Mesothelioma Doctors

Oncologists are physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. While there is no mesothelioma cure, some oncologists have searched for advanced treatments for this disease have made incredible strides in recent years. For patients and family members learning of a mesothelioma diagnosis, finding a doctor that you can trust is crucial. All of the physicians below specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma, and are dedicated to providing the very best in thoracic care to their patients. For more information about leading mesothelioma doctors, please click on your state below or simply scroll down the list.

State by State Directory of Mesothelioma Doctors

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois

• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana

• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island

• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming
• International

California - [ back to top ]

Dr. Robert Brian Cameron
University of California Los Angeles Medical Center
10780 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 267-4612

Dr. David M. Jablons
University of California San Francisco Medical Center
Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
1600 Divisadero Street, Fourth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
(415) 885-3882

Dr. Thierry Marie Jahan
University of California San Francisco Medical Center
Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
1600 Divisadero St., Fourth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
(415) 885-3882

Dr. Mark W. Lischner
Pulmonary Medicine Associates
5 Medical Plaza Drive, Suite 190
Roseville, CA 95661
(916) 786-7498

Conventional Treatments

Conventional mesothelioma therapies include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. You should keep in mind that if you choose one course of action for mesothelioma treatment, you may preclude other courses. All of your options should be considered as soon as possible.

Mesothelioma Surgery

Depending on the stage of a mesothelioma, surgery may be used to remove the cancer and some of the surrounding tissue. Often, however, an operation is not appropriate and the patient may have only minimally invasive procedures to relieve symptoms. A thoracentesis, where fluid in the chest is removed by placing a needle into the chest cavity, may be done to make a patient more comfortable. Sometimes talc or an antibiotic may be injected into the chest cavity to try to prevent the fluid from returning. These techniques are successful in controlling the fluid, at least temporarily, in as many as 90% of patients. Because pleural fluid can compress the lung and cause shortness of breath, these procedures can help patients breathe more easily, however, they do not cure the cancer. In the case of peritoneal mesothelioma, a needle may be inserted into the abdomen to drain the fluid. Similarly, a needle inserted into the pericardium (sac around the heart) can drain the fluid caused by pericardial mesothelioma and help relieve circulatory problems. However, draining this fluid may result in complications. Sometimes the cancer cells spread along the needle path, and a tumor nodule may form under the skin of that area.
Surgery for mesothelioma may be performed for one of two reasons: for palliation (to relieve pain and discomfort caused by the tumor), or to cure. Palliative surgery is typically done in cases where the tumor has already spread beyond the mesothelium and is difficult to completely remove, or in cases where the patient is too ill to tolerate a more extensive operation. Curative surgery is offered when the patient is in otherwise good health and the tumor is thought to be localized and can be completely removed. Unfortunately, microscopic spread of cancer cells into the chest wall and diaphragm are common even when such spread cannot be detected by routine tests. Therefore, given the extent of these operations and their very limited success, the exact role of surgery in treating mesothelioma is often debated.
There are two types of operations that may be offered to patients with pleural mesothelioma: pleurectomy/decortication and extrapleural pneumonectomy. Pleurectomy/decortication is usually a palliative (relieves symptoms without curing the cancer) operation in cases where the entire tumor cannot be removed. It involves removal of the pleura, where the majority of the tumor is located. It is effective in controlling effusions (fluid accumulation) and decreasing the pain caused by the cancer.

Extrapleural pneumonectomy is a far more extensive operation and most often used in cases of localized mesothelioma. The operation is technically difficult and performed only by surgeons in large specialized medical centers. It involves removing the pleura, diaphragm, pericardium, and the whole lung on the side of the tumor. The patient must be in overall good health with no other serious illnesses in order to tolerate the large operation. This operation is intended to remove all or most of the cancer and some surrounding tissues as well.
Surgical treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma is often performed either to help relieve symptoms or to attempt to remove the tumor from the wall of the abdomen and other digestive organs. As with pleural mesothelioma, these tumors are often too extensive to remove completely. Similar operations can be performed to remove a mesothelioma from the pericardium (the sac around the heart).

Conventional Treatments

Conventional mesothelioma therapies include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. You should keep in mind that if you choose one course of action for mesothelioma treatment, you may preclude other courses. All of your options should be considered as soon as possible.

