Asbestosis

Adelaide,
4/04/04

Sunday Mail
reporter: Craig Clarke

Translated by William Kovacic

Case No. 68... an official asbestos victim in Whyalla... passed away three weeks ago after three years of agonizing pain and fading hope. He stopped his medication 14 days ago and died in great distress, just like so many others. He passed on March 26, 2004... he didn't live to see his 60th birthday, which was today, April 4, 2004.

He passed away at home, surrounded by his youngest daughter and his wife.
He leaves behind a wife, three children, and four grandchildren.

Retired electrician Mr. Geoff Pop (whom I wrote about in a previous post) once said:
"As electricians back when we were learning the trade, we used to make little clumps out of asbestos (just scooping up the dust from the floor)"
and we’d play around with them, said 59-year-old Geoff Pop, who is now dying of cancer.

Mrs. Wendy Pop says that Geoff really wanted to see a full investigation into the asbestos issue... but he didn't make it. He wanted to ensure that people suffering from asbestos disease receive better compensation.
His final wish was for a thorough investigation into this whole situation, because neither the state nor the federal government seems interested. It's estimated there could be as many as 800 deaths caused by asbestos in Whyalla alone—a town that employed about 20,000 people over a 37-year period.

And what about the victims from the construction sites, the steel mills, and all those other industries?
We are talking about one small town here, with a population that peaked at around 36,000.

BP claimed they weren't aware of the dangers of asbestos, even though medical evidence has existed since the 1920s,
but it seems they were just hiding it.

In the meantime, my six-month CT scan and check-up are coming up next month, and I’ve only just returned home from my back surgery.

As always, I’m taking a Realistic approach... what will be, will be.

Geoff was such a positive person. When I first got sick 12 years ago, he gave me some advice: "Stay positive... I'm lucky I'm not sick like you." Unfortunately, many diseases don't care how positive you are... and my friend Geoff is gone.

Rest in peace.

🙂 😉 😎

May 2, 2004

Sunday Mail
Reporter: Craig Clarke
Translated by William Kovacic

I won't keep repeating what’s already happened. I'll just jump in with the latest updates as they come.
The government promised to launch a full investigation into this whole mess here in the States. So far? Nothing. People have packed up and left Whyalla, just like they've walked away from mines all over the country. Honestly, nobody even knows the true death toll living in Southern Australia anymore. For the first time in a year, families are finally starting to reach out to the Sunday Mail.

Where does the data for Whyalla come from?

Gary Beckman had a hard time telling his wife, "I love you."
He passed away in the hospital on April 23, 2004. He was 59 last month.

He passed away from Mesothelioma, just like everyone else. For the last three months, he couldn't even eat; he was in constant pain and struggling to breathe.

In the afternoon before he passed, he asked his wife if she knew where his wedding suit and shirt were. He wanted to be buried in them.

He left around 10:30 PM in really bad shape. Everyone knew it was the end. An ambulance took him to the hospital, where they ran blood tests and one last X-ray, then gave him a heavy dose of morphine to manage the pain.

He passed away very peacefully over the next five hours. His wife mentioned he had never looked quite as calm as he did in the moment he died.

Jamie Clark74, what do you think?

Euthanasia is a real thing, despite what those idiots believe—they seem to think people just drop dead for no reason!

How much would it take for that poor guy to die? Honestly, 500mg of morphine would probably be more than enough.

Just another victim here. For the rest of us, my advice from Winonin: stay positive—it might just help you heal.

If you hadn't tested positive, you wouldn't have even gotten sick.

Or am I just counting my blessings? If you don't go to the doctor, you won't even know you're sick.

=======================================

May 3, 2002. Had my six-month checkup today. The CT scan looks good—no changes or signs of things getting worse.

Today is my lung function test and capacity measurement. To be honest, I’m pretty nervous about smoking. Ever since my surgery for a two-level Laminectomy and spinal stenosis, things haven't been easy. Since they had to remove part of my lamina, I still deal with some lingering discomfort. Smoking always seems to trigger pain in my back, behind my lungs, and even up into my neck.

Realistically speaking, I’m doing better than ever!

👋 👋

🙂 😉 😎

Just got back from seeing my lung specialist, Dr. M. A. Southcott.
She’s a professor who teaches students, too. When she knows I might be interested in a specific topic, she invites me to sit in on her lectures, especially when they cover asbestosis.

My situation dates back six years now. Things haven't gotten worse, but there's still no guarantee I won't develop mesothelioma or asbestosis... particularly given my history as a heavy smoker. The people passing away right now were exposed much more heavily than I was, and about ten years before my time.
For me, dealing with partially calcified Pleural Plaque is enough; I'll take it as a win if my lungs don't start feeling like they're encased in plaster.

