Today I heard from Debbie Brewer, our friend in the UK. She is just returned from another visit to Dr. Thomas Vogl in Germany, where she had wonderful success with the clinical trial for chemoembolization. She first visited Vogl for the treatment in May 2008. In March 2009, she found that her tumor had shrunk an amazing 73 percent since her first treatment. This week, she reports that even Dr. Vogl was surprised to see that Theo - as she nicknamed the tumor - had shrunk an additional 10 percent! That’s a total reduction of 83 PERCENT for those of you keeping score!

This is truly wonderful and amazing news, particularly for a cancer like mesothelioma, which has no known cure. This sounds pretty darn close for Debbie, who is considered in remission with this amount of tumor gone.

Those who have been following Debbie’s story and have read the Q&A with Dr. Vogl we posted on this site know that chemoembolization is a procedure currently in clinical trials. The process involves introducing chemotherapy directly to the tumor, and basically trapping it there, concentrating it where it is most needed. Dr. Vogl is head of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at J.W. Goethe University Hospital at Frankfurt University.

The clinical trial is currently treating between 300 and 400 patients with primary and secondary lung cancer annually, and about 20 mesothelioma patients.

For more information, see the Q&A with Dr. Vogl.

Read more of Debbie’s story at her blog, Mesothelioma & Me.

A new report prepared by the Institute of Cancer Research and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examines the occupational, domestic and environmental mesothelioma risks in Britain. The findings are not good news.

The study was conducted for the Health and Safety Executive, an organization whose mission is to prevent death, injury and ill health in Great Britain’s workplaces. The HSE says this is the largest global study of its kind, including more than 600 patients with mesothelioma and 1,400 healthy people, interviewed to examine the rates of mesothelioma among different occupations in the UK.

Statistics resulting from the study include the following:

• One in 17 British carpenters bornin the 1940s will die of mesothelioma
• Plumbers, electricians and decorators born in the 1940s who worked in their trade for more than 10 years before they were 30 have a risk of 1 in 50 of dying of mesothelioma
• The risk for other construction workers born in this generation is 1 in 125.
• For every case of mesothelioma, asbestos also causes about 1 case of lung cancer; the risk of asbestos-related lung cancer for carpenters in this age group is 1 in 10.
• In other industries, about two thirds of British men and one quarter of British women worked in jobs with potential asbestos exposure.
• Among the general UK population, even those who did not experience occupational exposure still have a 1 in 1,000 risk of mesothelioma, indicating unrecognized environmental asbestos exposure, due to its widespread use in the 1960s and 1970s.

The report estimates there are more than 2,100 people diagnosed with mesothelioma in the UK every year, with about 5 times as many cases in men as in women.

Read the full report.

A report posted yesterday by The Daily Mirror, a publication in the United Kingdom, features an interview with Barbara McQueen, widow of legendary actor Steve McQueen, who died of mesothelioma in 1981. The actor was exposed to asbestos while in the Marines, Barbara recalls, when assigned the duty of cleaning asbestos-lined pipes.

The Mirror is spearheading what it calls the Asbestos Timebomb Campaign, to raise awareness of the danger of asbestos exposure and to call on the British government to take action in preventing it. The news agency has a list of five demands as part of the campaign:

1. Establishment of a £10 million National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease to find better treatment, alleviate suffering and work on cures.
2. Reinstate compensation for victims of “pleural plaques” - scars on lungs caused by asbestos - after it was abandoned two years ago.
3. Secure fair and equal compensation for asbestos disease sufferers who can’t trace the insurers of the bosses who exposed them, through a new Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau paid for by the insurance industry.
4. Establish a public register of all asbestos surveys carried out on public buildings.
5. Provide the government’s Health and Safety Executive with the resources to meet the department’s own targets for inspecting asbestos removal work.

In a statement published by The Mirror, Barbara said, “I commend the Mirror for its watchdog efforts in leading the charge regarding asbestos exposure. My husband’s death was a long and painful ordeal, and I can readily identify with those who have been exposed to asbestos as well as their loved ones.”

She said that at the time Steve McQueen was diagnosed with mesothelioma, it was widely reported in the media simply as lung cancer. Many people are still unaware that the actor actually died as a result of asbestos exposure, she said.

Ironically, Barbara now lives in Montana, an hour’s drive from Libby, the site of the largest known asbestos contamination in U.S. history. The poisoning of Libby is linked to the vermiculite mine that operated there for years under the W.R. Grace & Company.

