About two weeks ago, my Scottish Toastmaster friend was diagnosed with Mesothelioma. (That’s the asbestos cancer.)
When Dan discovered he had mesothelioma, he accepted the news with as much positivity as he could. He expressed gratitude for his long and generally healthy life. Dan thought he must have started developing this cancer over 40 years ago. As is generally the case with this cancer, he was given less than a year to live. By the end of that first week, Dan had his things in order and was using an oxygen machine all of the time.
Dan’s final hope was that he would not wake up again...
The first time I heard Dan speak, I had to listen through his Scottish accent, but then I fell into his gentle rhythms and learned about the wee black birds, which migrate across the world. It was through these birds that Dan marked the seasons.
They were his passion.
I had no understanding of mesothelioma, so I looked it up.
This is what I found:
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer, caused by asbestos. Currently there is no cure for mesothelioma. The cancer cells develop in the protective sac that covers most of the body’s internal organs. Mesothelioma generally starts in the outer membrane of the lungs. Mesothelioma usually develops in only one lung, but the tumour grows across the lung until the entire organ is encased.
Mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma can take as long as 40 years to develop.
The symptoms of mesothelioma include: breathlessness, dry cough and pain. The symptoms in the later stages of the disease include: sudden and unexplained weight loss, spitting up sputum, spitting up blood, swallowing problems and hoarseness.
On the 5th of July, Dan closed his eyes... and didn’t wake up again.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/mesothelioma
1 comment:
Dan got his final hope.
I hope he is in a better place now.
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