Department of Defense funds mesothelioma research

The DoD is funding mesothelioma researchers for the year 2011-2012.

Good news for veterans with mesothelioma: for the 4th year in a row, the Department of Defense is funding mesothelioma research, due to veterans' higher rates of mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. The DoD's website announced June 29, 2011 that they are accepting applications for grants from the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP).

The PRCRP was established “to support research into specifically designated cancers with relevance to military service members and their families.” Mesothelioma affects veterans at a higher rate than it affects civilians, due to widespread military asbestos exposure, especially in the Second World War and Korean War.

Registered nurse and mesothelioma patient advocate Mary Hesdorffer testified before the U.S. Committee on Appropriations in defense of funding mesothelioma research, noting that it is the very definition of a cancer with relevance to military service members and their families:

“Almost 3,000 Americans die each year of mesothelioma, and one study found that one third of patients were exposed on U.S. Navy ships or shipyards. That is 1,000 U.S. veterans and shipyard workers per year, lost through service to country, just as if they had been on a battlefield.”

World War II veterans faced a great amount of asbestos exposure.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, with whom Hersdorffer is affiliated, reported that in 2007, mesothelioma received “as little as 9 times less funding than other cancers.”

Way to go, DoD! Paying for mesothelioma research is the right thing to do, given that many mesothelioma sufferers were exposed during their time in the service. Until we learn more about mesothelioma, veterans and other Americans will continue to suffer poor prognoses and painful battles with asbestos cancer. 

If you know any cancer researchers (I don't, but you never know who's reading!), tell them to check out the deadlines for applying for this grant: http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prcrp.shtml. Good luck, researchers!