1. Skip to header
  2. Skip to main
  3. Skip to content
  4. Skip to sidebar
  5. Skip to footer
  • Home > Blog > Featured Story > Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act Important to Veterans Exposed to Mesothelioma-Causing Asbestos
Posted on Tuesday, Jan 3, 2012

Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act Important to Veterans Exposed to Mesothelioma-Causing Asbestos

The Lung Cancer Alliance and the Prevent Cancer Foundation join other organizations and the public in praising Congress for considering the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2011 (S.752/H.R. 1394).  With an aim to establish a comprehensive interagency response to reduce lung cancer mortality in a timely manner, the legislation has far-reaching implications for mesothelioma patients and other Americans suffering from environmental lung cancer. 

Introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Donna Christensen (D-VI), the proposal is the first comprehensive lung cancer legislation with the potential to reduce the incidence and mortality of lung cancer nationwide.  Specifically, the proposal requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a comprehensive program to achieve a 50% reduction in the mortality rate of lung cancer by 2020.  Currently, there is no known cure for mesothelioma and existing treatments are often palliative. 

This legislation will especially benefit military veterans who are susceptible to mesothelioma.  As part of the act, the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) would be required to coordinate with HHS implementing coordinated care programs for military personnel and veterans diagnosed with lung cancer. 

Pleural mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer known to be caused by inhaling asbestos fibers.  Asbestos was widely used in the military between the 1940s and 1970s in equipment in boiler rooms and engine rooms of ships as well as in numerous products, including gaskets, pumps, valves, boilers and turbines.  It was also used in thousands of buildings and Navy ships from World War II until the 1970s.  Veterans account for nearly 30 percent of all cases of mesothelioma. 

“The impact of lung cancer goes beyond epidemic yet few people even know it,” said Lung Cancer Alliance’s President and CEO Laurie Fenton-Ambrose who noted that over 80% of lung cancer patients have never smoked or had already quit, often decades ago.  As is the case with mesothelioma victims, exposure to asbestos can result in cancer decades later. 

An average of 437 Americans die from lung cancer every day, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance. Lung cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and afflicted 157,300 Americans in 2010, according to federal statistics.  3,000 Americans die from mesothelioma each year.