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Written by one of the leading asbestos experts for both plaintiff and defense attorneys, occupational and environmental health professionals, as well as others in the field of toxic substances control, Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects has become the definitive resource on the medical and legal aspects of asbestos.

Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects provides a comprehensive examination of the public health history of asbestos, from the origins of industrial use to the present. It includes in-depth coverage of prior and ongoing litigation; extensive evaluation of the legal arguments put forth by plaintiff and defense counsel; and provides crucial information, materials and resources on the evolving corporate knowledge of asbestos hazards. The book covers in detail: asbestosis and cancer; compensability of asbestosis and cancer as occupational diseases; thresholds and standards used to determine safe or acceptable levels of asbestos exposure in the workplace; and company knowledge of asbestos hazards, gleaned from countless depositions, company records, industry consultants and trade associations.

Some items new to the Fifth Edition include:

extensive discussion of corporate knowledge and responsibility for asbestos hazards
extensive examination of the international struggle over asbestos, whereby some countries have banned asbestos while others have continued to expand their usage of asbestos in building materials
detailed discussion of alternatives to asbestos.

STILL LEGAL, STILL LETHAL
Most Americans mistakenly believe asbestos was banned long ago. In fact, it is still legal and can still kill you. Its microscopic fibers cause painful and incurable diseases.

Despite being outlawed in nearly every other industrialized country, asbestos remains a legal component of more than three thousand common products in the United States. These include toasters, washers/dryers, ovens, building supplies, and automobile brakes. Our confusion about asbestos is no accident.

Fatal Deception is a chilling exposé of the asbestos industry’s successful seventy-year campaign to hide the deadly effects of its products from the American people. The stakes are high — tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Michael Bowker rips the cover off the decades of deceit, including the treachery in Libby, Montana, site of the most deadly environmental disaster in U.S. history. He also unveils a startling and ongoing cover-up at Ground Zero — where thousands of New Yorkers may still be suffering from exposure to dangerous levels of asbestos fibers.

Compelling, enraging, and very timely, Fatal Deception is not just a fascinating story, it is a plea to the government and to the American people to help sponsor research into asbestos-related diseases — and a call to arms to ban asbestos now.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma, a malignancy due largely to asbestos exposure, represents an increasingly common challenge to clinical and medical oncologists, respiratory physicians, and cardiothoracic surgeons, as well as researchers in the field. The disease has yet to reach its peak and is expected to kill over 100,000 people worldwide. As malignant pleural mesothelioma gains in profile, Kenneth O’Byrne and Valerie Rusch present a comprehensive overview of the subject, aimed at all health care professionals who come into contact with patients with the disease.

The book includes chapters on epidemiology, diagnosis, histopathology, radiology, surgery, chemotherapy, immune therapy, radiotherapy, and palliative medicine, written by an international team of contributors. A molecular biology section focuses on the carcinogenic effects of asbestos fibres and simian virus 40, angiogenesis and angiogenic growth factors, the immune response, and genetic abnormalities detected in the disease. Future therapies are also covered, as is a perspective on the distinct legal issues related to the disease. This highly-illustrated, full colour book provides the ultimate, timely resource on this devastating disease.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer in which the cancer cells are found in the sac lining the chest (pleura) or abdomen (peritoneum). This lethal disease is associated with asbestos and has vast economic and legal implications. As the disease takes approximately twenty years to manifest itself in humans, a wave of diagnoses are expected in the near future. In the United States alone, an estimated 3,500 – 4,000 patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma annually, and it is estimated that over the next 35 years, more than 250,000 people in Western Europe will be diagnosed with the disease. Malignant Mesothelioma, edited by internationally recognized experts in the field, is a comprehensive text that relates science, pathology, clinical aspects and therapy for mesothelioma under one cover.

The book integrates the newest research and advances in its discussions of the disease, covering such topics as carcinogenesis, epidemiology, benchwork, endoscopy, multimodality approaches and treatment. It includes discussions on novel approaches to mesothelioma, such as gene therapy, vaccination strategies and immunotherapy, as well as discussions on the legal and economic aspects of the disease. Over 200 illustrations round out the text. An invaluable reference for the medical oncologist, thoracic surgeon, radiation oncologist, pulmonologist, and benchworker interested in the disease.

“When facing a major health crisis, connecting with people is an invaluable lifeline,” writes Margie Levine in Surviving Cancer: One Woman’s Story and Her Inspiring Program for Anyone Facing a Cancer Diagnosis. Call “friends in the medical field, and then friends of their friends”; call “hospitals, libraries and health clinics… cancer organizations and holistic health centers”; contact intimates and “fellow travelers” (others with cancer) for support. Such networking, says Levine, yields “information that may be more immediately useful… than what you find in books, because it is first-hand, people-driven, up-to-date, and customized to your specific situation by the questions you ask.” That said, Levine, in a compassionate but matter-of-fact manner, offers an exceptionally helpful book. She suggests small, practical steps that can make a big difference organizationally, such as using a tape recorder and a medical notebook to record information. She outlines alternative therapies (massage, acupuncture, etc.), spiritual and psychological resources and practices (meditation, prayer, journaling), medications, diet and strategies for dealing with MRIs and stress in general. Recommended for anyone with cancer and their loved ones.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Levine is a health education teacher, a social worker, a therapist specializing in integrative medicine, and most importantly a cancer survivor. Diagnosed with mesothelioma of the lung in 1989, she was told that she only had six months to live. Her success story is told in this combination of aggressive, cutting-edge medicine, nutritional support, meditation, visualization, and other alternative therapies. By networking, Levine sought out the best physicians and latest treatments and investigated clinical trials. Along the way, she provides helpful hints for becoming one’s own best advocate. Cancer sufferers can use her story as a road map to effective treatment. Unique in its combination of the personal and the practical, this inspirational guide is recommended for public libraries and consumer health collections. [The "Forty-One Steps to Wellness" section was originally self-published as Embracing Challenge. Ed.] Jodith Janes, Cleveland Clinic Fndn.
- Jodith Janes, Cleveland Clinic Fndn.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.