The company and some of its top officials are in the midst of a criminal trial to determine if it knowingly exposed mine workers and nearby residents to deadly asbestos.

Our friend Debbie Brewer has reported that after her visit with Dr. Thomas J. Vogl in Germany this week, she can report that her tumor has shrunk an additional TWENTY PERCENT!! This is a total of 73 percent smaller than when she began the experimental chemoembolization process! Amazing!!

Even better, Debbie reports on her blog, Mesothelioma & Me, that a doctor in London is interested in bringing Professor Vogl to the UK to present his technique! Currently, this therapy is only available in Germany, where Dr. Vogl is pioneering the procedure for the treatment of cancer including mesothelioma at the University Clinic, Frankfurt.

Those who have been following Debbie’s story know she began chemoembolization under Dr. Vogl’s care in May 2008, and now she is essentially in remission! As a result of her success, Debbie is a vocal campaigner to bring the procedure to more widespread availability.

Debbie was just featured in The Plymouth Herald, speaking out about her success with chemoembolization and her efforts to bring the treatment to the UK. Doctors originally told Debbie she had only six to nine months to live at her original diagnosis.

There are a number of mesothelioma awareness events taking place throughout the UK today, on Action Mesothelioma Day. The commemorative event was established in 2006 by the British Lung Foundation, to raise awareness of mesothelioma and to improve the treatment and care of people affected by the disease.

To mark the establishment of the event in 2006 the British Lung Foundation delivered a Charter to the Prime Minister at Number 10 Downing Street, with more than 14,000 signatures. The Charter asks the government to support improved care and treatment of mesothelioma patients, better protection for employees, and more funding for resarch. You can sign the Charter!

In 2009, a goal of Action Mesothelioma Day is to ask the British government to establish an Asbestos Related Disease Research Centre. There is a list of Action Mesothelioma Day 2009 Events at the British Lung Foundation web site.

Of course our friend Debbie Brewer will be active in today’s events, including speaking about Alternative Treatment in Mesothelioma at an event presented by the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund (MKMRF).

She also will join Jackie Lowe of the Roger Lowe Asbestos Mesothelioma Campaign to plant snowdrops in memory of those that have died of mesothelioma. The snowdrops will be planted at Saltram House, where last year Debbie and Jackie planted a tree to honor mesothelioma patients.

The MKMRF uses the snowdrop flower as its symbol, because it works through the depths of despair in the winter to push through the ground in spring to bloom. It represents hope and a promise for the future, and has come to be a symbol of mesothelioma awareness among groups in the UK.

Councillors in the town of Hunmanby, located in Scarborough, UK, are concerned about illegal dumping after an upsurge in the practice may have exposed residents to asbestos. A recent report in the Filey & Hunmanby Mercury says a recent increase in flytipping in and around the area included an abandoned pile of asbestos sheeting, which will have to be professionally removed by an asbestos abatement company. Exposure to asbestos fibers can result in the development of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

The Hunmanby Parish Council is asking residents of the area to be on the lookout for illegal dumping to help them catch the guilty party or parties. Usually, the council is paid to remove and dispose of items left on roadsides.

The asbestos materials were left on Sheepdyke Lane and discovered by a local farmer, who suspected it was asbestos and called the authorities for safe removal of the material.

The Council requests residents report flytipping in the area by calling the Scarborough Council at (01723) 232323 or the Environment Agency’s 24-hour hotline at 0800 807060. Reports also can be sent to the Scarborough Council web site.

The British Lung Foundation (BLF) is asking residents of the United Kingdom affected by mesothelioma to complete an online survey to help them gather data about the numbers of people affected by the asbestos-related cancer. They hope the data will help them lobby for new legislation to help mesothelioma victims and their families, and to secure funds for research and treatment.

According to a report in the Sheilds Gazette, Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the BLF, is particularly encouraging residents of South Tyneside to participate in the survey. She said the area has been identified as one of the “top 10 hot spots for mesothelioma in the UK.”

The reserach survey is supported by the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Reserach Fund. Readers of this site are familiar with this organization, which seeks to raise awareness about mesothelioma as well as money for research. The Gazette quotes Anne Craig, an official with the Knighton fund whose husband, David, died of mesothelioma, as saying, “I would encourage people to complete the BLF survey as soon as they can.”

Visit the BLF web site to COMPLETE THE SURVEY. It should only take about 10 minutes to complete. Or, call the BLF helpline at 08458 50 50 20.

