Notes from AUSTRALIA
Gumbi-Gumbi Leaves Among Alternative Treatments - Australia
Hi, my Dad was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January and had a pleuro-desis. He's resisted having chemo and is trying a number of alternative treatments. He's also using apricot kernels and has been eating some weeds as well. A naturopath suggested eating the leaves of cobblers pegs and chickweed. He's also eating the seeds of apples and prunes and lemons. Another drink that he alternates with is gumbi-gumbi leaves, this is an aboriginal medicine and is also used for breast and prostate cancer. He's also using the teas mentioned in your story. He's doing well and has been well for the 9 months. His last scan showed some slight thickening but this was only after 5 weeks of starting his strict diet. Hopefully the next scan in 2 weeks will give us more encouraging results. Its wonderful to read your words of encouragement and that you have done so well. Thank you. Lou
Asbestos Fears in Western Australia - A New Wave of mesothelioma Cases - Western Australia
January 11, 2003
Asbestos fears By Julie Butler WA IS experiencing a disturbing new wave of mesothelioma cases linked to a product still in many homes, according to the Asbestos Diseases Society.
Society president Robert Vojakovic says in many cases people have contracted the deadly disease after only limited, domestic contact with asbestos cement products, also known as fibro.
He warned young people to be less blase about renovation of houses built between 1945 and 1980, many of which contain asbestos.
There were currently about 20 damages claims either before the Supreme Court or soon to be lodged, involving people who had had only intermittent exposure, such as in the home, he said.
The society estimates that about 180 people died from asbestos diseases in WA last year. Of the 120 who were told last year that they had mesothelioma, about 40 of them had had limited contact with asbestos.
Mr Vojakovic claimed about 60 sufferers made confidential compensation settlements in 2002 over their asbestos exposure, and about half these cases did not involve occupational exposure to asbestos.
He said two dogs had been diagnosed with mesothelioma in WA. Running beside asbestos fences and inhaling the fibres was the likely culprit.
He said the new wave of people getting mesothelioma after only very limited exposure to asbestos cement included people who had lived in houses while they were renovated or added to with asbestos sheets, or who had cleaned up after such work in their house.
They also included people who had played with asbestos cement off-cuts in their backyard during childhood or who had built things such as cubbies.
Respiratory specialist Bill Musk said that while in-situ in a house, asbestos cement was not usually a problem unless people did things to it.
Renovators needed to take great care not to release asbestos fibres into the air.
WA Health Department acting director of environmental health Brian Devine said isolated, short accidental exposure to the fibres was extremely unlikely to cause an asbestos-related disease.
There were negligible risks from installed, undisturbed asbestos cement products because the fibres were bound together in a solid cement matrix.
But home improvement, renovation and maintenance work and demolition of asbestos cement dwellings could lead to fibre release.
Tim Threlfall, principal medical officer of the West Australian Cancer Registry, said "do-it-yourself" exposure was thought to be responsible for less than two mesothelioma cases a year.
"As mesothelioma has such a long lead time, and new asbestos is not used any more, we are mainly dealing with the results of asbestos use many years ago," Dr Threlfall said.
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but fatal form of cancer affecting membranes around the chest and abdomen, mostly occurring in people who have breathed asbestos fibres.
January 11, 2003
Australian Labor Party in the Australian Capital Territory - Canberra, Australia
Hello to all those working for mesothelioma victims.
My husband has had mesothelioma for 4 years. He was doing very well with exercise, good diet, positive attitude and the herb essiac. Until he was treated for a tummy bug (helobacter - not sure of spelling). These strong drugs did something terrible to his immune system and he is fighting to regain the 15 kilos he lost and now fighting to put the cancer back into remission.
The following policies have been adopted by the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Capital Territory. We hope the policy will be adopted nationally the the ALP and by the Greens Party.
Best wishes to all of you in America.
Elizabeth Thurbon
Canberra
A.C.T.
