The Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program - The Best Medical Plan No Veterans Know About

Secretary McDonald  - Please Notify Veterans There's No Waiting List at the Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program in Los Angeles

Zumwalt Meso
Treatment Program 
The best medical plan 
no veterans know about

San Pedro, CA -- It's upsetting to read the allegations in the news about secret wait lists, cover-ups, shabby treatment, premature deaths and a culture of apathy permeating the Department of Veterans Affairs.

What's equally upsetting is letting veterans suffer and die with either no or minimal treatment even though a qualified medical team is standing by and eager to treat them.

For months now, patients and advocates (including Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (Ret.)) have been entreating former Secretary Shinseki and Under Secretary Petzel to simply notify patients and doctorswithin the vast VA network of the world-class treatment available to veterans suffering from mesothelioma as a result of service-related asbestos exposure. Now with the recent confirmation of VA Secretary Robert McDonald, veterans are optimistic of the changes being proposed but their trust has been undeniably compromised.

About a year ago, the VA Medical Center in West Los Angeles, California approved (but did not budget) the Admiral Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program. The program is headed up by Dr. Robert Cameron, a well-respected thoracic surgeon who has dedicated his life to the rational treatment of pleural mesothelioma, a cancer which disproportionately impacts US service veterans.

Dr. Cameron and his crew are eager to treat veterans. Unfortunately, despite multiple requests and promises, the VA has yet to perform the simple administrative task of updating its website and other social media about the existence of the program--notices that would alert veterans suffering from mesothelioma to the high quality treatment which is available to them. Neither the VA nor West LA VA websites even mention the program.

The mesothelioma treatment team at the West LA VA Medical Center would love to have a list of veterans to treat. But there's no list, no waiting list and no effort to educate our war heroes stricken with asbestos cancer that help is available.

According to the popular literature, about 4,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Of those, roughly a third were exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy. It's not a stretch to surmise that at least 600 Navy veterans are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year--a diagnosis that carries a nine month life expectancy with no treatment and 11-12 months with chemotherapy only.

Mesothelioma is a rare disease and few doctors are either interested or qualified to treat it with the full arsenal of options available. It's a beautiful thing that a world-renowned surgeon like Dr. Cameron is willing to treat veterans, but it's sad that the VA has done nothing to help educate patients about his extraordinary talents.

Secretary McDonald, the request is simple: Will you please educate veterans and all caregivers within the VA system that the Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program is alive and well and eager to provide prompt, world-class treatment to veterans suffering from mesothelioma (without placing them on a long list!).

With new reports of the VA medical system's failures capturing headlines every day, what better time to finally bring attention to an area where the VA has gotten it right!

For more information, please contact Worthington & Caron (http://www.mesothel.com/) or 800-831-9399.

Secretary Shinseki – Please Notify Veterans There’s No Waiting List at the Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program in Los Angeles

Dear Secretary Shinseki,

Zumwalt Meso Treatment Program  The best medical plan  no veterans know about.

It’s upsetting to read the allegations in the news about secret wait lists, cover-ups, shabby treatment, premature deaths and a culture of apathy permeating the Department of Veterans Affairs.

What’s equally upsetting is letting veterans suffer and die with either no or minimal treatment even though a qualified medical team is standing by and eager to treat them.

For months now, patients and advocates (including Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (Ret.)) have been entreating you and Under Secretary Petzel to simply notify patients and doctors within the vast VA network of the world-class treatment available to veterans suffering from mesothelioma as a result of service-related asbestos exposure. 

About a year ago, the VA Medical Center in West Los Angeles, California approved (but did not budget) the Admiral Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program. The program is headed up by Dr. Robert Cameron, a well-respected thoracic surgeon who has dedicated his life to the rational treatment of pleural mesothelioma, a cancer which disproportionately impacts US service veterans.

Dr. Cameron and his crew are eager to treat veterans. Unfortunately, despite multiple requests and promises, the VA has yet to perform the simple administrative task of  updating its website and other social media about the existence of the program--notices that would alert veterans suffering from mesothelioma to the high quality treatment which is available them. Neither the VA nor West LA VA websites even mention the program. Please see our letter to Dr. Dean Norman, Chief of Staff, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. 

