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March 29, 2008 Contra Costa Sheriff's Charity Ball raises $34,000 for the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America. March 10, 2008 MESORFA's Dr. Parksh Gill was featured in the USC Keck School of Medicine's publication of Internal Medicine Ink for his work on the new cancer-fighting drug EphB4. Feel free to read the article in the MESROFA News & Events sections. Congratulations Dr. Gill. Veglin Trial Openings November 2007 Dr. Gill recently announced that there are openings for forty-five more patients in his clinical trials. There are fifteen spots for patients previously treated with chemotherapy and thirty for newly diagnosed patients. For these newly diagnosed patients, Veglin can be used as a first line treatment in combination with standard treatments like chemotherapy. Dr. Gill also announced that he is in negotiations to expand his trials to other facilities both in California and across the country. To ask Dr. Gill about the trial: click HERE Dr. Robert Hertz: his legacy and memory continue in the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America January 25, 2008 Bob was so pleased that he had been able to participate in the Veglin Clinical Trials at the USC/Norris Cancer Hosipital. He very much enjoyed meeting Dr. Gill ans was impressed with the work of the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America and the professional and kind way he was treated at USC/Norris. Rosemary Marshall gets help from MRFA dealing with Medicare Reviw Board Septemer 25, 2007 "Thank you... your fine letter requesting my Health Plan's consideration in authorizing my participation in the Veglin trials was highly instrumental in bringing me to the present point where I may be able to proceed." East Coast Meets West Coast: Mesothelioma Research Foundation Teams with Yale Cancer Medical Center August 13, 2007 MESORFA has teamed up with doctors at the Yale Cancer Medical Center in an endeavor to meet the needs of the mesothelioma patients on the East Coast. We are looking forward to working closely with the Yale Cancer Medical Center along with other hospitals throughout the United States in treating patients with mesothelioma and finding a cure for this horrible disease. For more information about the clinical trials taking place at Yale call our toll free number (800) 909-MESO and ask for Darla Pratt. GREAT NEWS!! Committee Unanimously Passes Bill To Ban Asbestos: Legislation Sent To Full Senate August 2, 2007 Washington, D.C.-A bill seeking to ban all production and use of asbestos in the United States and to promote further investigation into disease resulting from exposure, as well as methods to measure and analyze the mineral, was placed on the Senate calendar after unanimous passage in committee. The Committee on Environmental and Public Works passed S.742, the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007, on August 2. The bill, which was introduced in March by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., received unanimous support from her colleagues. The bill requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to conduct a study investigating the science of asbestos disease, methods for measuring and analyzing asbestos and labeling practices for asbestos. For the 5 th year in a row the United Association of the Southern California Pipetrades District Council 16 hosted a superb event benefiting mesothelioma cancer research. The golf invitational was held at the beautiful Alta Vista Country Club in Placentia, CA with over a 150 people attending. The event was a huge success generating over $65,000 for mesothelioma cancer research. 100% of this will be donated to mesothelioma research with any administrative costs paid for by Jerry & Elizabeth Paul. We thank all of you who made this year's event so successful! Together the Southern and Northern California "Aim to Cure" fundraisers held on April 23, 2007 and June 1, 2007 generated over $100,000 for the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America. 100% of it will go to mesothelioma cancer research with any administrative costs paid for by Jerry & Elizabeth Paul. With these sizable donations we can be assured that Dr. Gill's mesothelioma cancer research at USC/ Norris Comprehensive Medical Center will be moving in the right direction. Thank you to all who participated and made the shoots a success. Board Member and U.A. International Representative of the Pipetrades Jim Kellogg lobbies the California State Assembly and Senate to pass a bill proclaiming the first week of June a "Cure Mesothelioma Cancer Week", the first in California history! With Jim's leadership The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America wrote a letter of support for the bill, which is required before bills such as this can be considered, and the initiative was approved on May 31, 2007. Now all California will understand the need to find a cure for mesothelioma, often lost among so many other worthy causes except in the hearts and minds of the working men and women who helped build this country's infrastructure. Thank you Jim! FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Approval