The Mesothelioma Veterans Center is a veterans advocacy organization specializing in asbestos related VA claims. It provides free assistance to veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos related lung cancer and asbestosis/pleural plaque. These diseases show up decades after exposure to asbestos, making them especially difficult to prove to the VA that they are "service-related." The Veterans Assistance Network serves to provide these veterans with expertise in asbestos claims in the hopes that every veteran with a service related asbestos disease is granted the benefits they deserve. It was founded by Carl Jewett, a retired Naval Officer and VA Accredited Claims Agent.