Australia
37-year-old Father of Four, Athlete. At Peace With His Faith - Perth, Australia
May 6, 2002
My husband Ross was an extremely fit man at the age of 32. He played hockey at a high level of competition, ran for pleasure in fun-runs and every day he ran in training for his first marathon which he hoped to do in 1985-86. He enjoyed life and gave a lot in terms of his energy and time to other people.
He had lived his early childhood in Wittenoom Gorge up in the Kimberleys of Western Australia. His parents had gone there in 1950 after a short time in Mt Isa Queensland. Ross was born in 1951 and spent a great deal of his pre-school days playing in and around asbestos which formed the surface of much of Wittenoom's surrounds as it was mined there, and the tailings were considered useful.
In 1983 Ross experienced his first pain in the right lung but shook off any ill-effects and didn't have any further cause for concern until January 1985 after he had helped my brother shift into a new house. The following day he had enormous pain in the right side and was admitted to hospital where he spent a week with excruciating agony. A diagnosis was finally made of pleural effusion probably caused by asbestos dust from his time in Wittenoom some 28-35 years earlier.
As you can imagine this had a devastating effect on both him and me as well as on our families. We had three children at this stage of our lives aged five, three and eighteen months. He was a high school English teacher as I had been before our family came along and he was in the process of being moved to the north-west country town of Port Hedland as a Head of Department for the Senior high school up there.
When Ross was admitted to hospital he was a man with everything going for him and a little sense of the presence of God, having brought up in an atheist background. By the time we left for Port Hedland he had made a decision to accept prayer and join in my Christian faith to some extent gaining some strength from the support this gave him spiritually.
In Port Hedland he worked very hard at his job and also at growing physically strong again as the illness had left him debilitated. For three months he soldiered on until a visit back to his Perth specialist assured him that he was no worse and the effusion had dried up somewhat. That May we went for a camping holiday in Wittenoom with the kids where he was able to face and enjoy the beauty of the region and put some ghosts to rest.
He suffered with occasional bouts of pain and breathlessness that year but generally felt well enough to do his job and work positively towards a future for his family. He ran a few miles each week and cycled to work. He even played a little hockey again though the North West climate is extremely hot and not the ideal place for that kind of competition.
We decided to have another child as we had always wanted four at least and in September 1986 our fourth child was born. This was an uneasy decision because there was some fear that he would not get well, but we also had faith together as Ross had become a Catholic in May 1986 as I was. We stood together in our faith and prayed for the strength for whatever God would have us do and be.
In 1987 we returned to live in Perth as Ross was experiencing more and more relapses into ill-health and each time it was taking longer to get over them. We hoped he was going to get his miraculous healing but wanted to be close to hospitals and doctors who understood his case history.
In Perth he worked at his job for another twelve months and then took long-service leave which was due to him. At the end of this time he returned to work but only managed another couple of months before he knew it was getting hopeless. A return to hospital in August revealed the presence of Mesothelioma and a prognosis of nine to twelve months was roughly given.
As the following months went by Ross and I fought with all our strength to save him. He tried new diets for a while, and meditation, regular prayer sessions and a determined faith saw him through the ensuing period.
It was an amazing time of spiritual rewards for his courage and faith. He didn't get his physical healing but he did get a peace which couldn't be taken away from him in the end. And this because of his savior Jesus Christ.
He died on March 1st 1989 three days before his 38th birthday.
Liz
Four Year Survivor, "Are there others?" - New Castle, Australia
September 25, 2001
Dear Roger,
I am 56 years of age. In June 1997 I was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in Sydney. (I actually live in Newcastle north of Sydney.) I am wondering if there are any other survivors in the U.S. or elsewhere who are going into their fifth year, remaining clinically well, yet have not had any mainstream treatment whatsoever. I have baffled the medical profession here in Australia. My tumors are still there but they have not spread at all. No, it is not a misdiagnosis. Two teams of pathologists independently confirmed the diagnosis.