Mesothelioma Surgery

Depending on the stage of a mesothelioma, surgery may be used to remove the cancer and some of the surrounding tissue. Often, however, an operation is not appropriate and the patient may have only minimally invasive procedures to relieve symptoms. A thoracentesis, where fluid in the chest is removed by placing a needle into the chest cavity, may be done to make a patient more comfortable. Sometimes talc or an antibiotic may be injected into the chest cavity to try to prevent the fluid from returning. These techniques are successful in controlling the fluid, at least temporarily, in as many as 90% of patients. Because pleural fluid can compress the lung and cause shortness of breath, these procedures can help patients breathe more easily, however, they do not cure the cancer. In the case of peritoneal mesothelioma, a needle may be inserted into the abdomen to drain the fluid. Similarly, a needle inserted into the pericardium (sac around the heart) can drain the fluid caused by pericardial mesothelioma and help relieve circulatory problems. However, draining this fluid may result in complications. Sometimes the cancer cells spread along the needle path, and a tumor nodule may form under the skin of that area.
Surgery for mesothelioma may be performed for one of two reasons: for palliation (to relieve pain and discomfort caused by the tumor), or to cure. Palliative surgery is typically done in cases where the tumor has already spread beyond the mesothelium and is difficult to completely remove, or in cases where the patient is too ill to tolerate a more extensive operation. Curative surgery is offered when the patient is in otherwise good health and the tumor is thought to be localized and can be completely removed. Unfortunately, microscopic spread of cancer cells into the chest wall and diaphragm are common even when such spread cannot be detected by routine tests. Therefore, given the extent of these operations and their very limited success, the exact role of surgery in treating mesothelioma is often debated.
There are two types of operations that may be offered to patients with pleural mesothelioma: pleurectomy/decortication and extrapleural pneumonectomy. Pleurectomy/decortication is usually a palliative (relieves symptoms without curing the cancer) operation in cases where the entire tumor cannot be removed. It involves removal of the pleura, where the majority of the tumor is located. It is effective in controlling effusions (fluid accumulation) and decreasing the pain caused by the cancer.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer

affecting the membrane lining of the lungs and abdomen.
Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Although uncommon, mesothelioma cancer is no longer considered rare. The primary cause and risk factor for mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.
Making a correct mesothelioma diagnosis is particularly difficult for doctors because the disease often presents with symptoms that mimic other common ailments. There is no known cure for mesothelioma, but treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy have helped to improve the typical mesothelioma prognosis.
Pleural mesothelioma (affecting the lung’s protective lining in the chest cavity) represents about three quarters of all mesothelioma incidence. Peritoneal mesothelioma which affects the abdominal cavity and pericardial mesothelioma, which affects the cardiac cavity, comprise the remainder. Testicular mesothelioma is extremely rare and is typically presents with metastases of the peritoneal variety. There are three recognized mesothelioma cell-types. Between 50 and 70% of all mesotheliomas are of the epithelial variety. While prognosis is generally poor, it is considered less aggressive than sarcomatoid mesothelioma and biphasic mesothelioma, which comprise the remainder of cell type diagnoses.
The cavities within the body encompassing the chest, abdomen, and heart are surround by a membrane of cells known as the mesothelium. Mesothelial cells assist in general organ functions. The mesothelium is particularly important to organs that are commonly in motion, such as expansion or contraction of the lungs, stomach, or heart. Lubrication from the mesothelial cells allows free range of motion within the body. The mesothelium of the chest, abdomen, and cardiac cavity are called the pleura, the peritoneum, and the pericardium, respectively. Each of these groupings of mesothelial cells are extremely critical to the functions of the body structures which they encompass.
Malignancies (cancerous tumors) occurring within the mesothelial membranes are known as malignant mesothelioma, or simply mesothelioma. Benign tumors of the mesothelium are known to occur, but are much rarer than the more common malignant cancer.
While tumors of the mesothelium were first recognized in the late 18th century, it was not until the middle of the 20th century that this particular cancer was studied and examined with more detail. It was at this time where suspicions of the cancer’s causal relationship with asbestos exposure became more substantiated. A joint research venture through the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the University of the Witswater and/Johannesburg General Hospital in South Africa provided the most compelling evidence of the nexus between asbestos exposure and the development of pleural mesothelioma.
Incidence of mesothelioma is still quite rare, with only 2,500-3000 diagnoses in the United States each year. There was a spike in reported diagnoses between 1970 and 1984, which has been attributed to the latency period between diagnosis and the height of industrial exposures, which occurred roughly 40-60 years prior to this time. Exposure was common in nearly all industries but was particularly common in the WWII-era military industrial cycle, including Navy Shipyards.
Although this cancer is much more common in men over the age of 60 (largely attributed to the industrial exposures within male-dominated industries), mesothelioma in women and children has been described as well. Mesothelioma causes for diagnosis in women and children are mainly attributed to secondary exposure to asbestos, as it was not uncommon for men to bring asbestos back into the home on their body or clothing if proper cleaning facilities were not available on site.

