Some people often swallow asbestos fibres which may cause severe types of diseases such as peritoneal Mesothelioma. Factories, companies and power stations that expose their employees to the cancer-causing substance are aware of the highly negative effect it has on the health of the people but still refrain from letting their employees know about it and do not even enforce the use of protective clothing or follow other health and safety laws.
Mesothelioma is actually a cancer of the cells present in the lining which protects the internal organs of the body such as the lungs, heart and stomach etc. It usually takes 20-50 years after the exposure for the disease to develop so it afflicts the people in their later or retirement years. There is no known permanent cure for Mesothelioma as we soon found out.
Tom had always been of a health-freak and faced little or no major health problems. When he became an electrician after dropping out of college, he had been as fit as anyone could be. He found his work taxing but he gave it his all and at times, he would work long hours.
He was 24 when we got married. Even by that time, his health was suffering from no serious setback. He neither smoked nor drank excessively. He had no dangerous or rash hobbies. However, he was quite involved in sports and would play football untiringly. A time came, when he was advised to play no longer. He was 43, when he was diagnosed with malignant pleural Mesothelioma which had affected his right lung and the areas surrounding it. The diagnosis shattered all of our plans and dreams and we were forced to leave off our occupations.
He had consulted a doctor after undergoing a steady deterioration in his health. He had started to cough really bad and even coughed up phlegm. He had been a healthy worker throughout his life who worked for more than half of a day but now he found difficulty in even working for a couple of hours. Fatigue would overcome him in doing small tasks and he would feel exhausted for the rest of day. Sometimes, he also suffered from shortness of breath and his voice became croaky. He finally visited the doctor when he had developed a severe pain in his chest.
The doctor did not take his troubles lightly and suggested him to undergo a number of scans. He was admitted to a hospital and underwent CT and MRI scans. The scans showed that he had developed a build up of fluid in his right lung cavity. Thoracentesis was performed by the surgeons to drain the fluid. However, when the doctor took his tissue samples from his lungs for biopsy, it was confirmed that he was suffering from an incurable disease.
The doctor said that the reports have shown he had been exposed to asbestos in his early occupation but Tom was not aware about it. At fist, he was unable to take it well but after receiving a lot of reassurances from the doctor he braced himself to face the disease. The doctor had suggested a number of treatments, which included radiation treatments and other surgeries. Apart from that, he was asked to leave off work and spend time at home under the care of well-trained persons. He greatly missed playing football but he had gone very weak and developed a little pain in his back too.
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