Mesothelioma Law Blog

Merlin Olsen Dies from Mesotheliom

I’m sorry to hear this news but the famous NFL football player Merlin Olsen has just been added to the list of stars who passed away because of a rare disease namedMesothelioma.

Merlin Olsen is a former player of the team Los Angeles Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” for 15 years until he turned into acting in the TV show Little House on the Prairie.

So what is this disease named Mesothelioma which took away Merlin Olsen’s life? Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which is the effect of inhaling a chemical named Asbestos. Unfortunately, Merlin Olsen was already diagnosed with Mesothelioma in June of last year and has undergone 3 chemotheraphies since then to combat it.

I really don’t know how Olsen inhaled some of these Asbestos but accordingly, he filed a recent lawsuit against NBC Studios, NBC Universal, and 20th Century Fox for exposing him to Asbestos in January of this year. I guess this sad news should be a warning sign to these companies to take a closer look on the safety of their studios.

Merlin Olsen will surely be remembered not only as a great football player but also one of the best actors. He will definitely be missed. RIP Merlin Olsen.

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Mesothelioma Patient Gambles on Life, Wins Again

A mesothelioma patient who bet bookmakers he would outlive his doctor’s predictions collected his second round of winnings June 1, 2009. Jon Matthews received more than $8,000 yesterday, bringing his total winnings to more than $16,000 so far.

The 59-year-old Buckinghamshire, England resident was diagnosed with mesothelioma in April 2006 and even after undergoing a series of treatments including lung surgery, doctors told him not to make any plans for Christmas of that year.

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Health fears over former Bristol brewery workers

The wife of a Bristol man who died of an asbestos-related cancer is trying to track down his former workmates as she battles to win compensation.

June Moore's husband, Frank, was 70 when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June 2007. He died shortly after his diagnosis, in September that year, leaving behind his wife and four grown-up children.

Mr Moore, who lived in Bedminster, is thought to have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibres when he was an employed as a process worker at the Courage Brewery where he worked from 1969 to 1992.

Mrs Moore said: "During his employment, he moved around the brewery working alongside huge vats.

"It is believed that he came into contact with asbestos dust and fibres from asbestos cladding within the brewery. The brewery premises also housed pipes lagged with insulation material believed to be asbestos.

"In 1986 an asbestos removal company removed asbestos cladding from beams inside the brewery, which had become badly worn.

"Following my husband's diagnosis of mesothelioma, we were both devastated. His condition deteriorated quickly and he was in a lot of pain. He has left behind a family that misses him deeply."

An inquest into Mr Moore's death took place in December 2007, when a verdict of death as a result of industrial disease was recorded.

The brewery was formerly known as George's Brewery. It closed in 1999 and there are now apartments on the site.

There are a variety of conditions which are thought to be caused by inhaling asbestos and they can take many years to develop.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer which most commonly occurs in the lining of the lungs and is extremely rare in the absence of asbestos exposure. Symptoms typically start with breathlessness and chest pain and it is often associated with rapid and significant weight loss and heavy and sudden sweating, typically at night.

Claire Harte, from law firm Boyes Turner, which represents Mrs Moore, said: "Frank Moore's inquest showed that he died as a result of being exposed to asbestos.

"It is vital that people who worked at the brewery between 1969 and 1992 come forward to assist us with our inquiries."

Miss Harte is appealing for anyone who worked with Mr Moore at the brewery to email charte@boyesturner.com or call 0800 8840718.

Widow joins fight against mesothelioma

A widow whose husband died from an asbestos-related disease has joined the fight to raise awareness about the illness and is supporting work to find a cure.

Alan Sheppard, of West Bank, Ambergate, died from mesothelioma, a type of cancer related to asbestos exposure, in September, just one month after being diagnosed with the disease.

He contracted the condition as a result of being exposed to asbestos while training as an electrician at just 16.

His wife Jan, 55, is now backing the charity Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team in the hope that others will not have to go through the same experiences.

She said: "My darling husband innocently worked with asbestos as a very young man.

"His premature death was caused by merely going out to work.

"When I visit Alan's grave I think to myself that I should not be there looking at the flowers I've taken along to the grave.

"My husband should not be dead. He was too young to die.

"We were looking forward to our retirement and growing old together in such a beautiful part of Derbyshire, but that has all been taken away from us.

"We need to find a cure for this cruel and devastating disease."

She will be joining dozens of other supporters at Action Mesothelioma Day which will be held in Derby on Friday, February 27, from 10am until 10pm.

As part of the event a meeting will be held at the Quad, in the Market Place, with speakers including nurses and trade union representatives, who fight for compensation for people who have contracted the disease.

Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team is fighting for more funding for research into mesothlioma.

At the moment most of the research is funded by donations from families such as Jan's.

Jan said: "The Australian government funds research to develop better treatment for mesothelioma.

"We in the UK want similar hope. Sadly there was no hope for my husband."