I'm sticking to checkups every six months, along with High Resolution CT scans.

Maybe I'll get lucky... but if not, there isn't much else anyone can do!

That’s not being positive... just being realistic.

👋

🙂 😉 😎

Asbestosis
First off, I want to thank Jamie Clark74 for putting together this excellent thread.
I’ve read through everything—partly because I’ve personally had contact with, or spent time in, spaces containing asbestos myself.
It was always common knowledge that prolonged exposure leads to asbestosis, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that even minor exposure to asbestos dust can trigger illness in some people.
Some of you might remember how back in the day, all those industrial plants and shipyards used to line everything with asbestos sheeting.
What I'm really wondering about is the actual level of risk for workers versus people who just had occasional contact with that dust.
Does anyone know if there are specific statistics out there? For example, does spending just one day a year in a dusty environment increase your disease risk by a certain percentage?
I’ve tried digging for those kinds of numbers, but so far... nothing.
Does anyone have any recent findings or updates?
Even today, asbestos is still used in corrugated roofing, though it's bound with cement—is that still dangerous, and if so, to what extent?
Same question applies to asbestos water pipes, which are still being used in parts of the US today.

AUSTRALIA:
The company's attempt to cut its losses really highlights the devastating health toll left behind by asbestos use.

Bob Burton

Washington, April 30 (IPS) — Over the past month, a government inquiry has been digging through the internal files of an American construction giant. They’re trying to figure out why a fund set up to cover asbestos diseases for workers and consumers is now staring down bankruptcy.

The investigation really underscores the ongoing health toll caused by asbestos lingering in American homes, even decades after we banned its domestic use and sale. It’s also pretty unsettling when you consider that the heaviest use of asbestos today is happening throughout the Asia-Pacific region, specifically in places like India and Thailand.

"No one can say for sure exactly how many lives will be lost to asbestos. It’s honestly devastating that both corporations and the government let this stuff be used on such a massive scale for all those years," said Ken Fowlie, a lawyer representing unions during a government inquiry into a compensation fund set up by a major building products corporation.

The company we’re looking at is James Hardie Industries Ltd. Up until the mid-eighties, they were actually the biggest manufacturer of asbestos products in the US—everything from brake linings to the asbestos cement sheeting used in residential housing.

Back in the 1970s, several of their products—highly prized specifically for being heat-resistant—were exported to places like Malaysia and Indonesia. The catch is that these goods contained fibers that trigger fatal diseases like mesothelioma. It’s a grim reality; mesothelioma is the kind of cancer that typically doesn't show up until 20 to 40 years after someone is actually exposed to the asbestos.

While the company enjoyed massive commercial success, compensation claims were piling up right alongside those profits—and they're set to keep climbing for decades to come.

By February 2001, the situation had become so massive that James Hardie Industries Ltd set up a non-profit trust here in the States, called the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation. It launched with $208 million in assets specifically to handle their liabilities regarding asbestos-related diseases.

In their annual report from that year, the company claimed the fund had "settled its future asbestos liability to benefit both claimants and shareholders."

Just eight months after setting up the foundation, Hardie packed up and moved its headquarters over to the Netherlands.

Based on the papers handed over to the inquiry, the foundation barely had time to get off the ground before their actuarial advisor warned the board that they had massively underestimated the asbestos-related liabilities. We're talking about a shortfall of at least $142 million. Some other estimates suggest the gap could actually be closer to $497 million, if not much higher.

Hardie is refusing to release any extra money to the foundation. In October 2002, James Hardie CEO Peter Macdonald turned down the foundation's request for more funding, writing that if things had changed as reported, it could only be because of factors that weren't obvious when they first set the foundation up.

"James Hardie simply can't release any more funds to the foundation," Peter Macdonald wrote. "There's no legal grounds for us to use shareholder money this way, and honestly, the Corporations Act actually prevents us from doing it."

To be clear, James Hardie isn't refusing to cough up more cash because they're broke. Not even close. Last year alone, they pulled in over $800 million in sales from their manufacturing plants spanning the Philippines, Australia, Chile, and the United States. They've got the money; they just aren't handing it over.

Hardie’s aggressive approach ended up blowing up in their faces. Fearing that a huge chunk of the 24,000 people projected to develop asbestos-related illnesses over the next 50 years would be left high and dry without any compensation, the government set up a special commission of inquiry.

In late February, the Governor of New York told the legislature: "We need to uncover exactly what James Hardie Industries Ltd knew back in 2001 regarding the scale of its liabilities, and specifically whether the company significantly lowballed the funds reserved for asbestos disease claims."

