Read All About It! The WLAVA Unfurls Its Meso Program for Veterans

It’s up!

The Veteran’s Administration’s website has been updated. Veterans with mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer can now arm themselves with the tools they need to fight back.

Click here to learn more about the Comprehensive Mesothelioma Treatment and Research Program at the West Los Angeles VA.

This is a first. Since 1998, the WLAVA has partnered with UCLA Medical School to develop rational strategies to treat mesothelioma. Unfortunately, very few veterans outside of Los Angeles knew about the alliance, as the VA didn’t publicize the program (or fund it).

Today, thanks to the tireless efforts of the John Johnson family, as well as the perseverance of Dr. Robert Cameron, the VA has finally acknowledged the program publicly. This is a giant and long-overdue step in the right direction.

John Johnson’s story is well known. Mr. Johnson, a veteran, died from mesothelioma three years ago, almost to the day. When he died, the Johnson family vowed to help the VA build a nationwide mesothelioma program and publicize it so that other veterans could access specialized care on a timely basis.

This is a very special day. We have represented veterans with mesothelioma for over two decades. In nearly every case, family members have asked what they can do to reverse the Federal government’s apathy towards service-connected mesothelioma. They have inundated politicians and administrators with letters pleading for change. And now they have something to celebrate!

We want to thank all the veterans and their wives, sons and daughters for making their voices heard. We also want to single out Dr. Dean Norman, the Chief of Staff at the WLAVA.  Dr. Norman is faced with enormous challenges. Every year his workload gets heavier, while his budget gets lighter. Dr. Norman never made any excuses. He championed the Mesothelioma program from the git-go and has vowed to find the money to build it up.

Thanks again to all the doctors, nurses and staff at the WLAVA and UCLA who have never given up on their mesothelioma patients.

RGW

2/2/15

For more about information about lung-sparing surgery, cryoablation, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and the specialized approach to treating sarcomatoid mesothelioma offered at the WLAVA, please click here.

Secretary McDonald, Here is a Win-Win, The Mesothelioma Center of Excellence.

Dear Secretary McDonald:

Here’s a win-win for you, as you emerge from the wreckage of the “death by waiting list” imbroglio.

Thanks to the courage of Dr. Dean Norman and Dr. Robert Cameron, the VA Medical Center in West Los Angeles has established a Comprehensive Mesothelioma Center.  For Navy vets exposed to asbestos while serving their country, mesothelioma is a war-related disability.  It’s estimated over 1,000 vets annually are diagnosed with this insidious cancer. But until now the VA has never built a treatment program, as it has for Agent Orange, nuclear radiation and PTSD.

The CMC is a giant and long overdue step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the VA has not publicized the program, veterans don't know about it, very few VA doctors outside of LA are aware of it, and it’s not well funded. Ironically, the problem is the lack of a waiting list.  Consequently, veterans are suffering without access to specialized care.

You can easily change this. And, for the thousands of vets now and in the future with mesothelioma who will be fighting for their life, you should. Please click here to view a video I prepared on the problem and solution. 

I have written to you and your predecessor before, without any return comment. Please respond. I am available to fly to Washington DC to meet with you in person.

Thank you for your service.

Roger G. Worthington