FREE EVENT: Educational Lecture “Asbestos: Still Legal and Lethal Today” (Pizza will be served)
DATE: November 18, 2019
TIME: 12:15 – 1:15 pm
LOCATION: Alvin S. Teirstein Auditorium, Annenberg 13-01, Mount Sinai Hospital’s Icahn School of Medicine, 1468 Madison Avenue, NYC
DETAILS: http://bit.ly/2Q07Tad
Posted on November 1, 2019
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) is pleased to announce that on Monday, November 18, 2019, Mount Sinai Hospital’s Icahn School of Medicine in New York City will host the “Asbestos: Still Legal and Lethal Today” educational luncheon that will address the important role that physicians can play in advancing asbestos prevention.
Co-hosted by Dr. Raja Flores, professor and Chair of Thoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, and ADAO, this educational session will discuss how nearly 40,000 Americans die yearly from preventable asbestos-caused diseases. These illnesses include lung cancer, mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx and ovaries, and asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs).There is no safe level of exposure to the carcinogen.
Topics of discussion will include pathways of exposure, high risk occupations, latency from early warning symptoms, difficulties in diagnosing and treatment, the lack of education and knowledge surrounding asbestos-linked disease, and how physicians can proactively discuss possible exposure with patients. Physicians have the power to help further prevention policies and impact public health.
Although asbestos mining imports and use has been banned in nearly 70 countries, it is still legal in the U.S. In 2018, 750 metric tons of raw chrysotile asbestos were shipped into the U.S. from Brazil and Russia, more than double the amount imported in 2017..
“Every day I cut into chests and try to save patients with cancer-ravaged lungs, and usually we’re unsuccessful,” said Dr. Flores at ADAO’s 14th Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on August 27. “And every time I think about how preventable this was. This is happening now, this is on our watch.”
The Global Asbestos Disaster study estimated that 39,275 Americans died from asbestos-caused diseases in 2016, including lung cancer (34,270), mesothelioma (3,161), ovarian cancer (787), larynx cancer (443) and chronic asbestosis (613). The study showed that for every asbestos-related mesothelioma death, 9.2 lung cancer deaths occurred from asbestos exposure. Medical students and physicians have the power to better track and record asbestos-related illnesses, prevent misdiagnosis and avoid inadequate patient exposure histories. We will discuss all these issues and more at the event.
We look forward to this exciting opportunity for collaboration with medical students and physicians. Education is necessary for prevention. Together, we can make change happen.
Linda Reinstein