Helping Mesothelioma Doctors Find a Cure

It is our hope that someday we won’t have any more clients with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos, and that mesothelioma doctors will find a cure for this rare and deadly disease.  

Until that day arrives, we will continue to provide our mesothelioma clients with passionate legal representation. We will also continue to work hand-in-hand with mesothelioma doctors and organizations to find a cure for mesothelioma.  

These are not idle words or empty promises. We have pledged $10 million to support cancer research at the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at the Southern Illinois University. We also make annual contributions to Drexel University’s College of Medicine.  

The Simmons firm is also proud to serve on the Executive Advisory Board at the International Mesothelioma Program at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  In addition to its search for a mesothelioma cure, the IMP is dedicated to finding new treatments that will benefit today’s – and tomorrow’s – mesothelioma patients.  

Year after year, we are also one of the leading sponsors of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, an organization that works with mesothelioma doctors and specialists across the country. In 2006 we were honored to receive the Bruce Vento Hope Builder Award from the Foundation, in recognition of our efforts to uncover a cure.  

Of course, all the recognition in the world will not move us any closer to an answer. We invite you to join us in our quest to solve the puzzle that is mesothelioma.  

We are proud to support:

• Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation

• International Mesothelioma Program

• Southern Illinois University

• Drexel University 

Ban Asbestos Legislation

Sponsored by Congress Chairman Gene Green (D-TX), H.R. 6903, the “Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008” was introduced and passed in the House of Representatives in September 2008 through the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials.  This groundbreaking piece of legislation, once enacted, will amend the Toxic Substances Control Act. 

Asbestos is a material linked to the development of mesothelioma cancer and is still used in many products in the United States.  If this piece of legislation is approved by the U.S. Senate and signed into law, the legislation will help stop the manufacturing, importation, distribution, and use of asbestos products in the U.S., reducing the risk of asbestos exposure to Americans. The legislation would also be used to fund public education programs concerning asbestos and mesothelioma.   

The Ban Asbestos bill is named after former U.S. House of Representatives member Bruce Vento.  Representative Vento died of mesothelioma in 2001.  Although regulations have been put into place to limit the usage of the carcinogen asbestos through the Toxic Substances Control Act, this bill will be a leap forward towards a complete ban of the material in the United States.

According to the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization,  studies have estimated that over the next ten years, 100,000 Americans will die of an asbestos-related disease.  Legislation like the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008 can change these predictions. 

Learn More About:

» Coping with a Mesothelioma Diagnosis

» Filing a Mesothelioma Lawsuit 

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