Help Us Conquer Mesothelioma

Dear Mesothelioma Community:

I can hardly believe that I have already been at the Pacific Meso Center (PMC) at PHLBI for 3 months. The time has flown by and that is because I am having such a great time in this new job. I have been blessed to have this position which has enabled me to meet the most amazing people that I have ever had the honor of getting to know.

It is always heartfelt to meet patients either newly diagnosed or who are battling through their treatments for mesothelioma. I have been touched by their courage, determination and also by their positive attitudes. They are not going to let this disease get the better of them and they are not going to take it lying down. They are all cancer warriors, and they put their lives in Dr. Robert Cameron’s hands, because he is the best in his profession.

I met Terry Latham and his lovely wife, Maryla when I first arrived at PMC. I was so impressed with Terry and his outlook on life. He came to this country with just $25 in his pocket, and became a very successful businessman in real estate. He discovered he had malignant pleural Mesothelioma in March of 2010 and Dr. Cameron performed the surgical procedure pleurectomy/dectortication on him. His wife Maryla has been very proactive with our Breakaway from Cancer Walk (BfC)  and has been soliciting great silent auction items for us.

We want to make a difference with this disease, and so this year my goal is to raise over $1.5 million in funding to open a newer state-of-the-art laboratory here on our premises in Santa Monica. It is an ambitious goal and we have lots of plans in the pipeline to try and reach it. But we can’t do it without your support. Right now you can support us in a couple of ways. Click here to how to donate to PMC.

The Pacific Meso Center is proud to be associated this year with Dana Point Grand Prix Bicycle Event which is in its 5th year, and this year Amgen is sponsoring the event and the new initiative which is Breakaway from Cancer (BFC). PMC will be one of the beneficiaries this year. So please support us in any way that you can.

Why don’t you put on your glad rags and come out for a truly great evening on Saturday, April 30th at the Dana Point Yacht Club for a Cocktail party with Hors d’ouevres, great wine, great beer, great dessert and a fabulous silent auction. Check out some of the exciting silent auction items that we have. Click here  to view silent auction page.   The evening is from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. so it gives you time to get home, have a good nap and then join us the following day. Click here to purchase tickets for our Saturday, April 30th event.

We are extending an invitation to all cancer survivors, family members, caregivers, doctors and nurses, to come together and join us on race day at Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer walk, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 1 at 3:45 p.m. in Dana Point, on the most beautiful bicycle race course in the world.

There are over 1 million cancer survivors who reside in California alone, and the chances are one in four that someone in your family has been affected by some form of cancer. It is important that we all stand together and fight this dreadful disease, but why not do so, while we celebrate that fact that we are alive and we are with our families and friends, or we that we are remembering those who are no longer with us, but who will live in our hearts forever.

Lastly, and importantly the UCLA Mesothelioma Research Program at UCLA is sponsoring the 1st International symposium on Lung-Sparing Therapies for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) in beautiful Santa Monica. Dr. Robert Cameron, MD, FACS, the course organizer and the Director of the UCLA Mesothelioma Research Program has had over 18 years of experience with treating patients with MPM.

The seminar’s distinguished international faculty includes both Mr. Tom Treasure, MD and Mr. David A Waller, MD, who will discuss the recent startling results announced from the Mesothelioma and Radical Surgery (MARS) Trial conducted in the UK. To view a brochure, click here.   To purchase tickets you can enroll online at www.cme.ucla.edu/courses or by phone at 310-794-2620.

Mesothelioma community, if you have any questions, please call me at 310-478-4678 or email me at ccameron@phlbi.org.

Best Wishes

Clare Cameron