Posted on February 19, 2013
As the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) prepares for the upcoming conference, “The Asbestos Crisis, “New Trends in Prevention and Treatment,” we often look to discuss the medical advancements made within the past year. Over the past decade, medical researchers across the globe have been working tirelessly to improve the treatment options for mesothelioma patients and fight the low survival rates associated with asbestos disease. This year, however, a breakthrough has taken place in the fight against asbestos cancer and it didn’t happen in a research lab.
Last month, President Obama signed the High Mortality Cancer bill into law at the closing of the 112th session of Congress. This new piece of legislation represents a landmark decision to recommit to the fight against cancer and increase the survival rates among cancer patients within the next several years. The bill gives priority to lung and pancreatic cancer.
There has already been an increase in progress even in the short time that the High Mortality Cancer bill has been in place. We can see where the new law is already making a difference by looking at the actions of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last week, the FDA accepted the drug application for an anti-cancer compound called afatinib and has given priority status to its review. The new drug has the potential to significantly delay tumor growth and surpasses the results of even the best chemotherapy treatments. Mesothelioma and lung cancer patients were used in previous clinical trials of the drug.
Thepassage of this bill represents a huge victory for the mesothelioma and lung cancer communities. It has been a hard-fought battle to have more federal recognition for lung cancer and mesothelioma research and ADAO couldn’t be happier to see progress already starting to unfold.
As we continue to reveal our list of exemplary speakers and honorees for the 2013 conference, we do so with renewed zeal. The mesothelioma community has been one that has faced devastating loss but as always met even the direst situations with unparalleled hope. And it is my hope that the upcoming ADAO conference will be a forum to unite once again and discuss what we can accomplish in the future.
Hear Elizabeth Ness, National Cancer Institute (NCI): “Understanding Clinical Trials” at the ADAO Asbestos Awareness Conference on March 23, 2013 in Washington, DC.
In unity,
Linda
BIO: Elizabeth (Liz) Ness brings with her over 30 years of nursing experience and 16 years of clinical research experience. She earned her BSN from Boston College and her MS in Nursing Education from the University of Maryland. Currently, she is a Nurse Consultant for Education at the Center for Cancer Research, part of the intramural research program, at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. Her primary responsibilities include coordinating, developing and evaluating all clinical research educational activities at the Center including orientation and ongoing continuing education programs for nurses and data managers, as well as physician investigators. Prior to working for the NCI, Ms. Ness worked for six years as a Research Nurse with Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. and for three years with a firm in Bethesda, MD where she worked on clinical trials as a contractor for the NCI. In addition to presentations at the NCI and NIH, she has recently presented clinical research related topics for the Oncology Nursing Society, the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and various cancer centers.