Case Study For Mesothelioma Attorney Alaska
SIBLING RIVALRY NO MORE
Death anniversary
Jason*, 45, was helping his wife set the table in their sparse living room. Soon the room would be filled with people to celebrate the life of Bill, his older brother. Bill* was no longer physically present in their lives but his memory had lingered on like a sweet smelling rose bush. Bill was a simple soul and had many friends in the local community. He had expired 3 years ago at the age of 53 due to complications arising from mesothelioma of the lungs also known as pleural mesothelioma.
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Mesothelioma of the lungs
The mesothelioma of the lungs or pleural mesothelioma is one the rare forms of cancer that hits the fragile lining of the lungs. This delicate and thin lung lining is known as pleura. There are other two types of mesotheliomas as well such as pericardial mesothelioma and abdominal mesothelioma. These three kinds of mesothelioma are prevalent in the asbestos exposed population
Life with asbestos
Bill did not hold a regular job. In fact he did not like working under anyone and believed in being his own boss. So he trained himself to be a plumber and was often busy fixing up plumbing appliances in the homes of his neighborhood. Jason would often suggest to his older brother that he should set up his own plumbing firm so that he could earn extra money but Bill wasn’t interested. He enjoyed doing these freelance jobs as it got a chance for him to mingle with his neighbors and to catch up on all the local gossip and news.
Little did he know that the pipes and all plumbing appliances that he handled were filled with deadly asbestos fibers. He would often recommend asbestos pipes to his fellow plumbers as asbestos is an excellent heat resistant and versatile natural material. He had tried other plumbing material but nothing beat asbestos manufactured stuff.
Shocking discovery
However Jason his younger brother was an internet junkie and one day came upon the dangerous side effects of asbestos fibers. He was horrified and shocked to discover that even little asbestos exposure could lead to lung cancers, asbestosis and mesothelioma. Jason waited for his brother to come back from his plumbing job and then told Bill what he had discovered. Bill chuckled and felt highly amused. He completely disregarded Jason’s findings and carried on with his much loved plumbing jobs.
You can depend on your family
Bill started to feel slightly breathless after a couple of years and he was diagnosed with mild asthma. He was given the required pills to deal with his asthma. But that didn’t work out for Bill. Jason, who was very concerned about his brother’s health, took Bill to a specialist and laid out his fears. Fortunately for Bill and Jason the specialist was an empathetic person and carefully listened to Jason’s asbestos findings.
The lung specialist made Bill go through a battery of rigorous diagnostic tests including a tissue biopsy and it was diagnosed that Bill did indeed have mesothelioma and that too pleural mesothelioma. But because of Jason, Bill’s mesothelioma was caught in the early stages and therefore there was much that could be done to deal with the malignant cells. It hadn’t spread to lymph nodes and gone outside of his lungs. The specialist recommended a triangular treatment comprising of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Suitability for surgery
Bill had to undergo extrapleural pneumonectomy or EPP which is a major surgery in which the lungs are removed from the damaged side. Besides the pleura, diaphragm and pericardium are also removed so that mesotheliomic cells do not spread to these susceptible areas. There was a catch in EPP. Not everyone could go through it as the surgery candidate has to be fit enough to climb up and down some flights of stairs without losing his/her breath. Fortunately for Bill since his pleural mesothelioma was in a very early stage and he had mild asthma, he passed the requirement and was cleared to go ahead for the surgery.
The day of the surgery
The experienced and confident surgeon made a clean and perfect incision on the chest. After skillfully opening it from the front, he began his work of removing the damaged areas from Bill’s lungs. Bill’s wound from the surgery was approximately 9 inches long. Later on the surgeon came to meet him and gave him the good news that the surgery had gone really well and that he will have to stay in the hospital for about 15 days. Bill went home and took 2 months to completely recover from the EPP. In between his recovery, he would go for follow up visits and his doctors were happy with his progress. To completely finish off the malignant cancer cells, Bill had to go through the compulsory radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Radiation starts
In the radiation treatment that was given to Bill, there was an external apparatus from which high energy rays were pointed towards the pleural mesothelioma tumors. The rays destroyed the mesotheliomic cancer cells. Bill was given these treatments on a regular basis for over more than a month. Bill had to suffer the radiation side effects such as anemia, tiredness, vomiting, hair fall and low blood count.
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Chemo cycles
Bill had to undergo chemo in addition to the radiation treatments to ensure that mesotheliomic cells are completely destroyed. Bill was given a combination of cytotoxic drugs through the drip inserted in his vein. The first cycle of chemo session for Bill involved the giving of drug combo over a few days. Then he was given a break for 2 weeks for him to feel better from the after effects. After 2 weeks the next cycle of chemo session began. These chemo sessions were really tough on Bill as its side effects were tremendous. He had all of the typical side effects associated with chemotherapy. He had severe nausea, constant vomiting, relentless hair loss, regular feeling of tiredness, flu and overall weakness.
Goodbye brother
Bill managed to survive a good couple of years and enjoy his remaining days with Jason and his family. Friends and neighbors would often drop in during those years sharing with him all the neighborly news and gossip that Bill so enjoyed.
Bill is buried in the breathtaking icy land of Alaska.
* Names of people have been changed to protect their privacy |
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