease to say “Holding yr hand tonight xx,” and “cocooned luv and hugs.”
It All Started with her Father’s Mesothelioma Diagnosis
At 58 years old, Ms. Williams is more aware of the dangers of asbestos than she ever wanted to be. Ms. Williams watched her father die a painful death from mesothelioma in 1985. He was just 54-years-old and had worked in the building industry, where he was exposed to asbestos.
Appalled to learn that her father’s life was so quickly taken through no fault of his own, Ms. Williams soon began telling “anyone who would listen” that asbestos is an abhorrent mineral that leaves those exposed to it with devastating health conditions.
Then, in a tragic turn of events, Ms. Williams herself was diagnosed with the same cancer, brought on by the very same asbestos fibers that ultimately killed her father. As a child, Ms. Williams helped wash her father’s clothes, which were often covered with asbestos dust from work.
While fighting for her own life, Ms. Williams took on the asbestos industry to halt the use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials that were ubiquitous in Australia.
“I believe spreading the word that there is no safe asbestos, and asbestos kills is helping to keep me alive,” said Ms. Williams in an e-mail to MesotheliomaHelp.
Raising Awareness of the Dangers of Asbestos
Just as Ms. Williams was shocked that being exposed to a small amount of the toxic fiber left her vulnerable to mesothelioma, many of the others she educated were also dumbstruck.
“Being a woman and living with this cancer has been an eye opener for many people,” said Ms. Williams.
In order to get the word out to the masses, Ms. Williams first had to find out everything she could about her treatment options, support options and where she, and others battling mesothelioma, could turn for help. She found that those options were limited, if not nonexistent.
Acting quickly, Ms. Williams formed a partnership with Asbestos Diseases of Victoria (ADSVIC) in January 2004, just months after she received her diagnosis. As Ms. Williams tells it, “I made contact, became their first client, and set about getting a support group happening with others.” Ms. Williams eventually became Vice President and joint awareness/advocacy coordinator on the board of ADSVIC and continued to rally support in Australia to end the use of asbestos.
Ms. Williams eventually realized that there was advocacy and awareness work to be done on a global scale, and she left ADSVIC (which is now AsbestosWise) and joined the Bernie Banton Foundation, an Australian group that provides support and information to asbestos-related disease sufferers and their families while Raising Awareness of the Dangers of Asbestos.
Fighting for Changes in Australia
Perhaps Ms. Williams’s greatest fight now is in her petition to the State of Victoria, Australia to join the National Asbestos Strategic Plan. According to an article in Invest in Australia, the aim of the plan is “to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres, in order to eliminate asbestos-related disease in Australia.” Victoria is the only state in Australia to not join the plan.
Always positive in outlook, Ms. Williams told MesotheliomaHelp, “Once this is in place then we will see in Australia quicker united action on awareness, education and removal on a prioritised scale.”
She is also fighting to see Asbestos Awareness Month recognized throughout the country. In a blog entry in early October, Ms. Williams said, “Having Asbestos Awareness Month happen is so important for me to see in my lifetime. Bring on next year and a nationally recognised Asbestos Awareness Month!”
Of course, educating the public about mesothelioma is just as critical. While the United States has a Mesothelioma Awareness Day set aside on Sept. 26 each year, Australia does not have such a day. Ms. Williams is campaigning to have Sept. 26 recognized as National Mesothelioma Day in her country. Ms. Williams said in her blog, this Awareness Day “would be terrific to see in my lifetime. This would then become a global Mesothelioma Day celebrated on Sept. 26!”
Never Going to Give Up
Ten years after her initial diagnosis, and having suffered through four surgeries, 36 rounds of chemotherapy, and countless days in the hospital, Lou Williams faces another round of chemotherapy. But she remains positive. She sees the cancer that took her father’s life and threatens hers as a means to educate the public about the dangers of asbestos — the only known cause of mesothelioma. She has turned the tragedy that has befallen her and her family into a sounding board to fight for the lives of others who may have been exposed to asbestos.
Ms. Williams has received countless awards and recognition for her dedication, focus and perseverance to ensure asbestos is banned and no one else suffers from a disease that is caused through no fault of their own. In June, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) announced that, for the first time, Ms. Williams and two other honorees will each receive the Alan Reinstein Award at the Asbestos Awareness Conference in 2014. The award is named for the husband of ADAO’s founder Linda Reinstein and recognizes individuals’ commitment to education, advocacy and support to countless patients and families around the world.
In a June article in The Examiner, Ms. Williams said she “will raise awareness for asbestos and its dangers until her last breath.”
“If I can help to save even one life,” Ms. Williams told MesotheliomaHelp, “I will be happy.”