of Cancer Drug PROVENGE BOSTON (Reuters – March 30, 2007) An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of a product made by Dendreon Corp. If the FDA follows its panel's advice, which it usually does, Dendreon's vaccine Provenge will be the first to directly spur the immune system into attacking cancer -- an approach that is attracting growing interest among drugmakers big and small. Therapeutic vaccines are designed not to be given before a disease develops but to prevent the disease from progressing once it has been diagnosed. ASBESTOS April 1 - 7 The United States Senate unanimously passed S. Res. 108 declaring the week of April 1 - 7 as National Asbestos Awareness Week and urged the Surgeon General to warn and educate Americans that asbestos exposure may be hazardous to their health. We applaud the Senate for their leadership and commitment to asbestos awareness, education and prevention. DONATIONS 100 percent of all proceeds received will be going to USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles to support Dr. Gills phase-2 clinical trials regarding mesothelioma treatment drug Veglin. It attacks the blood vessels to starve the malignant tumor and alleviates fluid build up in the lungs Find a Mesothelioma specialist: click HERE The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America has been busy the last couple of months ending the year 2006. The USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center had it's 5th Annual meeting on November 6. Dr. Parkash Gill gave a presentation of the research advances made on the fight against Mesothelioma. The Southern California Pipe Trades Association presented the Foundation with a $70,000 check for the continued support of Dr. Gill's research. To help the foundation: click HERE Patient Assistance Programs are offered by many pharmaceutical manufacturers to help pay for medications. These offers are sometimes called Indigent Drug Programs. Use our link just following, and learn whether a specific drug might be available at reduced cost or for free. Drug Assistance Programs: click HERE At the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America, you can call toll free (800) 909-Meso (6376) to talk with one of our Cancer Information Specialists who will gladly look up the phone numbers or the web site of the pharmaceutical company that makes the drug you are using Find the lastest Mesothelioma clinical trials: click HERE To ask Dr. Gill a question: click HERE To help the foundation: click HERE
Financial help for cancer patients: click HERE At the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America, you can call toll free (800) 909-Meso (6376) to talk with one of our Cancer Information Specialists who will gladly look up the phone numbers or the web site of organizations that provide financial assistance. |
Cancer imposes heavy economic burdens on a cancer patients and family members alike. Resources are available for individuals who do not have health insurance or who need financial assistance to cover health care costs. Our listing will help you find Government agencies, private organizations, and programs that are designed to provide assistance for a cancer patient and their family. 
THE FOUNDATION
The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America has a mission: fund research that will lead to the quickest cure for mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure, has very few treatment options at this time. Since the year 2001, the foundation has funded the opening of the Mesothelioma Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Gill at the USC/Norris 
The Board Members are from the left United Association International Representative James W. Kellogg, Board Member; Jerry Neil Paul, Founding Director; Elizabeth Ann Paul, Executive Director; and Dr. Parkash Gill, M.D., Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board. Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles. In the process, Dr. Gill (a board certified oncologist and hematologist) has received FDA approval from the U.S. Government to do Phase I Clinical Trials on a new mesothelioma treatment drug called Veglin, whose research was 100% funded by the foundation. It proved successful in Phase I and Phase II of the clinical trials for Veglin began July 30th, 2004. We are all very excited at the possibilities of a more effective treatment over what presently is available for mesothelioma victims.
United Association of the Southern California Pipetrades District Council 16...
do it again for the consecutive 5th year!
November 6, 2007
Los Angeles, CA. - For the fifth year in a row the United Association of the Southern California Pipetrades District Council 16 presented a check to Dr. Parkash Gill to help support his mesothelioma cancer research. District Council 16 Business Manager Sid Stolper, U.A. International Representative Jim Kellogg, MRFA Executive Director Elizabeth Paul and MRFA Board Member Jerry Neil Paul presented the $100,000 check at a recent meeting held in Los Angeles. Dr. Gill and his team of researchers were overjoyed with the support and highlighted the advancements made in finding a cure for mesothelioma.
