Need to Fund Cure for Malignant Mesothelioma
Need to Fund Cure for Mesothelioma SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Challenged by a patient to help fund the research needed to find a cure for malignant mesothelioma, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter yesterday agreed to look into the federal government’s commitment to treating the deadly cancer associated with asbestos exposure.
Billy Speicher, who suffers from pleural mesothelioma, asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to fulfill its duty to veterans who were exposed to asbestos while serving their country. The government, he testified, ought to fund the medical research because “the plain truth is that the Government had a lot to do with exposing guys like me to asbestos. I got my first taste of it working on airplanes when I was in the Marines. Navy guys, marines – a whole lot of veterans got their first exposure to asbestos serving their country.”
In response, Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Specter acknowledged that asbestos in the U.S. is not merely a litigation crisis as it is so often called, but is in fact “an occupational health crisis.” He acknowledged the need for a cure for mesothelioma, and pledged to look into how much of the National Cancer Institute’s $5 billion cancer research budget is being used for mesothelioma research.
Ironically, The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF), had answered this question by letter to Sen. Specter’s staff in early December. MARF wrote: “Asbestos cancer is truly an epidemic, yet this country has never invested in any medical research programs on a level proportionate to other cancers. In the past few years, the NCI has allocated about $2 million per year towards research, but a large chunk of that has been consumed by grants that deal principally with causation, not treatment, early detection, or prevention.”
“The federal government,” MARF wrote back on December 8th to Senator Specter’s office, “has a duty to fix this national health problem. Of the 4,000 Americans diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, approximately 32% were exposed to asbestos while serving in the U.S. Navy or while working in Navy shipyards. Despite the heavy toll this insidious cancer exacts on Navy veterans, neither the Department of Defense (DOD) nor the Department of Veterans Affairs has a medical research and treatment program for mesothelioma.”
MARF requested Senator Specter’s cooperation in its mission to persuade Congress to create a medical research program for mesothelioma. From 1992 to 2005, Congress has appropriated over $3.4 billion to specific DOD research priorities, such as ovarian, breast and prostate cancer – malignancies that are not normally associated with military service. “The time is long overdue for Congress to recognize the service and sacrifice of the thousands of veterans who either currently suffer from asbestos-related cancer or are at substantial risk for contracting such cancer in the future,” MARF wrote.
“Regardless of the merits of the asbestos litigation reform bill, yesterday was a victory for mesothelioma victims for the simple reason that the Judiciary Committee, through its Chairman, Senator Specter, has finally acknowledged the federal government’s responsibility to help cure mesothelioma, a service-connected disability for thousands of veterans,” said Roger Worthington, co-founder of MARF. “The need to fund research on early detection, prevention, treatment and cures must not be tied to the fortunes of a compensation bill.”
Funded by patients, industry, and trial lawyers, MARF is an ecumenical effort to bring all sides involved with the asbestos crisis together for the common purpose of curing mesothelioma. MARF, which itself has already awarded over $2.1 million in mesothelioma research grants, has proposed the creation of a $140 million federal mesothelioma research and treatment program. MARF is currently working with Senators Patty Murray and Henry Reid on obtaining a separate, line item appropriation for mesothelioma medical research.
MARF’s letter to Senator Specter and its proposal for a federal mesothelioma research and treatment program are posted at http://www.marf.org/cdmrp.htm.
MARF Applauds Long Overdue Acknowledgment of Need to Fund Cure for Mesothelioma