Follow Lou’s mesothelioma battle and advocacy efforts at “Asbestos – Living with Mesothelioma in Australia – Louise (Lou) Williams.”
Sources:
- Petition to the State of Victoria,
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/376/207/908/petition-the-state-of-victoria-australia-to-join-the-national-asbestos-strategic-plan - The Examiner
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/1575188/voice-for-asbestos-victims - Alan Reinstein Award
http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/archives/22455 - Invest in Australia
http://www.investinaustralia.com/news/64-million-tackle-australia%E2%80%99s-deadly-asbestos-legacy-12c3
Lifestyle Choices Can Make a Difference but Cannot Prevent Mesothelioma
According to the National Cancer Institute only 5% of cancers are caused by genetics. The remaining 95% of the cancer diagnoses are dependent on choices we make every day, such as food selection, smoking decisions, sun exposure and exercise habits. Medical experts report that by making lifestyle changes Americans can improve their quality of life and can largely eliminate their likelihood of developing cancer. Exposure to environmental hazards, however, also determines whether someone will contract cancer. But for the close to 3,000 Americans diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, prevention of the disease is not an option as they were often unwittingly exposed to asbestos, a toxic mineral, years ago as they worked for a living.
Most cases of mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer, are diagnosed 30 years or more after exposure to asbestos, with the latency or incubation period sometimes being as long as 50 years. While many uses for asbestos were banned in the mid-1970’s, the effects of the mineral continues to be a threat to workers exposed through their occupations and in buildings that were erected or renovated prior to the ban. Most at-risk for the disease are trade workers who inhaled asbestos fibers in the workplace or Navy veterans exposed to asbestos in ships.
No Safe Level of Asbestos Exposure
The health risks of asbestos have been thrust back into the spotlight on the heels of the announcement that Quebec will not only resume mining of asbestos, but will also export the mineral to developing countries where safe handling requirements are not in place. Production at the Jeffrey Mine could result in the mine eventually producing up to 225,000 tons of chrysotile asbestos per year.
The International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) stated in March that it “deeply regrets that the Quebec Government has provided the loan guarantee that enables resumption of asbestos mining in Canada.” They contend that all types of asbestos have demonstrated their ability to cause asbestos-related diseases. Formed to improve communication and collaboration among workers interested in mesothelioma, the IMIG reiterated their long-standing position, “there is no safe use of asbestos.”
Philip Landrigan, Dean of Global Health at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, agrees with IMIG and stated in a letter to Quebec Premier Jean Charest in an attempt to halt reopening the Jeffrey Mine that “there is no safe exposure level [of asbestos]. It goes on killing for generations.”
Time to End Asbestos Use
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), asbestos causes approximately half of all deaths from occupational cancer. 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos in the workplace. In addition, they estimate 90,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.
The tragedy of mesothelioma is that the disease is completely preventable through the ban of asbestos. Unfortunately, this is not at a choice that an individual has control over, as it is often made at the government level. Advocates for mesothelioma patients continue to call for a ban of asbestos as the only way to halt mesothelioma.
For more information please check our New York Mesothelioma Resources page.
Nanotechnology Targets Mesothelioma; FDA Keeps Watchful Eye on Developments
The latest emerging medical technology, nanotechnology, has heralded myriad breakthroughs in the development of novel therapies for orphan diseases and cancers. Mesothelioma researchers have started focusing on using nanotechnology to deliver cancer-fighting drugs directly to cancerous cells, thus, leaving healthy cells intact.
The infinitesimal size of nanoparticles – the size of one-billionth of a meter – allows payloads of drugs to home in on tumors while minimizing side effects from toxicity due to excess medicine that is currently needed to effectively attack cancer cells. Most often, capsules, referred to as “magic bullets,” are developed to deliver the medicines directly to the targeted cells.
In an article in FDAVoice, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s blog site, Celia Cruz, PhD, reports that “materials at the nanoscale can have different chemical, physical, or biological properties compared to their conventionally-scaled counterparts.” As a result, the safety and effectiveness of the drug can be affected, leading the FDA to study the issues and monitor developments with nanotechnology.
Primarily, the FDA set out to determine if the “current regulatory processes are adequate to identify any potential risks and reduce those risks.” The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Nanotechnology Risk Assessment Working Group (Nano Group) was used to conduct an extensive review of the emerging technology.
The Nano Group concluded that the FDA’s current processes are adequate for monitoring nanomaterials. However, the team also identified areas for improvement, such as increased nanotechnology regulatory science research and up-to-date training of the review staff who evaluate marketing applications for drug products developed using nanomaterials.
Nanotechnology Benefits Mesothelioma Researchers
Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer primarily caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Designated as an orphan disease in the U.S., a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people, mesothelioma treatment is limited to managing symptoms and extending survival. Currently, there is no cure available, and the average survival time is less than 18 months. However, researchers are now looking to nanotechnology as a way to attack mesothelioma.