Over the past four years I have had six courses of Ukrain from Vienna, Revici Selenium, both orally and by injection, (still going on), ozone therapy intravenously, together with 60gm of intravenous Vitamin C twice weekly.
Of equal, or greater importance, I am on a very healthy vegetarian diet (no sugar or fat), I meditate and pray each day, take large amounts of Barley Green and carrot juice daily, numerous supplements and lead a fulfilling life as a freelance writer. I have compiled a book called Faith, Hope, Love & Laughter How They Heal which sets out some of the principles of healing that I have embraced. It is NOT my story with cancer.
If there are any others who have had mesothelioma for four years or more and who are still well, I would love to hear from you.
I would be interested to get feedback from others in the U.S. and elsewhere who have had similar experiences to mine. Just one piece of evidence to authenticate my story. I successfully litigated late last year against a large company through whose negligence my mesothelioma occurred. As part of those lengthy proceedings my pathology was sent to Australia's leading pathologist in mesothelioma cases, Professor Henderson of Adelaide. He and his colleagues reported back in unequivocal terms confirming the initial diagnosis.
Furthermore, I have twice flown to Australia's leading mesothelioma specialist, Professor Bill Musk of Perth (a colleague of Professor Bruce Robinson, of international repute). Prof. Musk had no doubts about my illness. He stated that my case was extremely rare. "Just keep on with what you're doing," he said because I can't help you any further. My protocol is very similar to Cori Harth and Margie Levine.
Best Wishes
Paul Kraus
paul.kraus@hunterlink.net.au
An Update -- 4/20/05
A timely update. I was diagnosed with fairly advanced peritoneal mesothelioma back in June 1997 and given a few months to live. This coming June I will celebrate the eighth anniversary of my diagnosis. I have had no conventional treatment although staying well has entailed a huge change in lifestyle and has, at times been hard work. Apart from a rigorous anti-cancer diet, I have had intravenous Vitamin C (in high doses (30grams twice weekly), Revici selenium (sent to me from New York), intavenous ozone therapy, as well as a range of amino acids and vitamins and minerals. I exercise as much as I can, meditate twice daily and surrender my life to God's hands in prayer. My story will be published by cancermonthly.com (Raleigh, North Carolina) in August/September this year in book form and available through them or through Amazon.com
I am now 60 years of age and loving life, despite the fact that this mesothelioma has restricted what I am able to do. Could I urge your readers to 'do whatever it takes' to keep well. You can't afford to do things in a haphazard or half-hearted way when confronting mesothelioma. And remember that the mind's enormous potential to heal.
Paul Kraus
Ex-Servicewoman Sees Too Many Sailors/Officers Dying of Asbestos - Canberra, Australia
June 7, 2001
I am a (very matoor-aged!) ex-servicewoman currently doing an Arts plus Honours degree at the Australian National University in Canberra, specializing in Politics and History. As you may already know, the shipping industry - both in the cargoes carried, and the building and repairing of ships (including warships) - has always been 'lousy' with asbestos in various forms, mainly as lagging. My initial personal interest in this tragedy rose when sailor and officers began dying of asbestosis. (Including a former governor of the state of NSW - Admiral David Martin, only a few years ago!!) The extent and use of asbestos has been poorly documented by the Navy and/or national government, mainly because a lack of information available means that individual cases are very hard to document and prove before a court. I have always been hurt and puzzled by the attitude taken by so many senior military personnel, and public servants, that they somehow have a 'duty' to protect their employer (the Commonwealth of Australia), ergo the taxpayer, from future litigation and fair and just claims, even if those afflicted and legitimately seeking this data are former colleagues and employees too! Wierd.
I recently had to do a major history assignment on a Medical/Community Health problem within Australia, and selected as my topic the mining and use of asbestos within Australia, spreading across industry, homes, factories, schools, the military (of course), shipping and cargoes. It proved quite impossible to confine the research area just to Australia; although we mined both 'blue' and 'white' asbestos here, most was imported (hence the links to shipping and labourers on the wharves). I was particularly stunned to realize just how really pervasive the asbestos was within the Australian community, in homes, offices, public places like train stations and schools, sports stadiums, etc. etc. etc....