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Bishop Retiring Early Because of Mesothelioma Treatment

The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Ian Cundy, is to stand down next July.

He was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung cavity, a year ago, and is currently under going his second course of treatment for the condition.

He said he was sad to be leaving his post earlier than expected but felt he would not be able to meet the demands of his role.

"I am naturally sorry to be leaving earlier than I expected," he said.
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My heart goes out to this man. It must be tough having this horrible disease alter you everyday life.

Judge William Forbes Mesothelioma Story

William Forbes was from Norfolk Virginia. As a young man he enlisted in the Army, but arrived in Europe too late to take part in the action. Returning to the vicinity of his home town, he went back to school, obtained his high school diploma and went to college. During his college years, he spent two summer breaks working as an apprentice in the nearby shipyards. As a rigger's helper, he worked mostly in the deep innards of ships that were under repair.

Of course, these ships were lined with massive amounts of insulation made of asbestos. It was during these summers that he decided to attend law school. It was also during these summers that his exposure to asbestos would later lead to malignant mesothelioma.

After graduating from law school and entering law practice for several years, Judge Forbes ventured into politics. He became the first city attorney for the new City of Chesapeake and in 1975 became the areas first judge. In 1980, he became a judge in the Circuit Court.

More than 20 years after becoming a judge, in 1997, he noticed a pain in his left shoulder that was suspected to be arthritis. He underwent treatment, but it persisted. In 1998, a thoracic surgeon noted a large lung tumor on an x-ray. Judge Forbes was given the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The Judge learned that mesothelioma was a deadly disease that was related to asbestos exposure. He thought back almost 50 years earlier when he had worked in the shipyards and was exposed to asbestos every day during his summer breaks. Late in late 1998, Judge Forbes died of mesothelioma.
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Word of Mouse Issue 30

In his essay, The Median Isn't the Message (www.cancerguide.org/median_not_msg.html) , Stephen Jay Gould recalls that when he was first diagnosed with abdominal mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, his consultant suggested that maybe he shouldn't read too much about his condition. Gould, of course, ignored the advice, and headed straight for Harvard's medical library. He soon discovered why ignorance can be bliss; his illness was incurable and the median mortality after diagnosis was only eight months. Happily, Gould beat the odds, and survived his mesothelioma, but not before he had terrified himself.

This happened more than twenty years ago. Nowadays it doesn't require a trip to the library to scare yourself witless; just a few mouse clicks will do it. Ivan Noble, who recently died of brain cancer, documented his two year struggle with the disease on the BBC Online website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2253201.stm). His third entry, titled ‘Net Terrors', written shortly after his diagnosis, tells how he was browsing the internet at four one morning, when he came across a site where a patient with the same tumour had asked a doctor how many people with their condition were still alive three years after diagnosis. The reply was “none”. Noble, quite sensibly, decided that, for a while at least, he was going to stay clear of medical web sites.

However, there is one group of people who cannot stay clear of such sites. They are the internet hypochondriacs; or, as they have been called, the cyberchondriacs. In the past, hypochondriacs would scour medical dictionaries and the like in order to track symptoms and self-diagnose; now they interrogate search engines and visit online forums. It's a growing problem. An American study in 2003, found that eighty percent of adult internet users had at some time used the net to research illness related subjects; and some six percent use it for that reason everyday. According to Dr Trefor Roscoe, a GP and computer specialist, doctors are now being inundated by patients with cyberchondria or “internet printout syndrome”, as it is also called.

Of course, there is nothing new about hypochondria; the syndrome has been recognised since the days of the Roman physician Galen. But the problem with the internet is that it meets and fuels the hypochondriac's obsessive need for health-related information in a way which no other medium has managed. Brian Fallon, the co-author of Phantom Illness: Recognizing, Understanding and Overcoming Hypochondria , is in no doubt that in this regard the internet has made things worse for the person suffering health anxiety.

The trouble is compounded by the fact that the information on the internet is unregulated. This is the perennial problem for anybody who uses the internet for the purposes of research. Information is frequently deprived of the authority which makes it reliable. Therefore, if you're suspicious that the tingling in your limbs means that you have multiple sclerosis, it is a certainty that in time you'll find someone on a health forum willing to confirm your suspicions; or, if you're feeling tired, and suspect that it might be the sign of some serious illness, it won't be long before somebody suggests that you have lupus or some other weird autoimmune disease.

Fallon advises his patients to stay clear of the internet: “In a loose sense, a hypochondriac becomes almost addicted to looking up information, examining himself, and getting reassurance from other people. Checking just makes things worse.” Ivan Noble also struck a cautionary note: “It is wonderful that so much information is available and that patients can be as well informed as they want to be. But it is very difficult to filter that information. [...] Along with the details of therapies, diets and clinical trials, there is cold, clinical information out there about how many people die and how they die. Link leads to link and it is easy to terrify oneself like I did.”

Hypochondriacs beware, then; the internet can seriously damage your mental health.
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