Media Advisory: May 19 Briefing on Asbestos Legislature

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May. 15 /PRNewswire/ --

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) and the staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee organized a briefing for key staff members of the House, on the critical need for legislation to ban asbestos.

WHEN: Monday, May 19th at 2 PM WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2218

List of discussants includes Mary Hesdorffer, a nurse practitioner and the Medical Liaison for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, who specializes in asbestos cancer patients. Asbestos exposure causes a range of diseases, including mesothelioma -- one of the deadliest, and under-researched cancers. Asbestos is so deadly that there is no known safe level of exposure, even the smallest fiber can cause disease, and the latency period is sometimes decades long. Studies show that asbestos exposure kills up to 10,000 Americans each year, and judging from the present levels of asbestos usage, that number isn't likely to decrease without a major federal investment in medical research for mesothelioma. Hesdorffer will explain the importance of supporting the legislation to ban asbestos, as well as research funding provisions, which are yet to be included in the bill, pending in the House.

The Meso Foundation is a not-for-profit collaboration of patients and families, physicians, advocates and researchers dedicated to eradicating the life-ending and vicious effects of mesothelioma. The Foundation provides patients and families with information on mesothelioma treatments, clinical trials and medical referrals through its full-time mesothelioma nurse practitioner and its website, www.curemeso.org. The Meso Foundation also hosts an annual symposium to educate patients and families on the latest advances in meso research and treatment. This year, the Symposium will be held in Washington, DC on June 26-28.