Of particular interest to you might be the recent wins/successes the Maritime Unions of Australia (MUA) have been having in our courts. Their older members were dying off at an astonishing rate, and they had remarkably similar difficulties in finding, let alone getting hold of, information to build up individual case histories, to take before the courts. Again there seems to be that brick wall of the "Commonwealth can't be sued" and "has no obligation to keep track of the health of individuals (especially after they have left the employ of government) or provide weapons/information which would only be used against us" (Whoever US is! I would have thought it was Australian citizens and taxpayers). The key to the MUA's final breakthrough was that for various times, and at various locations, they DID work, directly and/or indirectly for the national and state governments, for statutory bodies like Commissions 'owned' by governments. The authorities have finally crumbled, and claims are almost going through rubberstamped, but regrettably so many have died by now that it was probably only possible because delay after delay in this saga has made it feasible (money-wise) at last.
The MUA also had a significant break-through in extending these claims to the Next-of-Kin (NOK) and dependents of the asbestosis victims/claimants. Considering the similarities in the litigation paths which had to be taken by the MUA and our military's victims, it is a pity these two old Cold War political enemies didn't get together earlier!! That notion that the claim does not die with the claimant has proved terribly important, (and to the ADF as well) and was the big hurdle that had seemed almost impossible to surmount in the past. All 'They' had to do, was wait for the victim/claim to die... By an odd co-incidence, the MUA's two preferred lawyers working these cases in Sydney are both ex-Navy, ex-Legal officers who worked on asbestos within the Navy as LCDR's. Maybe it is not a co-incidence, after all...
It was only due to unpaid and incredibly persistant workers for voluntary ex-defence support organizations like the RDFWA (Regular (Retired?) Defence Forces Welfare Association). Most of the victims so far appear to be Navy but asbestos was used in tanks (surviving Army tank crewmembers are just now appearing in courts too). The RDFWA's (unpaid) Advocates advise, help prepare the cases and if asked, speak up on behalf of the (often emotional, grieving, and inarticulate) claimants or their dependents when it goes to court.
It beggars belief just how extensive the damned stuff was as asbestos was also used in all the filters of gasmasks - which takes it back to WW2 and beyond, and not just for military personnel. After WW2, and in a strangely misguided and unlucky 'charity' effort to help out in the chronic unemployment of aborigines living in fringe, rural areas, Hardies' did keep running an unprofitable asbestos mine within country NSW. For decades, Baryulgil only employed aboriginal men, in real jobs for real/award wages. The public furore (and the valid state governmental health data on them) over the degenerating health of these men helped to expose the dangers of asbestos for the rest of Australia.
Drifted from the purpose of this e.mail, but our main corporate offender within Australia was James Hardies Industries (various namechanges, but the same company). They operated most of asbestos product factories here in Aust., building materials and water supply piping in particular. Hardies had a few mines (Wittenoom in WA was the most notorious) but most asbestos supplies were imported (naturally from within the Empire/Commonwealth of Nations trade links!) principally South Africa and Canada. Our asbestos industry had good contacts with yours, and of course saw what happened to Johns-Manville and others - (when the fit finally hit the shan...) and were able to copy the evasive tactics taken by those corporations. Hardies began 'getting out of' asbestos, ie substituting other ingredients in their products, in the 1970's, and I'm rather sad to admit, began also moving off-shore into less scrupulous and more desperate third world nations just trying to get their economies up and running. These were primarily new Asian nations to our near-North. Hardies' even operated in concert with their governments. 'Our' asbestos factories went there, and the products were then being sold to third-world customers who were not aware of, or had little choice, or were economically more desperate - just as the unions/health authorities were making it virtually impossible to sell products containing asbestos within Australia any more. It helped that a Labour government had just taken over in the early 1980's, and still had 'debts' to pay the union movement that had supported and helped get them into office. The ideological parting of the ways between the new 'economically responsible ALP government' and their natural base within the union movement, came much,much later....!
