Mesothelioma was first recorded by the World Health Organization in 1994, but extensive demographic pictures just recently have emerged about the deadly disease. And to no one's surprise, the incidence of this asbestos-related cancer has increased and the age-adjusted mortality rate more than doubled during a 15-year study period. According to a recent WHO bulletin, 92,253 deaths from mesothelioma were reported by more than 80 countries between 1994 and 2008. (Sadly, this number only included mesothelioma deaths, and did not account for victims of other asbestos-related diseases such more...Industrialized nations have been living with the uses of asbestos -- and consequences from that use -- for more than a century. But it's hard to imagine that we've been living for nearly 50 years with evidence, studies and research into the dangers of asbestos, and yet, it still continues to be manufactured, used and exported in many corners of the globe. Here's a chronological look at 10 articles over the past five decades that chronicle the effects of asbestos, as well as efforts in the global fight to ban this deadly material. more...Last Thursday, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" brought its unique brand of political satire to point out a major flaw in the 9/11 Health Care Bill for Ground Zero first responders. The highly-touted bill covers a litany of diseases such as chronic coughing, laryngitis and carpal tunnel, but surprisingly does not cover cancer treatments. The argument used by some is that there is no scientific proof that the dust inhalation caused the cancers which are killing the brave heroes who fought dangerous conditions to find the remains of those who died there following the terrorist attacks. When more... November 2010 was designated as Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM) by the Lung Cancer Alliance. While lung cancer is widely viewed as a “smoker’s cancer,” the disease kills more than 17,000 non-smokers in the U.S. each year, including an estimated 5 to 7 percent of diagnoses that can be attributed to asbestos exposure. Even worse, individuals who have been exposed to asbestos are five times more likely to develop lung cancer than those who have not been exposed. With these figures in mind, the Ban Asbestos Now team joined in many of the conversations surrounding lung cancer more...In recognition of National Asbestos Awareness Week (4/1 – 4/7), BAN! partnered with Doug Haslam to encourage people to sign our letter urging Congress to ban asbestos, while also raising money for his ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge. So who is Doug Haslam? And what does his ride have to do with BAN! and the larger fight against cancer? Doug sat down with us to explain in the videos above. While many people are familiar with the word “asbestos,” many are still unaware of its direct link to various forms of cancer, such as mesothelioma. In the end, more...