Mesothelioma is a Mother*ucker

The BBQ Pit
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Well-

Hey, a Pit thread about something other than Trump. Yay?

My uncle Greg is about to die. As in, any moment now. He’s 70.

He was always that hale and hearty fellow, about 6’3" with the handshake that would crush your hand into powder. Powerful, authoritative but friendly and loving. He married my Aunt Danielle, a French woman from the French Riveria, so she and he definitely enjoyed the finer things, her family being the wealthy ones and all.

He did 30 years in the Army, retired as a colonel, worked a civvy job for 5 or so years and then he and my Aunt Danielle built a beautiful retirement home on the Potomac River on the Maryland side, near the Chesapeake Bay. Their own dock, a boat, jetskis for the grandkids, etc. A good life that he had worked hard for and was just enjoying the fruits of his golden years as an empty nester with his wife.

A couple weeks ago, he gets sick. Can’t breathe easily, nobody knows what’s up. He’d been a smoker in the 1960’s and 1970’s but gave it up decades ago, like many of his generation.

Now he’s about to die, and I mean literally any moment now. I’ve been up all night texting his daughter, my cousin, and I am glad I did…she was utterly unconvinced that she needed to go see him and didn’t want to. This is my mom’s younger brother, she’s 74 and in great health.

Things seemed okay for awhile, until they weren’t. He was denied home hospice care. Two days ago they gave him 2-5 weeks to live and so my mom hopped on a plane today with her sister to be with him. Turns out it was good that they did, because by the time she got there he’d slipped into unconsciousness, probably never to return.

My Dad was supposed to drive out there Saturday but now it’s probably going to be for a funeral instead of a hospital visit.

He somehow got mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, amongst other places, and the doctors can only speculate that it was due to military base closures/demolition that he was appointed to oversee in the 1970’s. Apparently, THIS devious form of cancer can take 30-50 YEARS to develop into symptoms, which is what happened to him. The VA is giving him some pushback over covering some of his medical expenses because he smoked back in the day, when evidence CLEARLY points to asbestos exposure being literally the ONLY way you can get this.

I can’t or don’t want to elaborate right this moment, but I can clearly say: FUCK YOU MESOTHELIOMA, FUCK YOU GOVERNMENT (for the exposure and subsequent weaselly words to reduce health coverage expenses for a THIRTY YEAR veteran) and fuck cancer in general.

That is all.

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I’m really, terribly sorry. Mesothelioma is a brutal thing. Peace be with you and your family.

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Very sorry to hear this; best wishes to your family.

4

That’s brutal. So sorry.

5

:frowning: Sorry to hear this.

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Just a note that while asbestos exposure is known to be the major triggering factor in development of mesothelioma, it’s not the only known cause.

Sorry to hear about your uncle.

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Fuck cancer.

8

Fuck mesothelioma. It killed Steve McQueen

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I am not understanding this statement. Depending on his priority category, VA generally doesn’t concern itself with disease etiology to determine health care eligibility. Was he previously enrolled in VA health care? Does he have adjudicated service-connected disability(ies) and, if so, at what combined percentage? Can you further explain?

Your uncle needs to file a claim with the Veterans Benefits Administration NOW for disability compensation for the mesothelioma, and include a detailed occupational history that describes his inservice asbestos exposure. Even if he doesn’t survive the adjudication of the claim, a determination that the mesothelioma is the result of inservice asbestos exposure will provide a monthly monetary benefit to his surviving spouse.

And, yeah, mesothelioma sucks.

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Yes. He needs to file a claim immediately, so his wife will get what’s coming to him. My dad died of Mesothelioma a few years ago. Same type of thing – he seemed perfectly well one day (in fact he pulled the radiator out of his '32 Plymouth), then so sick the next day that he went to the hospital… within a few days we had the diagnosis and within 5 months he was gone.

While he’s at it, he should call a lawyer specializing in Mesothelioma cases. Although no amount of money could ever pay us back for the premature death of my dad (like your uncle, he was hale and fit right up until his diagnosis), but it made us all feel somewhat better to know we were sticking it to those bastard asbestos companies in the only way we could.

11

How horrible. I’m so sorry. :frowning:

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Ignorance has been fought. I’d never known this disease progressed in such a fashion.

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Not to hijack your tragedy with a political screed, but since you mentioned Trump in the o.p. it is only fair to point out that Trump has said that asbestos is 100% safe, “the anti-asbestos movement is a conspiracy rigged by the mob,” and is expected to support the Asbestos FACT Act. Next up, adding tetraethyl lead back into gasoline. Just because, fuck the environment.

I’m very sorry to hear about your uncle. It is terrible to lose any family member, but especially someone as active and generous as you describe him, and just when he was getting to enjoy the fruits of his many years of working. If there is any solace to be had, it is that his suffering was at least brief. I had a grandfather who was very active and popular suffer from cardiomegaly and COPD which came on suddenly but lingered for several years of frustrating limitations. He, too, was a long time smoker as were many in his generation when tobacco companies promoted the health benefits and popularity of cigarette smoking, and suffered the terrible but all too common consequences. I wish you well in getting benefits covered through the Veteran’s Administration and to your family in coping with the loss.

Stranger

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Unless you’re playing scrabble.

And, to second/third/whatever the notion, cancer DOES suck.

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(((((FoieGrasIsEvil)))))

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I lost my beloved sister-in-law to metastatic breast cancer about eighteen years ago after a twenty year run with it. This sounds much, much, worse. Condolences.

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Dad, his sister and their eldest brother all died of mesothelioma. It may also have been the cancer that took previous generations; the last two centuries’ worth of family tree are full of “cancer, 65yo” (Dad lowered it to 63, uncle re-averaged with 67, aunt went back with the trend at 65). And I dunnow man, as much as it sucked, I’m glad they all made it to their 60s. Aunt’s first attempt at dying of cancer (breast) had been at 29.

My own question of “are you sure it’s lung cancer? You say you’re finding cancer cells in the pleura but no tumor, are you 100% sure that it’s originating in the lungs? Is there such a thing as cancer of the pleura?” led to local cancer protocols being changed. Aunt and uncle got the correct diagnosis and a better treatment thanks to that change. And I’d like to pit any system which is more focused on blaming the patient or avoiding treating him than on providing the best medical care, whether it is for cure or relief. It just isn’t right, damnit! They’re people, not… cost centers!

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This makes very sad reading and I willingly join you in your curses against cancer and the heartlessness and stupidity of bureaucracy. It must be some consolation though, however small, that your uncle lived such a productive, fulfilling and interesting life. From your description he was clearly a wonderful character. My heart goes out to you in your loss.

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Thanks all. He died just after midnight a couple days ago. My mom said it was pretty terrible, him gasping for air like a fish out of water, completely knocked out on morphine and Atavan.

Apparently he just suddenly stopped breathing and peacefully passed. He’ll be buried at Arlington, where his parents are buried. Eventually my family is going to run Arlington out of real estate if they all decide to get interred there!

:frowning:

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I’m sorry for your loss. No one should have to die the way you describe, nor to watch someone else go in that fashion.