Hardies recently tried to bail out all of their obligations by offering a new research foundation on asbestos, worth nearly $300 million (Aust) but with the proviso that all future claims were null and void. Cheap escape route if it had come off. It is not a co-incidence that this was at the same time that the Commonwealth government had crumbled, and admitted liability for asbestos used by them, and within their establishments/buildings, etc., or in commercial products bought for use by Commonwealth employees in their workplace. And because of the tariff wall of protection enjoyed by Hardies within Australia, they were no possible economic threat to the massive USA's asbestos corporations and this cosy little network were free to exchange information - it beggars belief that none of the bigger players in asbestos manufacturing and mining - Canada, Britain, the USA, South Africa and Aust/NZ - did NOT know decades ago that the stuff was dangerous, and why.
A few claims have been won recently in the electricity manufacturing industry of Victoria, by employees who were able to produce documentation which came from Britain during the 1950's, to the powerstation's owners and operators (at the time the state of Victoria). This data proved that they had known what asbestos was capable of, but did not warn their employees. A few half-hearted and defensive claims that Signs had been put up, and safety masks issued, so the culpable silly employees were to blame because they didn't use them, were rather easily and quickly demolished in the courts. As was the "Well, we didn't know it was so dangerous, either" one, or the "youse smokers are just as much to blame for your own poor health, as you claim we are..."
I have collected a stack of references (many from the USA!) which I would be delighted to send you if they could be of any possible use to you, though I suspect you already have a good handle on what has/is happening. Another strange little co-incidence I came across was that after the Australian taskforce were 'established in East Timor, there was not much work for the Navy sailors to do, so one task they were employed on was demolishing the remnants of the houses and other building wrecked during the post-referenda violence there. The wreckage was losy with asbestos!! Ironically probably part of the Hardiess heritage, plus another example of sending servicemen in to work in asbestos contaminated locations without warnings or proper protective safety equipment!!
Idid find it interesting seeing the little links and networks of the asbestos industry world-wide, who did - or claims they did not - know the medical aspects. The Brits are only now entering the real catatrosphe area of asbestos and its consequences, and with them it is all the more embarrassing and inexplicable, as they have had government run and controlled medical boards since the 1931, (ie, totally free from industry bias and influences) which were supposed to have prevented all this tragedy.
Best Wishes in your endeavours. And Go for the Jugular, Son!!
Sue Cumming
Asbestos to be phased out
By PAUL ROBINSON
WORKPLACE EDITOR
Saturday 19 May 2001
The importation of raw asbestos and products containing the deadly substance will be banned in Australia by 2003.
The Workplace Relations Ministers' Council yesterday decided to ban the heat-resistant material that has caused illness and death for hundreds of thousands of people in Australia and overseas.
The move means Australia has finally caught up with Europe, which has banned the importation and use of asbestos products.
The European asbestos ban, effected in 1999, means all cars made on that continent and imported to Australia cannot contain asbestos in brake or clutch linings. But once they come to Australia, replacement parts can be fitted here using products that contain asbestos.
The three-year phasing-out period agreed to yesterday in Sydney will enable Bendex Mintex, the last big manufacturer in Australia of products that contain asbestos, to replace the substance with other products.
Bendex Mintex, which employs up to 600 workers, makes replacement brake and clutch linings in Ballarat.
Victoria's WorkCover Minister, Bob Cameron, yesterday welcomed the Federal Government's decision"This is good news for workers. Asbestos will not be allowed to enter Australia after 2003. But it is also a sensible step which allows Bendex Mintex enough time to adjust to the new regime."
ACTU secretary Greg Combet hailed the decision as "great news for workers" but he lamented the lives of thousands of workers lost through exposure to asbestos.
