The Pacific Meso Center Receives $100,000 Towards the Anonymous $1 Million Challenge Pledge to Help Fight Mesothelioma

LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S., August 30, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Pacific Mesothelioma Center (PMC), a division of the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (PHLBI), is pleased to announce a generous $100,000 gift from Roger G. Worthington, of the law office Worthington & Caron P.C. This donation, made in response to the anonymous $1 million challenge grant the PMC recently received, will be used to further the PMC’s ground-breaking research on malignant pleural mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer affecting the lining of the chest.

The gift will be used in support of PHLBI’s two new scientists – Dr. Masahide Tone and Dr. Yukiko Tone. Both scientists have worked at Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of Pennsylvania and Cedars Sinai Medical Center. They will work on novel immunotherapies for mesothelioma. Immunotherapy is an exciting and promising cancer treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. It is the PMC’s firm belief that the future of mesothelioma treatment will involve combination therapy, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Further, rational combinations of various immunotherapies combined with traditional cancer therapies, holds the greatest promise for real progress in the treatment of mesothelioma and other cancers.

Roger Worthington is a long-time advocate for mesothelioma research. In 2005, in honor of his father Punch Worthington, Ph.D., Roger helped establish the David “Punch” Worthington Lab at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. The Punch Worthington Lab. is the home of innovative research on novel strategies for the treatment of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other occupational cancers. Sadly, his father passed away in 2006 from lung-cancer caused by asbestosis.

"We certainly are pleased to provide PMC with additional funds towards the anonymous $1 million matching gift that the institute recently received and I encourage others to donate, no matter how small”, said Roger Worthington, long-term supporter of the PMC and principal of the Law Office of Worthington and Caron PC. “These funds will enable the PMC to continue their great work on mesenchymal stem cells with their groundbreaking research which holds immense potential to lead to effective treatments not only for mesothelioma but perhaps for many other cancers as well.”

“We are very fortunate to have the continued support of Mr. Worthington,” Dr. Cameron said. “We are tremendously indebted to him and to all those who contribute to PHLBI. This money will allow us to accelerate our search for novel therapies to improve both the longevity and the quality of life of those battling mesothelioma, lung cancer and other diseases of the chest."