Most exciting is the identification and early development of two new drugs, EphB4 and AXL. EphB4 is an anti-angiogenesis drug that has shown great promise in laboratory studies and will be submitted for FDA Phase I clinical trials in May of 2008. EphB4 is made up of two active proteins that block blood flow to cancerous tumors preventing the tumors from growing to an uncontrollable size. A lab in San Diego, CA is now mass-producing the proteins needed to make the drug available to mesothelioma patients. The Foundation and its team of researchers have very high hopes for EphB4. The second drug AXL is a very recent discovery by researchers at the USC/Norris Cancer Center and has proved to attack the proteins outside of the tumor cells in preliminary studies. We are encouraged by these recent developments and hope to have more information on their progress in our next newsletter.
The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America appreciates all the hard work and tireless efforts put in by the fundraisers this year. Without their dedication and support, research would not be able to progress as much as it has. Thank you!
Veglin Trial Openings
November 2007
Dr. Gill recently announced that there are openings for forty-five more patients in his clinical trials. There are fifteen spots for patients previously treated with chemotherapy and thirty for newly diagnosed patients. For these newly diagnosed patients, Veglin can be used as a first line treatment in combination with standard treatments like chemotherapy. Dr. Gill also announced that he is in negotiations to expand his trials to other facilities both in California and across the country.
East Coast Meets West Coast:
Mesothelioma Research Foundation Teams with Yale Cancer Medical Center
Mesothelioma patients throughout the United States, overwhelmed with decisions that need to be made regarding their health, call the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America (MESORFA). Some of these cancer patients have already been treated with chemotherapy, surgery, and even radiation and are left feeling as though there is nowhere else to turn; others have been recently diagnosed and are now searching for some hope.
In the past, the MESORFA referred these patients to Dr. Parkash Gill at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. However, patients who are on the east coast are unable to make the trek across the U.S. to see Dr. Parkash Gill. In an endeavor to meet the needs of the patients we are now working with a team of doctors on the East Coast at the Yale Cancer Medical Center. Dr. Scott Gettinger, a medical oncologist in the Thoracic Oncology Program (TOP) at Yale is working on a Phase 1 clinical trial of an orally administered histone deacetylase inhibitor called PXD101 that the Curagen pharmaceutical company is sponsoring. Prior studies with a similar agent have reported responses in patients with metastatic mesothelioma.
Acceptance for this clinical trial depends upon the patient?s condition and health history. Although not the same for every patient the most common side effects of PXD101 include being tired and/or fatigued, along with low-grade nausea, which can be treated with medications. These side effects have proven to be minimal and less severe than the effects of chemotherapy or radiation. This trial is appealing in cases where all other standard line therapies have failed and no other treatment options are available.
The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America looks forward to working closely with the Yale Cancer Center along with other hospitals throughout the United States in treating patients with mesothelioma and finding a cure for this horrible disease.
MESORFA:
A New Research Foundation Joins the Battle Against A Deadly Disease
A 501c3 Charitable Organization and All Donations Are Tax Deductible.
Special thank you to Jerry Neil Paul, Elizabeth Paul, and Jim Kellogg who volunteer 100 percent of their time as well as fund all operating expenses of the foundation in order that 100 percent of every dollar received can be given for mesothelioma research by Dr. Gill at USC/Norris comprehensive cancer center..
KILLSWITCH
Lori Oliwenstien --
USC Health Magazine
In addition to blocking an enzyme responsible for tumor growth and matastasis, the drug VEGLIN appears to slow the growth of the cancer cells themselves. Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Dr. Alexandra M. Levine M.D. has treated 37 patients with various types of cancers with this drug, "...the results are quite impressive, and we are very pleased so far"..
For questions related to the foundation and to make contributions please contact:
Executive Director
Toll Free:
(800) 909-Meso (6376)
5716 Corsa Avenue, Suite 203
Westlake Village, CA 91362
For more information and other questions contact:
(800) 281-9804
©2007 Mesothelioma Research Foundation Of America