"When a veteran is denied care, we are  all dishonored."  Barack Obama,  Aug. 2007.

The mesothelioma treatment team at the West LA VA Medical Center would love to have a list of veterans to treat. But there’s no list, no waiting list and no effort to educate our war heroes stricken with asbestos cancer that help is available.

You’ve read about the double digit number of veterans who have allegedly died while waiting to be treated.  We may never know how many veterans with mesothelioma have died after receiving no or sub-standard treatment. 

According to the popular literature, about 4,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Of those, roughly a third were exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy. It’s not a stretch to surmise that at least 600 Navy veterans are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year--a diagnosis that carries a 9 month life expectancy with no treatment and 11-12 months with chemotherapy only.

Mesothelioma is a rare disease and few doctors are either interested or qualified to treat it with the full arsenal of options available.  It’s a beautiful thing that a world-renowned surgeon like Dr. Cameron is willing to treat veterans, but it’s sad that the VA has done nothing to help educate patients about his extraordinary talents.

Secretary Shinseki, how many vets have to die before this issue finally works its way up to the inbox in your office? We’ve been sending letters to Under Secretary Petzel as well as our representatives for several months. Now that he’s resigned in the wake of the Phoenix scandal, what will happen to those heart-felt letters from patients and their families? Who will read them? Anybody? And more importantly, what will the VA do?

Secretary Shinseki, please include  building the Zumwalt Meso Program in  your mission to  provide better and  more timely care to veterans.

Secretary Shinseki, we agree with you when you say that it’s your “mission” to provide quality care to each and every veteran. You say you’re “mad as hell” about recent allegations and vow “to do better.” With a budget of $164 billion, to your credit, you haven’t blamed the missteps on a lack of money. And you’re wise to investigate the nexus, if  any, between the waiting lists, which are a fact of life in modern patient management, and premature deaths.

But we are still waiting for a response. The request is simple: Will you please educate veterans and all caregivers within the VA system that the Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Program is alive and well and eager to provide prompt, world-class treatment to veterans suffering from mesothelioma (without placing them on a long list!).

With new reports of the VA medical system’s failures capturing headlines every day, what better time to finally bring attention to an area where the VA has gotten it right!

Sincerely,

Roger G. Worthington
May 20, 2014

The family of former Veteran John Johnson has pledged to help 
fund the Zumwalt Meso Program at the West LA VA.

Online Petition Now Available to Establish the “Elmo Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment & Research Center” - Please Sign Now!

In our Veteran’s Day "Call to Arms" post, we addressed the Federal Government’s failure to adequately care for veterans diagnosed with service-related mesothelioma, who account for one-third of Americans who get this deadly disease.

In the weeks that have followed, we have sent letters to our friends, clients and clients’ families enlisting their support in the effort to get the VA to fund the “Elmo Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment and Research Center” which will provide world-class treatment to veterans around the country and conduct much-needed research into cures and treatment advances that will benefit all persons suffering from this disease, not just vets.

Our thanks go out to everyone who has forwarded the letters to their senators and congresspersons. Additional packets are being sent out as we speak. If you haven’t sent the letters, please do so as soon as possible. If you want additional copies of the letters to have friends of family send, let us know and we’ll send more!

We’re pleased to report that the Pacific Meso Center has now joined the effort to garner much-needed public support for this worthy cause by establishing an online petition to “Help Veterans Stricken with Service-Connected Mesothelioma.”

Even if you have already sent the letters that were issued by our office, we urge you to sign the Pacific Meso Center’s online petition. The Federal government has ignored this problem for decades. We need to do everything we can to let them know what an insult their continued inaction is to the vets who have and will continue to suffer from service-related mesothelioma.

"We encourage everyone to sign this petition and to send it out to their friends and family via email, Twitter and Facebook", said Clare Cameron, Executive Director of The Pacific Meso Center.  "With enough signatures we can make a change and get the Admiral Zumwalt Center for Mesothelioma Excellence funded, and give our veterans suffering with mesothelioma a fighting chance".