Labor lawyers told The Age recently that an increasing number of people aged in their 30s and 40s were contracting asbestos-related diseases, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Lawyers Slater and Gordon, Patsy Toop, and Maurice Blackburn Cashman, have recorded increasing numbers of people seeking compensation from companies that made asbestos when they did not work in environments where asbestos was present. Evidence suggested that people who helped parents pull down old buildings with asbestos sheeting could be in danger of disease.
Widow, Mother of Two Seeking Answers - Perth, Australia
My husband died from mesothelioma at the age of 41. We are from Perth, Western Australia. His history indicates an asbestos exposure occurred while he worked at a local brickyard during summer breaks from university over a 4 year span.
He loaded bricks onto trucks for delivery and was also sent into the kilns to unjam bungs of bricks during firing if the equipment malfunctioned. One year he was required to cut bricks with disks he believed contained asbestos in the matrix.
He also used asbestos gloves which frayed and deteriorated during the cutting procedure. Although it is believed that white asbestos was used in the gloves, it cannot be ruled out that rogue blue asbestos fibres were not present.
We are having problems pinpointing an asbestos source at the brickyards even though the roof of the sheds was asbestos which was very old and crumbling.
My thoughts are perhaps that the original oil fired kilns contained asbestos lagging which was disturbed whilst converting to gas in 1973 onwards. My husband worked there between 1972 - 1975.
Our Asbestos Diseases Society here is the initial contact when someone is diagnosed with an asbestos related disease. Unfortunately, because of the amount of people being diagnosed with problems of this nature, this Society is overworked and under huge stress in their attempt to gain information from a terminal patient in order to lodge a claim before death
My husband died within 5 months of diagnosis going from a healthy, very fit former State swimming champion to an unrecognisable bag of bones in that time. The insurance company connected with the brickyards conducted a bedside hearing not long before death. The initial source of exposure was believed to be brick cutting disks containing asbestos. However, none have been located. Laws in WA are in the process of change to allow a widow claim for the projected future earnings of the deceased spouse. In all other Australian States, this already occurs.
I am struggling financially with my two school age children who lost their father when they were 6 and 9 years old.
Leni
52 Years Old with MM - Trying to Prepare for the Future - Sydney, Australia
December 6, 1999
My 52-year-old father was recently diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. The doctor said he has from 6 weeks to 2 years to live. We have heard of people surviving for upto 8 or 9 years. My dad is trying to be positive and intends to live for as long as possible. We would appreciate any information about treatment options and the course of this disease. We would like to know what to expect so that we can prepare for the future and support dad in the best way possible. I would also like information about how long asbestos manufacturers have known about the link between asbestos and mesothelioma in Australia. I think that manufacturers should be made accountable for their actions, they obviously value money more than the lives of people like my father. Any information about mesothelioma legal action in Australia would also be appreciated.
Michelle Day
Sydney, Australia.
Email: daym@idx.com.au
Asbestos Exposure from Naval Service - Perth, Australia
October 12, 1998
Lynne Lawson wrote:
My husband who was 50 years old died of Lung Cancer in October 1997, He died 4 days before he was due to have a bedside hearing. When my husband was diagnosed in January 1997 we were told that he had 12 to 18 months to live but this wasn't to be and although he fought hard it was only 10 months. The Australian Government said that they will not mediate at all and I know without a doubt that the plane trips from Perth to Sydney and Melbourne to see Dr's etc along with the stress and strain of the fight for justice hastened his death. There was no doubt in the minds of our specialists that Asbestos exposure was a major contributing factor in his cancer. From my perspective I along with my 2 children intend to continue the fight as we know that the Government would be more than happy for all ex-service people suffering from these illness's to just die and go away. He joined the Royal Australian Navy at the age of 15 years old and had an extremely high exposure to asbestos whilst serving on HMAS Melbourne and then at HMAS Nirimba. At the age of 15 who would think that when they joined up to serve their country that they would get a death sentence from Asbestos Exposure. If you would like to write to me my e-mail is l.lawson@path.com.au