Mesothelioma Invades The Chest Wall Or The Esophagus During

Mesothelioma is a shape of cancer that is commonly stimulated by asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is cancer that occurs in the mesothelium. 

Mesothelioma:

Mesothelioma is a case of cancer affecting the cells of mesothelial lining in the chest and abdomen. Mesothelioma cancer can develop in the tissues covering the lungs or the abdomen. Mesothelioma has moreover been established in the stomach and another abdominal organs but it is a large amount rarer in those areas than are both pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Mesothelioma can besides occur in the ovaries and scrotum. Mesothelioma invades the chest wall or the esophagus during the subsequent stage.Mesothelioma moreover gets a long period to develop (typically 15-40 years), so patients nowadays can have been discovered prior to the 1980s when asbestos was not extremely regulated. Mesothelioma is not caused by smoking, as lung cancer so often is.

Symptoms:

Symptoms One of the nearly all ordinary symptoms of mesothelioma is an accumulation of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity. Symptoms include:abdominal painascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen a volume in the abdomen troubles with bowel work load loss. Symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, trouble, or swelling of the narrow part and confront can be indications that the cancer has spread beyond the mesotheliom to other components of the body. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include persistent hurt in the chest and big trouble breathing caused by pleural effusion, or an accumulation of adjustable in the pleural lining Cough, load loss, and fever are besides common symptoms. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma take in weight demise and abdominal pain and swelling due to a buildup of smooth in the abdomen. Symptoms of mesothelioma might not appear until 20 to 50 yr after exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma Law Firm

Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Strauss is nationally recognized for our representation of product liability and mesothelioma victims, and for our understanding of and compassion for injured parties and their families. Our experience in these matters spans two decades, and we have been given Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating.
Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Strauss has consistently been at the top of the list in terms of per case settlement dollars obtained for its asbestos clients. We represent in excess of one thousand eight hundred victims of asbestos disease in their cases against the asbestos industry. Hundreds of these victims suffer from mesothelioma cancer.
We are currently licensed to practice in: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. Almost two decades of asbestos law experience has resulted in close working relationships with mesothelioma attorneys throughout the United States for the representation of individuals with asbestos cancer.
We have dedicated extensive resources to gathering information and evidence against the asbestos industry. We will carefully explain your legal rights to you.

The Attorneys at ELSS

Meet the experienced team of attorneys at ELSS who will work tirelessly on your behalf to earn you the highest settlement award possible.

James F. Early

• Jennifer R. Lucarelli
• Robert Sweeney
• Mark Strauss
• Brian Early

• Ethan J. Early
• Chris Meisenkothen
• Ron Michael Meneo
• Lindalea P. Ludwick

• Mark R. Bibro
• Donni Young
• Richard Bullock
• Brian Kenney

• Elizabeth Murray
• Derell Wilson
• Jason Hodrinsky
• Jessica A. Woodhouse

More About the Attorneys at ELSS

We will explain the multiple paths to follow to maximize your recovery against asbestos manufacturers and suppliers. We will discuss with you the options of law suits, out of court settlements, and claims in the bankruptcy courts. We will seek to determine and advise you as to the best course of action in your case. In many cases we can obtain settlement offers from certain asbestos manufacturers within a few months of retention.

Mesothelioma Law

Mesothelioma is an occupational disease caused by exposure to asbestos. Most of the individuals diagnosed with this rare form of cancer are those who worked with the toxic mineral at a variety of occupations including shipbuilding, construction work, welding, insulating, auto repair, oil refinery and chemical plant work, plumbing, and many more. They may have also been exposed at home through do-it-yourself projects. For decades before the U.S. halted all new uses of asbestos, scientists, doctors, and others knew it was toxic, yet it stayed on the market and companies continued to use it.
Though it's been more than 30 years since the government issued guidelines and warnings about asbestos use, the dangerous mineral can still be found in a high percentage of the homes and commercial buildings that were constructed prior to 1980, so exposure is still a real possibility. Furthermore, it sometimes takes up to 50 years after exposure for victims to be diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer because of the disease's long latency period. Hence, those exposed in the 60s and 70s can still be diagnosed with the disease in the near future.