So please sign the petition now! It will take you less than a minute. 

Please also visit:  PMC Lays Foundation at West LA VA’s Comprehensive Mesothelioma Center to Launch New Center of Mesothelioma Excellence

Veterans’ Day 2013---A “Call to Arms” to Help Veterans Stricken with Service-Connected Mesothelioma

In prior years, Worthington & Caron, P.C., has used Veterans’ Day as an opportunity to acknowledge and pay tribute to military veterans who have contracted mesothelioma from service-related exposures to asbestos. Indeed, as many of you know, approximately one-third of Americans diagnosed with mesothelioma were exposed in the military.

This year, in addition to offering kind words of acknowledgment and gratitude, we would like to offer asbestos-exposed vets something much more important. Something they really need. Something that’s long over-due. This year we want to take action to get the US Government to effectively treat vets stricken with service-related mesothelioma. And we want you to join us.

Here’s the deal: The West Los Angeles VA Medical Center has taken an important first step to improve the treatment of asbestos-exposed vets by establishing a first-of-its-kind “Mesothelioma Center of Excellence.” The Center offers patients access to some of the most innovative and effective treatments from one of the nation’s leading mesothelioma specialists. The problem is that the Mesothelioma Center of Excellence remains a virtual secret even to this day.

Officials at the West LA VA have been asked to do a better job of educating VA doctors and vets about the Mesothelioma Center of Excellence. They have also been asked to expand the Center so it can provide its unsurpassed level of treatment to greater numbers of vets and conduct research and clinical trials that will benefit ALL patients, vets and non-vets, who are diagnosed in the future.

The West LA VA officials we have spoken with have enthusiastically agreed that these requests have merit. They have agreed to work with pathologists nationwide to refer patients to the West LA VA. But, for reasons that are unclear, the VA has not even updated its website to include information about the existing program, nor have they agreed to fund an expanded program.

How many news stories have we seen about our vets being subjected to deplorable conditions and inferior treatment at VA medical centers across the country? The Mesothelioma Center at the West LA VA is a shining example of vets receiving a level of treatment that is unsurpassed by the nation’s most prestigious private hospitals. But when vets are deprived of this treatment simply because doctors in the VA system don’t know about the Mesothelioma Center of Excellence, the results are no less upsetting. This cannot be allowed to continue.

Families of veterans who are casualties of mesothelioma are strongly behind this effort. The family of Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who died of mesothelioma in 2000, has agreed to lend their name to the expanded program. The new center would be called the “Elmo Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment & Research Center.” Other families have pledged financial support to kick-start the program, including a pledge of $500,000 from the family of John Johnson, a Marine infantryman who lost his battle with mesothelioma in 2012.

Now we need your help.

Our firm is reaching out to clients and their families urging them to send letters to their senators and congressman or congresswoman demanding that they get the VA to do two simple things: 1) Get the word out to VA doctors and vets about the Mesothelioma Center of Excellence at the West LA VA—at a minimum, update the VA website to include information about the Center, and 2) Provide the modest funding needed to expand the program into the “Elmo Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment & Research Center” with the capacity to treat greater numbers of vets and conduct research and clinical trials that will benefit ALL patients, vets and non-vets.

Next week our firm will be sending out suggested letters to your US Senators and Representative. Please sign and send them. Also, please follow up with emails and phone calls. If you don’t receive our mailing, or are eager to take action today, please contact us at 800-831-9399 or info@worthingtoncaron.com so we can help get you started.

Whether for a loved one, or for any of the thousands of veterans who have suffered because of the asbestos they were exposed to while defending our freedom—let’s do this!  Not only will a clinical trial and research program directly benefit all vets no matter where they live, the lessons learned stand to benefit ALL patients diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma

Our veterans have done their duty. We’re asking the VA to do theirs.

In honor of Veterans’ Day 2013, please join us in this effort.

--Roger Worthington & John Caron