Regards
Lynne Lawson
"Stop these needless deaths!" - Melbourne, Australia
September 22, 1998
I would really like to hear from others - my e-mailaddress is smahoney@ruralnet.net.au. Recently I lost my husband and father to my two children to pleural mesothelioma. He was fifty three years of age and a very well respected trade teacher, having served his apprenticeship as a builder in the construction industry here in Australia (Melbourne). I am so angry that industry kept exposing innocent people to the dangers of asbestos so many years after it was found to be a dangerous substance. My husband was a very fit and active person - jogged every morning religiously, umpired Aussie rules football and was a much respected teacher of woodwork in our local community. Suddenly our life was turned around and not only have we since lost him but we have had to cope with all the traumas associated with this. Many people just do not realize all the associated family traumas and stresses which go along with a disease like mesothelioma. At the moment I am grieving for all of the things my husband had planned for himself in his much looked forward to retirement. I am grieving for the fact that immoral people have robbed my children of parental support and that I now find myself in such a hopeless situation. I have always been, and many would testify to this, a very strong and independent person, but I just cannot come to terms with this horrible, horrible condition. I nursed my husband at home until two weeks before his death, and I really tried hard to accommodate his wishes and those of the many people who on one hand wanted to visit and on the other hand those who could not bring themselves to see the pain and agony Terry was going through. Tonight I am at a loss as to how to deal with everything that has transpired since Terry's death back in March. I would really like to know how people and communities can stop these needless deaths!
Sandra Mahoney
smahoney@ruralnet.net.au
Hyperthermia and Glucose Blocking Agents, A Success Story - Perth, Australia
March 11, 1998
My wife contracted pleural mesothelioma and was diagnosed in January 1991, we were advised that no known cure was available and that her expected lifespan was less than six months. We were very fortunate to have a doctor in Perth Western Australia who has been using a method of hyperthermia (heating of the body with "safe" microwaves) and glucose blocking agents to either prolong life or eradicate cancers.
My wife is now since 1993 in total remission and we lead a normal life. As you might be aware, I am loath to mention the doctors name, this is due to the fact that advertising a doctor's name in Australia is illegal. However should you wish to know where to contact him then I would only be too happy to supply you this information but I need a guarantee that you will not publish his name in any form of media. He was recently threatened by the Australian AMA because a third party, without his knowledge, published a very positive article describing his method on the Internet in the USA. He has been successful with other mesothelioma patients and recently cured a brain cancer patient.
I must stress that he has been most successful with patients who did not receive chemo or radiation therapy prior to his treatment. Due to the total lack of financial support for his research he has to charge full prices for treatment which I am afraid only allows the fairly well off the chance of survival.
Regarding any other treatments, my wife also underwent intense intravenous Vitamin C and Ozone treatment plus strict diet. However, her number one factor was the strong will to live.
Yours Faithfully
Henk Lee
indoz@indo.net.id
* * * * * * * * * * * *
January 25, 1999
Dear Roger,
Since you posted my story I have had numerous e-mails from people wishing to contact the doctor in Perth. I have now been informed that I can include his name and contact numbers:
Dr. John Holt,
Phone 61-8-93223544
Fax 61-8-94814184.
Thank you for posting my story, also recently an article on the hyper thermia treatment was run on one of the television stations (9) in Australia and since that time the doctor has been quite busy treating new patients with reported positive results. Please also note change of my e-mail address:
indoz@kujang.bogor.indo.net.id.
Kind Regards Henk Lee
Of 8 Workers Exposed, 5 Die of Respiratory Diseases - Australia
March 11, 1998
Dear Sir,
In 1969-70 I had an 8 month exposure to Limpet asbestos at the Whyalla shipyard (Australia) as a teenager we would throw the over spray around like snowballs. We did not wear any respiratory safety equipment as none was provided. In 1991 I was diagnosed with sufficient asbestos fibre in my lungs consistent with an 8 month exposure. I was 1 of 8 in the crew applying the fibre to ships bulk heads & deck heads, 5 of us have already died of respiratory related diseases. My question is - has anybody done a study to determine what % of asbestos people die of old age? Your comments will be appreciated.