Lawsuits and Compensation

It has been proven that, in many cases, owners or operators of plants, factories, or other businesses that made use of asbestos knew that the mineral was hazardous to the health of their employees yet no moves were taken to remove asbestos or to replace it with a safer material. Furthermore, those who manufactured asbestos-containing materials were also familiar with its hazardous qualities yet continued to make and market them. As a result, many individuals were wrongfully exposed to this toxic material and many were sickened as well.
During the last few decades, countless individuals who were injured by asbestos and developed mesothelioma have filed lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers and/or the owners of the companies responsible for their exposure in order to seek compensation. Treatment for this aggressive form of cancer is expensive and results in extensive medical bills and loss of income. Furthermore, victims of the disease have a right to be compensated for pain and suffering. In addition, they may wish to seek funds that will insure that their families will be secure after they pass away.

Asbestos Cancer and the Law

From the 1930s through the 1970s, tens of thousands of individuals, including union workers, were exposed to asbestos, mostly in the workplace. Those with jobs such as shipbuilder, construction worker, contractor, insulator, welder, oil refinery worker, chemical plant employee, railroad engineer, auto mechanic, and a host of other occupations were regularly exposed to asbestos on the job. As a result, many hardworking individuals developed serious asbestos diseases, including mesothelioma, a tough-to-fight cancer that continues to claim lives.
Those who worked with asbestos were rarely informed that the material was toxic and that their health was being compromised, despite the fact that executives at companies nationwide knew that hazardous asbestos was making their employees sick. Hence, no protection was provided and workers regularly breathed in dangerous asbestos fibers. Years later, many of these individuals would discover they had asbestosis - or worse - mesothelioma cancer.
The willing exposure of people to known toxins such as asbestos is, in the end, a matter of gross negligence. Employers who allowed exposure to this hazardous material were literally stealing the good health of their workers, resulting in the loss of quality of life for many individuals who would eventually be affected by mesothelioma. Furthermore, spouses, children, and other family members would also face the risk of acquiring mesothelioma through secondhand exposure. Those who grew up near asbestos plants or mines may have also suffered from exposure, not recognizing until years later that their close relationship with toxic asbestos would make them gravely ill.

Mesothelioma Lawyer

Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Strauss has represented mesothelioma victims and their families honestly and effectively for over 30 years.

For over three decades, the mesothelioma law firm of Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney and Strauss has specialized in asbestos litigation. In that time, ELSS has helped thousands of mesothelioma victims get the financial compensation they deserved for the injuries they sustained from asbestos products made and sold by negligent asbestos companies.

Choosing a good mesothelioma lawyer is imperative to ensuring that you will be awarded the highest settlement dollars for your case.

In this section, you can learn more about our firm, our experienced legal team and the outstanding results that we have achieved for our clients. We are confident that after you learn more about us, the clients we serve and our past track record, you will see how we can put our decades of experience winning mesothelioma settlements to work for you and your family.
Initial consultations at Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney and Strauss are always free of charge and are designed to help us evaluate your case and measure your chance for a viable, successful lawsuit. In addition, because Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney and Strauss operates on a contingency fee basis, the client pays nothing unless we succeed in your behalf and money is recovered.

Filing a Mesothelioma Lawsuit

To start the process of seeking compensation for a mesothelioma client, ELSS begins with a brief introductory meeting. During this meeting, an attorney from ELSS will outline the various steps of the legal process; address any questions or concerns you may have related to the legal process; and discuss the ways in which a mesothelioma client has been exposed to asbestos.
After this introductory meeting, ELSS will work on your behalf to collect all diagnosing medical reports from the medical facilities where you were treated. Before a mesothelioma lawsuit is filed, ELSS performs a thorough work history investigation of the diagnosed party. ELSS will collect work history records, including, union records, military service records and other documents to substantiate employment history. In addition to interviewing the mesothelioma client, ELSS will also identify any potential family members, co-workers, and other product identification witnesses who can assist in providing details about the work history and potential asbestos exposure in the case.
After we have completed a thorough product identification and work history investigation, our next step is to identify potential recoveries through asbestos trusts. A number of companies have admitted past asbestos liability and have set up asbestos trusts to compensate mesothelioma clients who present qualifying claims. ELSS is familiar with these asbestos trusts and their requirements for successful claims submission. For the most part, compensation through these trusts happens relatively quickly assuming your particular case meets each trust’s exposure criteria.

