WiRED and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation honor Mesothelioma Awareness Day, September 26, 2015, by launching their partnership

BY SUELLEN CRANO, PH.D.

WiRED International’s mission is to bring vital medical and health education, free of charge, to underserved communities around the world. WiRED’s health education library of modules geared toward medical professionals, health care workers, and grass roots audiences numbers more than 300. WiRED International recently has forged a partnership with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation to develop educational modules on mesothelioma, a deadly cancer affecting the lungs, the peritoneal space, the heart, and/or the testicles, primarily caused by exposure to asbestos.

 

The WiRED International and Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation partnership will make the mesothelioma modules available free of charge to anyone who needs them. These modules will be written by mesothelioma experts, will be peer reviewed by other experts in cancer research and teaching, and then will undergo WiRED’s process to transform the modules into a series of interactive fact-based educational modules. The production costs of the first two modules are being donated by WiRED Board Member, Dr. Suellen Crano, who is a peritoneal mesothelioma patient and survivor, and an active member of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation patient group. If you would like to donate as well, please visit www.curemeso.org/donate (links here to both WiRED’s and MARF’s donation sites).

 


Suellen Crano, Ph.D., is a retired Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at Western University, a graduate university of medical sciences in Pomona, California. She serves on the Board of the College of Graduate Nursing at Western, as well as on the Board of the Arizona Cancer Center. In addition she is a long-time member of WiRED's Governing Board.

The Meso Foundation is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma and easing the suffering caused by this cancer by funding peer-reviewed mesothelioma research, providing patient support services and education, and asking Congress for increased federal funding for mesothelioma research. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than $9 million for research. As part of its education programs, the Foundation provides information about the disease, its symptoms and its treatment, points out the dangers of asbestos and other potential mesothelioma causes, and shows ways to identify them and avoid them in order to prevent future cases of mesothelioma.

 

Like WiRED International, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation also seeks to marshal and use resources responsibly, as effectively as possible, with financial transparency and by adhering to health policy guidelines that foster ethical clinical and administrative practices and ethical decision-making.

 

Other services provided by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation include helping the community obtain the most up-to-date information about treatment options, connecting members of the community with mesothelioma treatment specialists, and providing assistance, emotional support and community.