Regard Paul Clarke (pjclarke@dove.net.au)
30 Year old MM Mother, "a frightening experience" - Australia
February 26, 1998
My name is Belinda and I am 30 years old. I had my baby boy on November 22 1997. He was 10 days old when I was diagnosed with mastitis and 12 days old when I was diagnosed with right sided pneumonia. X-rays showed that a lesion in my lung had grown so in late December I had surgery which removed this lump. It was later diagnosed as epithelial mesothelioma.
I have been looking into treatment in Philadelphia with Dr sterman. I was put on to him by another person who had mesothelioma and was treated by him and is now clear. I was diagnosed in the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia. They removed one lesion that initially looked benign but turned out to be epithelial mesothelioma. No they did not get rid of all the little lesions. But apparently the doctors say it is still very early. My chest physician has got me into seeing a doctor from Western Australia in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow I am getting copies of my scans and x-rays to send away.
Thanks again for replying as it is a pretty frightening experience!
MM Patient Searches for Good Doctors - Melbourne, Australia
January 8, 1998
Dear Sir, greetings from Australia.
I thought I would approach you regarding my father.My dear Dad, aged 73, has contracted mesothelioma. We think he got it from cutting up asbestos on our farm many years ago.
We are told that the mesothelioma is in the cavity of his right lung. We are also told that basically there is nothing medicine can do for him except manage the pain. His life expectancy is under one year.
A couple of months back he had to have fluid drained from his lung related to this disease, then he got an infection, then he had an operation to get rid of the infection and to take a biopsy - from which the doctors established that he has mesothelioma.
I am wondering if there is anything further which may be done for my Dad.
Don Stanley (at above Email Address) Melbourne Australia.
Don:
Please contact Prof Bruce Robinson at Queen Elizabeth III Medical Centre in Nedlands Australia 6009, fax 61 9 3462816, email is above. I heard Dr. Robinson speak at a mesothelioma conference in Philadelphia last May. Very impressive. He may know of some treatment options available in Australia. His expertise is in gene therapy/immunotherapy.
Good luck my friend!
Roger Worthington, Esq.
"Specialists Down Under?" - Syndney, Australia
November 10, 1997
Hello!
I've just started investigating this area today, (your page is the first amount of literature which I am looking through) as I have just learnt that my father, aged 65 has been diagnosed with inoperable asbestos-related cancer. It has formed all the way down one lung, and he has been told he has 6 months - 2 years to live. I don't yet have all the details, but I was wondering if you know of any specialists in Australia (especially Sydney) whom I may be able to contact.
If you have any info, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks for your help, and for making this information available.
Regards,
Louise Hickey
Sydney, Australia
Australian Asbestos Manufacturers? - Australia
July 24, 1997
Dear Mr Worthington,
I'm a researcher involved in asbestos litigation (plaintiff) here in Australia and I'm wondering whether you have any information about Australian companies being implicated in the the asbestos cases in the US, or even those more recently in the UK, where manufacturers or miners have been found liable for end-user asbestos-related disease?
My client is a law firm that is interested in any material showing at any time an exchange of information between Australian asbestos manufacturers/miners eg.James Hardie or Wunderlich, and any of their industry colleagues in Europe, eg. Turner & Newell or Cape Asbestos/EGNEP et alia, and in North America, eg. Johns-Manville, Keasby and Mattison, Armstrong Cork, Celotea (?Celotex), Thetford Mines, et alia.
Of particular interest is the existence of unpublished documents showing early discussion of asbestos health effects between these individual companies, or amongst members of industry associations the Australians are known to have been involved with, eg. Asbestosis Research Council, Asbestos International Association, Asbestos Information Association/North America, Asbestos Institute and the Quebec Asbestos Miners Association.
Looking forward to your reply and any information you can provide,
David Goldrick
David Goldrick and Associates
London Circuit, Canberra City, Australia