- The NYU Langone Medical Center’s Cancer Institute recently purchased a NanoString Technologies nCounter Analysis System with funds donated by the New York mesothelioma lawyers of Belluck & Fox, LLP. Dr. Pass, Chief of Thoracic Oncology, NYU Cancer Center and Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, is a renowned mesothelioma specialist and is a past winner of the Pioneer Award from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation for his dedication to mesothelioma research. This tool allows Dr. Pass and his colleagues to obtain faster results as they seek the clues to better treatments and, one day, a cure for mesothelioma.
- In 2011, the University of Pennsylvania established the Penn Center for Orphan Disease Research and Therapy focused on discovering novel treatments for rare diseases. One of the primary goals of the Center is to focus on nano-scale systems for developing new ways to deliver drugs.
- Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore developed a miniaturized biochip using nanotechnology that can assess the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs on cancer stem cells. This is especially important for allowing oncologists to offer personalized medicine to mesothelioma patients.
“Nanotechnology is a new and exciting field that offers scientists the opportunity to control matter at very small dimensions, opening many possibilities for making all kinds of new products,” said Ms. Cruz.
Sources:
- FDAVoice
http://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2013/10/as-nanotechnology-is-being-used-to-develop-new-drugs-fda-is-working-to-ensure-quality-safety-and-effectiveness/ - MIT News
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2012/noninvasive-diagnostics-for-cancer-1216 - University of Pennsylvania
- US FDA Nanotechnology Fact Sheet
http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/default.htm - Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore
http://www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg/ - University of Pennsylvania
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2011/07/orphan/
Mesothelioma Invades All Walks of Life
Once again, mesothelioma has shown that it is a disease that knows no bounds. Last week a famous Hollywood actor, Ed Lauter, and a Pennsylvania man in a local Bluegrass band, Don Smitley, both lost their lives to the rare, asbestos-caused disease. Although from very different backgrounds, the two men spent their last year fighting pleural mesothelioma, that more than likely developed decades after the men were first exposed to the toxic fibers.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and is proven to cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and other respiratory diseases. Often called “asbestos cancer,” mesothelioma is highly aggressive and is resistant to many cancer treatments. The cancer has an extended latency period with diagnosis anywhere from 15 to 60 years after initial exposure to asbestos. Currently, there is no known cure for the disease, and the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis.
Lauter, 74, was a character actor who starred in over 200 movies, including The Longest Yard, Cujo and recently, The Artist, during his nearly 50-year career. Lauter starred alongside Hollywood A-listers such as Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, and Tom Cruise. According to his publicist, Edward Lozzi, Lauter became ill in May and died last Wednesday from mesothelioma.
Smitley, 57, whose life with mesothelioma was recounted through his daughter’s eyes in her Faces of Mesothelioma blog, was diagnosed with the cancer in January 2012. Since then he had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation in an effort to halt the growth of the cancer. Smitley enjoyed playing the guitar with his other band members in The Dunbar Boys, taking walks with his dog, Charley, and mostly he enjoyed spending time with his wife, Judy and daughter, Jennifer. Smitley passed away last Tuesday.
Recent Mesothelioma Deaths Break the Mold
According to Linda Reinstein, co-founder and President/CEO of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, 30 Americans die every day from asbestos-related diseases. The primary demographic of mesothelioma patients is men aged 65 and older with a history of work in construction and general industry.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that of the 18,068 deaths attributed to mesothelioma from 1999 – 2005, over four times more men than women died from the disease. Recently, however, mesothelioma has seemingly ignored the statistics and has taken the lives of young women as well.
In June, 37-year-old Janelle Bedel of Indiana, also known as “Wonder Woman,” died from mesothelioma after fighting the disease for six years. Janelle tirelessly worked to raise awareness of the cancer, and supported the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
Also in June, Debbie “Muvmuv” Brewer, 54, of England, lost her battle to pleural mesothelioma. Debbie was also a stalwart advocate for the mesothelioma community, and during her seven-year battle with the disease fought to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos. Debbie’s father died from an asbestos-related disease just three months before she was diagnosed in 2006.
The tragedy of mesothelioma is that the disease is entirely preventable by eliminating exposure to asbestos. In its report “Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality — United States, 1999–2005,” the CDC notes:
“Although asbestos has been eliminated in the manufacture of many products, it is still being imported (approximately 1,730 metric tons in 2007) and used in the United States in various construction and transportation products.
Ensuring a future decrease in mesothelioma mortality requires meticulous control of exposures to asbestos and other materials that might cause mesothelioma.”
Know more about mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
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