The success of chemoembolization in the treatment of our friend Debbie Brewer’s mesothelioma has been featured in national press in the UK, covered by BBC News and picked up by The Press Association. In the report, Debbie calls for the pioneering treatment to be brought to the UK. Currently, she must travel to Frankfurt, Germany, for the treatments.

Readers of myMeso have been following Debbie’s story for a while now, and know that the chemoembolization treatment has been successful, resulting in an overall 53 percent reduction in the size of her tumor, which she humorously nicknamed Theo. Her last visit to the clinic was Dec. 12, when she received the great news that she is now in partial remission as a result of the tumor shrinkage.

Chemoembolization is traditionally used to treat liver cancer. Debbie says the Frankfurt program sees a 60 percent success rate in the treatment of mesothelioma using the process, which introduces chemotherapy drugs directly into the tumor.

Diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2006, Debbie was initially told she had only a few months to live. It is believed that Debbie contracted mesothelioma from contact with asbestos on her father’s clothes when he unwittingly brought the substance home from work. Determined to beat the odds, she began researching mesothelioma treatments. In addition to the chemoembolization, Debbie uses mistletoe therapy, injecting the extract twice a week.

Read more about Debbie at her blog, Mesothelioma and Me.

As part of her cancer treatments, or more accurately in response to her cancer treatments, our friend in the UK, Debbie Brewer, began a mistletoe treatment in May. Debbie was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2006, and is currently receiving chemoembolization treatment, for which she travels to Germany.

Mistletoe is in fairly widespread use in Europe as a complementary therapy in cancer care. It is given in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, to strengthen the body’s immune system and build its natural defenses. It is believed mistletoe therapy can help cancer patients cope with the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

Mistletoe is considered an anthroposophical medicine, which takes into account a total view of the human body and the human being, including physical constitution, the life force, the consciousness and the ego or free will. Mistletoe is harvested from different trees, with different types of mistletoe having different uses. According to the American Cancer Society, the type of mistletoe used in this therapy grows on species of trees native to England, Europe and western Asia. It is NOT the type of mistletoe commonly seen in the U.S. Mistletoe therapy is only available in clinical trials in the United States.

The extract, which comes from the plant’s leaves and twigs but not its berries, is generally given as an injection and after an initial professional application patients can do the treatment themselves at home. Debbie began her mistletoe treatment at The Park Attwood Clinic, which still oversees the process, although she administers her own injections now.

Debbie says she learned about the treatments from a couple who visited her web site, Mesothelioma & Me. She began the mistletoe therapy at the same time as her chemoembolization treatment, which uses targeted chemotherapy applied directly to her tumor and contained with the tumor. For about two years, she also has been struggling with alopecia, which had caused her to lose large patches of her hair.

“Since I started the mistletoe and the chemoembolization, I have noticed within the last two months my hair has grown back and is its natural color,” she wrote to me in an email. “The mistletoe boosts the immune system and also is very good at quelling the side effects of the chemo, although the side effects with chemoembolization are not as bad as the normal chemo.” She said mistletoe is offered on the German health care system, but it is not recognized by the UK system.

Debbie gives herself the mistletoe injections twice a week.

“I would have to say that a lot of the benefits I have had over the last five treatments is down to the mistletoe,” she says. “It works very well alongside the chemo treatment.”

She left today to travel to Germany for the sixth round of her chemoembolization treatments, and will learn the results of the fifth round, which she received November 6. So far, she has experienced tumor shrinkage after each round of chemoembolization.

In what unions in the UK are calling a “hugely important victory,” the High Court ruled insurance policies in place when a worker was exposed to asbestos are liable for asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma, which may develop later, according to a BBC News report. The verdict was delivered in a “test case” that examined six individual cases against insurance companies.

According to the news report, the High Court had to decide which insurance policy should cover mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases - the one in effect at the time of exposure (a liability insurance held by companies to insure them against claims by employees injured on the job) or the one in effect when a worker becomes sick.

Part of the problem with asbestos-disease related claims is that there is usually a very long latency period for mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. Sometimes symptoms do not develop for as many as 40 or more years after exposure. As a result, a person does not realize he or she has been injured in the workplace until many years later.

According to the BBC story, this ruling was especially important because many new insurance policies have exemptions against asbestos-related claims.

More than 2,000 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma in the UK last year, and those numbers are expected to grow.

BBC video: Mesothelioma victims’ solicitor Carolann Hepworth reacts to High Court Ruling.