Worthington & Caron Proudly Sponsors the 2014 Dana Point Grand Prix

Dana Point, CA. On Sunday, May 4 the city of Dana Point will host the 8th annual Dana Point Grand Prix (DPGP).

Worthington & Caron is proud to sponsor this event, which features the John Johnson Pro Criterium. 

The Grand Prix will feature 10 races from sun up to sun down, music, kids races, a craft beer tent, great food and a special tribute to the Johnson Family and their efforts to help establish the Zumwalt Mesothelioma Treatment Center within the Veteran's Administration. For the past four years, the DPGP has been touted as the biggest single day bike race in the U.S. The racing begins at 7 a.m. sharp.

The Johnson Family at the finish line of the
2013 John Johnson Pro Criterium

The John Johnson Pro Criterium promises to electrify an anticipated crowd of 15,000 fans lining a six turn course on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point. John Johnson was a veteran and plumber who was poisoned by asbestos, contracted mesothelioma, sought aggressive treatment, fought the legal fight, but ultimately succumbed to the disease. After his death, the Johnson family continued the fight by increasing public awareness of this horrible disease which disproportionately affects military veterans, by providing initial funding for a mesothelioma treatment center at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, and by pushing for changes in the law which impact the rights of all mesothelioma sufferers. 

We are honored to have the privilege of introducing the Johnson Family prior to the Pro race, which is the final event. John was the father of two sons, Michael and Ron Johnson, and the husband of an incredible wife, Sue Johnson.

Michael Johnson is a hard-charging cyclist who will again line up in the Pro Race which his family is sponsoring for the second year in a row. Michael is also a hard-charging advocate and source of information and support for mesothelioma patients and their families.

We also want to thank the City of Dana Point for championing this amazing bike race, festival and fundraiser for the past eight years. Orange and Los Angeles Counties have become notorious for the high incidence of bike fatalities due to driver negligence or manslaughter. We appreciate the City's efforts to make Dana Point bike friendly.

Once again there will be activities and events for all ages, including free youth races from ages four to 12 years old.

We hope to see you at the Party! All net proceeds from the race registration will be donated to charities, including the 5th Marine Regiment Support Group, The Boys and Girls Club, and the Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation.

Help Raise Money for Mesothelioma Research with an Exotic Mediterranean Feast & Cabaret Show!

Please join The Pacific Meso Center Saturday, May 3 at Byblos Mediterranean Restaurant in Westwood, California for an evening of delicious food, belly dancing and prizes to help raise money for mesothelioma research.

The evening will be hosted by mesothelioma patient and owner, Mikhaiel Mikhaiel along with The Pacific Meso Center. Mikhaiel was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in November of 2013, and is glad to have this opportunity to raise money and awareness to benefit mesothelioma research.

Tickets are $25 and all proceeds will be donated to benefit important stem cell research conducted by The Pacific Meso Center’s laboratory at the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute.

“This evening gives people in the mesothelioma community a different bonding experience in a beautiful Mediterranean setting,” said the Pacific Meso Center executive director Clare Cameron. “We invite everyone to join us for a different, fun event, while helping to support our cutting-edge mesenchymal mesothelioma research program, to help those suffering from this devastating form of cancer.”

You can RSVP here, or contact Olga at (310) 474-8223, or via email at olgav@phlbi.org.

The Pacific Meso Center (PMC), a division of PHLBI, provides education, advocacy and research, for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, an asbestos- related cancer, affecting the lining of the chest, the pleura.

For more information, please visit Pacific Meso Center’s website. 

Monitoring Mesothelin Levels in Those Exposed to Asbestos Could Lead to Earlier Diagnosis of Mesothelioma

Cancer Researchers have long been searching for indicators that could hold the key to diagnosing mesothelioma at an early stage. Mesothelioma has a long latency period with initial asbestos exposures which occurred 20 to sometimes 50 years before the cancer develops. Typically, diagnoses occurs when the disease is late stage and therefore patients are presented with a poor prognosis.

In 2007, researchers out of Tokyo began a long term and large scale screening of construction workers and plumbers with a risk of asbestos exposure to determine whether the protein mesothelin (N-ERC/MSLN) could be used as an early detection method. N-ERC/MSLN is a protein present on normal mesothelial cells which line the internal organs and are present throughout the entire body, in mesothelioma and in some other forms of cancer, N-ERC/MSLN is over expressed.

The researchers screened 40,000 potential participants through a construction workers union and a national health insurance association who had a high risk of exposure to asbestos as a result of their occupations in construction and plumbing. Of the 40,000 participants, 62 were identified as being high risk for the development of mesothelioma due to elevated levels of N-ERC/MSLN in their blood.

The participants underwent annual blood tests to monitor N-ERC/MSLN levels. Out of the 62 participants, two have subsequently developed mesothelioma. The remaining participants will continue to be monitored with yearly blood tests.

Early detection can lead to earlier diagnosis of mesothelioma which could allow for earlier treatment. This in turn offers the potential for prolonged survival and better quality of life due to less invasive disease management.  Source