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Board of Directors
Robert B. Cameron, M.D.
UCLA Medical School
Nicholas J. Vogelzang, M.D.
University of Chicago
Brian Loggie, M.D.
Creighton University
Robert Ginsberg, M.D.
Memorial Sloan Kettering
Michael Harbut, M.D.
Wayne State University
Roger G. Worthington, Esq.
Dallas, Texas
Robert I. Komitor, Esq.
New York, New York
Susan Vento
St. Paul, Minnesota
Mouzetta Zumwalt-
Weathers
Cary, North Carolina
In Memorium
Congressman Bruce F. Vento
Bill Powell
Science Advisory Board
Harvey Pass, M.D., Chairman
Karmanos Cancer Institute
Victor Roggli, M.D.
Duke University
Robert N. Taub, M.D.
Columbia University
Lary A. Robinson, M.D.
H. Lee Moffit Cancer Center
Steve Hahn, M.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Joseph R. Testa, Ph.D.
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Claire Verschraegen, M.D.
University of New Mexico
Eric Vallieres, M.D.
University of Washington
Dan Miller, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
Raphael Bueno, M.S.
Harvard/Brigham and Women's
Hedy Lee Kindler, M.D.
University of Chicago
W.Roy Smythe, M.D.
M.D. Anderson/Univ. of Texas
Executive Director
Christopher E. Hahn
Santa Barbara, CA
MARF, inc.
1609 Garden Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
tel (805) 560-8942
fax (805) 560-8962
http://www.marf.org
c-hahn@marf.org
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Our Mission is to eradicate mesothelioma as a
life-ending disease.
August 22, 2002
Uniting Against the Common Enemy
Patients, Doctors, Trial Lawyers and Defendants Invest in
Curing Mesothelioma
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF), the
national nonprofit organization whose mission is to
eradicate mesothelioma as a life-ending disease, has a
vision doctors, mesothelioma sufferers and their attorneys,
and the corporations targeted for exposing millions of
Americans to asbestos should all contribute to cure this
most deadly of asbestos-related diseases.
Recent events prove the vision is becoming reality and none
too soon.
Traditional medical thinking was nihilistic mesothelioma
could not be cured, life could not be extended, and one
could only hope to ease suffering before certain death. The
statistics indeed remain grim most die within 8 to 18
months of onset.
In the past decade, a core of medical experts committed to
finding effective treatments arose, but these pioneers
lacked financial backing, both from the Federal Government
and the private sector. The legal system focused on finding
fault, not funding a cure. Before MARF, there had never
been a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to funding mesothelioma
research.
The ones who have suffered the most the patients and their
friends and family have given the most. MARF has received
almost 2,000 donations from relatives and loved ones of
mesothelioma patients. These include a substantial number
of large, memorial contributions which directly increase
MARF's ability to fund research. Barbara Hoffacker has
donated $150,000 in memory of her husband, Hans. She was
also instrumental in the formation of MARF's Family
Advocacy Board, a patient network support group.
Recently, Jim Seiler, a management consultant in San Juan
Capistrano, California, donated $100,000 to MARF. Jim lost
his wife Linda, an actress and singer, to mesothelioma in
October, 2001. "Linda loved giving more than
receiving," recalls Jim, who learned of MARF through
their surgeon at UCLA, Dr. Robert Cameron. "Even in
her final days, her chief concern was the welfare of her
family and friends. She counted among her dearest friends
all mesothelioma patients, especially those newly
diagnosed. We discussed this donation before she died so in
some small way she might be able to help others avoid the
suffering she courageously endured."
Another eyewitness to the mesothelioma tragedy, oncologist
and MARF Science Advisory Board member Dr. Claire
Verschraegen, recently donated her entire fee to MARF for
testifying in a deposition for one of her mesothelioma
patients. This is but one example of the generosity of Dr.
Verschraegen and the other physicians on MARF, who have
together invested countless hours in helping educate
patients, reviewing research grants and contributing novel
ideas to MARF's "think tank."
The hard part? The hart part has been getting those with
the greatest means (namely, the corporate asbestos
defendants and the lawyers for mesothelioma patients ) to
give.
A relative handful of lawyers have stepped up to the plate.
The Law Offices of Roger G. Worthington, P.C. has given
$372,000 to MARF, in addition to Worthington's
volunteer work as a director. He has also helped persuade a
number of his colleagues and clients to contribute. Baron
& Budd, the largest asbestos plaintiffs' firm in
the country, has given a total of $144,000. Both law firms
make a cash donation to MARF in memory of their clients
taken by this asbestos cancer.
This past week alone, the Kaeske Law Firm generously
donated $40,000 to MARF, and Waters & Kraus added a
$50,000 donation to the $50,000 it gave in 2000. Said Peter
Kraus of the firm's commitment to funding research
through MARF
After years of little or no progress on mesothelioma
treatment, we are finally seeing signs of progress in
the struggle for an effective regimen to combat this
killer disease. We believe that MARF deserves the
support of mesothelioma victims, their families, their
lawyers, and the responsible companies. With support,
MARF can and will make a difference in the fight to
cure mesothelioma. We are pleased to be able to support
their efforts.
What of the corporate defendants? In 2000, Owens-Corning
pledged $1million to MARF for mesothelioma research over 5
years. According to MARF Executive Director Christopher
Hahn
Of all the companies named as defendants in asbestos
litigation, the first such company in history to
contribute to mesothelioma research was Owens-Corning.
We believe this represented the beginning of a
much-needed paradigm shift. We saw an effort on both
sides of the often stormy litigation to stop aiming
their guns at each other and for a moment point them at
the common enemy, the disease itself.
Unfortunately, after making an initial installment payment
to MARF of $100,000 in the year 2000, OCF declared
bankruptcy later that year, leaving the $900,000 balance
unpaid. W.R. Grace & Co, which served on MARF's
original board of directors, also intended to make a
handsome donation before it sought Chapter 11 protection.
Undeterred by these setbacks, MARF and its friends have
kept pushing corporations on the defendants' side of
the litigation to give. Having achieved a "first"
with Owens-Corning, MARF today announces a
"second" Last week Owens-Illinois, another
corporation on the defendants' side, contributed
$33,000 to MARF, in memory of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr.
Admiral Zumwalt served the nation heroically as the Naval
Commander in Vietnam and then the Chief Naval Officer
before succumbing to mesothelioma in 2000.
The failure to cure mesothelioma has not for a lack of
ideas or strategies. The impediment has always been lack of
funding. MARF each year solicits research proposals from
the top mesothelioma experts throughout the world, reviews
the proposals rigorously for scientific merit, and then
selects the highest-ranking projects for grant funding.
To date MARF has awarded $400,000 in research grants to
four promising projects, and is currently receiving
applications for its third round of grants. MARF has also
launched the operation of the first-ever national
mesothelioma database. Under the supervision of Dr. Cameron
at UCLA, the database will collect clinical data from the
medical records of mesothelioma patients. The database will
help doctors learn more about the relationship between
therapies and survival outcomes. Since its inception in
late 1999, MARF has raised over $1.8 million dollars.
For more information, please contact MARF Executive
Director Chris Hahn at 805-560-8942,
c-hahn@marf.org, or visit the MARF website,
http//www.marf.org.
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