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MESOTHELIOMA SPECIALIST SPOTLIGHT: DR. ROBERT CAMERON, MD FACS

Dr. Robert Cameron MesotheliomaDr. Robert Cameron is the Director of the Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and is widely considered one of the leading experts in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. He is both a professor of surgery and a senior surgeon at UCLA and also serves as an advisor for the Pacific Mesothelioma Center.

One of Cameron’s biggest achievements is his development of the pleurectomy / decortication surgical procedure, which spares the lungs of mesothelioma patients who otherwise would have a lung removed. Patients who are generally healthy and physically fit enough to handle invasive surgery are good candidates for this procedure, which involves two main parts. The first is a pleurectomy, where the chest cavity is opened up and the surgeon removes portions of the lining of the affected lung(s). The second part, decortication, involves the removal of tumor growth inside the pleural lining.

Patients who receive the procedure, which Cameron has performed more than 300 times, typically have a longer life expectancy – ranging from nine to 19 months following surgery – than those who don’t. While there is no known cure for mesothelioma, Cameron’s goal with this procedure is to save the lung, remove as much as the tumor as possible, and treat mesothelioma as a chronic illness. In fact, he is outspoken in his opposition to the arguably radical practice of lung removal (extrapleural pneumonectomy, or EPP).

After his father, grandfathers, one uncle, and two cousins all died young (under the age of 55) from various cancers, Cameron decided to take action and work toward a cure. Quite simply, he was (and remains) determined to live a long life, despite the odds that his genetics have given him. When he first got into medicine, mesothelioma patients were given little hope of extending their lives or improving their quality of life, but he has made it his mission to offer some optimism (while being mindful not to give them false hope).

Cameron attended medical school at both the University of Michigan and UCLA (where he got his medical degree). After his second year, he obtained early membership to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society after his second year. After completing his degree, Cameron received training as a clinical associate in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland; a general surgery residency at UCLA; and a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Cornell-New York Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Cameron co-founded the Alexandria, Virginia-based Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in 1999, the first medical research foundation focused solely on research into the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. He has authored or co-authored a number of papers on oncology and thoracic surgery and has reviewed articles for Cancer Research, the Annals of Surgical Oncology, the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Immunology, and Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and other medical publications. In addition, he has written more than 38 medical book chapters, edited two medical textbooks, and has given several lectures on mesothelioma treatment and related matters.

 

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Did You Know?

  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The highest award of compensatory damages ever upheld on appeal in a mesothelioma case is $30.3 million.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The largest punitive damages verdict ever upheld on appeal in a mesothelioma case is $18 million.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are over $30 billion in asbestos trust funds to compensate victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are more than 50 bankruptcy trusts accepting claims to compensate victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are many “asbestos dockets” that permit living mesothelioma patients to obtain a jury verdict in less than 1 year.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    In 2015, more than 2000 mesothelioma cases were filed in the United States.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    In some mesothelioma cases, settlements can be obtained in less than 1 year.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Thousands of different companies have been defendants in mesothelioma cases over the past 40 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 77 peritoneal mesothelioma cases, the average life expectancy (median survival period) was 75.7 months, or over 6 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 77 peritoneal mesothelioma patients, 73.8% were living after 3 years, and 65.3% were living after 5 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 77 peritoneal mesothelioma patients, 64% were treated with HIPEC and cytoreductive surgery.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of 303 pleural mesothelioma patients, the average life expectancy (median survival period) was 18.4 months.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    According to a 2015 study of pleural mesothelioma patients, 73.1% were still living after 1 year, and 22.9% were still living after 3 years.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    In 2015, the largest number of mesothelioma cases were filed in the following 10 courts: (1) Madison County, IL; (2) Cook County, IL; (3) St. Louis, MO; (4) Los Angeles, CA; (5) New York, NY; (6) Philadelphia, PA; (7) New Castle County, DE; (8) Middlesex County, MA; (9)Middlesex County, NJ; (10) Kanawha County, WV.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The states with the largest number of diagnosed mesothelioma cases are: New York, New Jersey, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    There are about 3000 mesothelioma cases diagnosed in the United States each year.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    About 1 in 100,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the United States.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    More than 80% of all mesothelioma cases occur in the pleura (pleural mesothelioma).
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Less than 20% of all mesothelioma cases occur in the peritoneum (peritoneal mesothelioma).
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    About 22% of all mesothelioma cases occur in women.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    A history of asbestos exposure can be found in more than 80% of mesothelioma cases.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    More than 30% of all mesothelioma patients in the United States were exposed to asbestos in the military.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma can be caused by laundering, or other household contact with, work clothing contaminated with asbestos.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma can be caused by work with (direct exposure) or around (bystander exposure) asbestos-containing products.
  • Mesothelioma Facts
    Mesothelioma Facts
    The average time between a person’s first exposure to asbestos and the development of mesothelioma (latency period) is more than 40 years.
 

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