After your case has been evaluated for recovery through the asbestos trusts, ELSS then begins investigation of your case against viable companies who have yet to fully admit their asbestos liability., After an investigation period of about 30 to 60 days, ELSS will determine the proper venue to file the legal action. Venue selection is extremely important and is determined based on a number of factors including: a thorough understanding of scheduling, process time-frame, settlement history, and local laws, ELSS can file a lawsuit in any forum where a mesothelioma client has resided, worked, served in the military. ELSS can also fiel your lawsuit in “open forum” states that are agreeable to allowing non-resident / non-exposure claimants to file.
As soon as the proper forum is determined, ELSS will file a formal Complaint on behalf of the mesothelioma client. The Complaint will typically assert various legal causes of action against the asbestos companies likely responsible for causing or contributing to a mesothelioma client’s diagnosis. The number of asbestos companies or defendants named in the Complaint will vary based on the specific type and amount of exposure a mesothelioma client may have had during his/her lifetime.
After filing of the Complaint, the Discovery phase commences and usually lasts 3 to 4 months . Discovery allows ELSS to present information to the Defendant asbestos companies which document where, when and how the mesothelioma client was exposed to particular asbestos products. ELSS can present this information via written documents (interrogatories) and/or oral testimony (deposition) to the Defendant asbestos companies. The Defendant asbestos companies will also be entitled to present information and/or document to your attorney during this period. ELSS will also file appropriate motions in Court during the Discovery phase on the mesothelioma clients behalf. Additionally, ELSS will likely try to reach some financial settlement(s) during the Discovery phase.

Shopkeeper's Mesothelioma Diagnosis Attributed to Workmen's Clothes

An 80-year-old shop owner from York, England, who lived and worked near the city’s carriage works but never worked directly with asbestos, has succumbed to malignant mesothelioma. A coroner’s inquest determined that Connie Spence probably developed the disease due to exposure to asbestos dust brought into her shop on the overalls of carriage works employees that frequented her shop.
Asbestos and asbestos products have long been associated with heavy industry in England and in other countries of the world. In particular, York Carriage Works employees have had a long history of asbestos exposure and many have died of malignant mesothelioma. Other industries in York, a seaside city that has long been known as a manufacturing center, also used asbestos and many now call the city an “asbestos time bomb.”
A recent article in The Press of York noted that Connie operated a shop near the York Carriage Works for decades, catering to men who would come into her establishment covered with a variety of dust and dirt from their work at the plant, which built railway cars. Blue asbestos, one of the most toxic forms of the mineral, was used regularly in the building of the coaches.

Genetic mutation linked to mesothelioma susceptibility

Researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center and University of Hawaii Cancer Center are attempting to study the role of a genetic mutation in individuals, known as BAP1, and the susceptibility to certain cancers. Initial research has shown that those who carry the gene may be a particularly heightened risk of developing both malignant mesothelioma and melanoma of the eye.
Mesothelioma, which is most commonly linked to asbestos and erionite exposure, is an aggressive malignancy affecting the lining of the lungs, chest, and abdominal cavity. The disease has no known cure.
The hope is that the study can determine who may be most at risk for developing malignant mesothelioma, particularly among those who have knowingly been exposed to asbestos or erionite.

Mesothelioma Lawyer

Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney & Strauss has represented mesothelioma victims and their families honestly and effectively for over 30 years.

For over three decades, the mesothelioma law firm of Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney and Strauss has specialized in asbestos litigation. In that time, ELSS has helped thousands of mesothelioma victims get the financial compensation they deserved for the injuries they sustained from asbestos products made and sold by negligent asbestos companies.

Choosing a good mesothelioma lawyer is imperative to ensuring that you will be awarded the highest settlement dollars for your case.

In this section, you can learn more about our firm, our experienced legal team and the outstanding results that we have achieved for our clients. We are confident that after you learn more about us, the clients we serve and our past track record, you will see how we can put our decades of experience winning mesothelioma settlements to work for you and your family.
Initial consultations at Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney and Strauss are always free of charge and are designed to help us evaluate your case and measure your chance for a viable, successful lawsuit. In addition, because Early, Lucarelli, Sweeney and Strauss operates on a contingency fee basis, the client pays nothing unless we succeed in your behalf and money is recovered.

Mesothelioma Awareness Day Recognized Across the United States

New York, New York - September 26, 2011

Today across the United States, cancer patients, environmental advocacy groups, and clinical interest groups are recognizing Mesothelioma Awareness Day. While in recent years, knowledge of this disease has grown among clinicians and researchers; there is still relatively little public awareness or investment into the treatment of the cancer, which affects approximately between 2,500 and 3,000 people in the United States each year.
Representatives of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation appeared on NBC’s Today Show in Rockefeller Center, while other smaller organizations recognized the event in their own way. Various mesothelioma advocacy groups across the country, each affected in their own way by the disease, have organized events to recognize the day. From bike races, to 5K and 8K runs/family walks, these present unique fundraising opportunities for these organizations and the ability to build awareness of what is otherwise a relatively small clinical community.