Asbestos Tragedy and Hope( Granddaughter of Mesothelioma Vict...),Health

Granddaughter of Mesothelioma Victim Will Address Effort to Find Cure

WASHINGTON, June 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Seventh grader, Lexi Miletto, whose grandfather, Joseph Miletto died in 2005 of peritoneal mesothelioma, will be a featured speaker at the Gala Dinner on Friday evening, June 27th, part of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation's International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, which runs Thursday, June 26th through Saturday, June 28th at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C.

"Pop Pop used to take me on trips to the movies, to go swimming, to Dorney Park," recalled Lexi. "For six to eight months we didn't know what was wrong with him. He was 68 but he was really strong and healthy. He didn't have any grey hairs."

Joseph Miletto worked an aide on the buses for Laidlaw Transportation, and previously in the Navy and brick making where he was constantly exposed to carcinogenic asbestos fibers. Asbestos is so deadly that there is no known safe level of exposure. Even a tiny bit of fiber can cause mesothelioma. Studies show that this cancer claims the approximately 3,000 Americans each year.

Joseph Miletto died ten weeks after diagnosis.

"I'm speaking at the Gala because we are the future and we have to pick up the torch to end asbestos and find a cure for meso," said Lexi. "And because I think it's important to tell my story of what happened in my family. I know Pop Pop would want me to talk about it ... and I want him to still be proud of me."

Lexi is an Honors student at Lower Macungie Middle School in Macungie, Pennsylvania where she will be entering eighth grade in the fall. She is on Student Council, sings in the school choir and is an avid volleyball player. She lives in Alburtis, Pennsylvania with her parents and her two younger brothers.

The Meso Foundation is the nonprofit collaboration of patients and families, physicians, advocates and researchers dedicated to eradic
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