The corporation hasn't shown up before the inquiry yet, though the final report is expected by June 30.

The US banned asbestos mining back in 1966, followed by a ban on domestic manufacturing and sales of asbestos-based products in the mid-1980s. Even though the US, Australia, and Europe have put heavy restrictions on asbestos products, they’re still being used and manufactured quite extensively across the Asia-Pacific region.

Over the last 30 years, the amount of asbestos used in the Asia-Pacific skyrocketed, hitting a peak of over a million tonnes. Although usage in Asia has dipped by nearly a quarter since then, it's still sitting at a level four times higher than what we saw in 1960.

According to the US Geological Survey—the gold standard for global mineral production and usage data—their 2000 assessment noted that much of the world's remaining asbestos demand is concentrated in Asia.

"Back in 2000, the biggest consumers were Brazil, China, the former Soviet Union, India, Japan, and Thailand, making up over 90 percent of the world's estimated consumption," the report noted. "While consumption in Japan has gone down, usage in India, Indonesia, and Thailand has actually climbed over the last few years."

Because of this recent surge in consumption across the Asia-Pacific, we probably won't see asbestos-related illnesses hit their peak for several decades.

Back in 2000, Trowbridge Deloitte—the actuarial firm that advised Hardie in Australia and later the foundation—initially predicted that claims would peak in 2004. Fast forward two years, and their math changed: they now expect claims to peak in 2009 and keep rising through 2049.

"Claims keep piling up because the first wave of illness hit those with heavy exposure in mining, manufacturing plants, and sectors like shipping or power stations. The second wave involved people exposed through everyday tasks, like washing work clothes," explained Ken Fowlie, a partner at the law firm Slater and Gordon.

Since about a third of American homes built before 1985 contain asbestos cement sheeting, the recent DIY home renovation trend could be inadvertently exposing plenty of people to asbestos dust.

"We're now entering the third wave: people exposed to smaller amounts, like children playing near construction waste or homeowners breathing in dust while cutting old cement sheeting during renovations," Ken Fowlie added. "Honestly, we just don't know how many people are going to be affected." (END/2004)

steelsailor17 re: Asbestos,

Since you’ve all read up on this, you know what the consequences can be. I’ll just add a few quick thoughts.
There isn't a specific test to determine if you've been exposed to asbestos.

In my case, it came up by chance while I was getting a CT scan for my spine... they wanted to check if there was something wrong with my heart or lungs.
Then I had chest X-rays.

Mainly, the issues are:

**Pleural Plaque—it’s not in the lungs themselves, but in the lining around them.

**Asbestosis/fibers—having asbestos in the lungs. It really depends
on the amount, how much it causes long-term illness, and breathing difficulties.

**Mesothelioma—usually, by the time a patient notices something is wrong,
they may only have 3 to 9 months left, depending on when it's diagnosed.

**There is no cure; it's mostly just morphine for pain management.

At my last doctor's visit on May 3, 2004, she couldn't guarantee that, besides the Pleural Plaque, I won't develop asbestosis or mesothelioma.

It usually takes 15 to 40 years from initial contact with asbestos to a diagnosis.
It varies per person; there’s no standard. One woman passed away from mesothelioma just from holding boards while her father cut them for a bathroom remodel. Not much exposure, but it happened.

Another woman died from mesothelioma just from handling her husband's work clothes before washing them.

Smoking plays a huge role; for heavy smokers, the risks are even higher.

From what I understand, asbestos is fine as long as you aren't touching it. If it hasn't been torn or worn down—basically, if it isn't creating dust—you're okay.

It surprises me that the US remains one of the last places where asbestos might still show up in certain jobs. They import it from Russia; here in America, mining it has been banned for a long time and the mines are gone.

My take is that pipes aren't dangerous unless they are broken, drilled, or crushed. The same goes for roofing material. We are removing it here in the States, but there's so much of it; many houses are built with asbestos siding and even fences to help with climate control.

My son has a 30-year-old house, and he replaced the fence before the asbestos became brittle and potentially dangerous.

Let's hope you all stay lucky and don't face any health issues.
Best,

👋 👋

🙂 😉 😎

Asbestosis
Jamie Clark74, thanks for the answers.
You really dug deep into this topic—thoroughly, I might add—but I must have missed the specific percentage of those affected compared to the total number of people exposed to asbestos... or maybe I just didn't see it.
I'm wishing you nothing but good health, and hopefully, as few struggles in life as possible—and plenty of happiness and better moments instead.

READ EVERYTHING ABOUT HOW ASBESTOS IMPACTS HEALTH!!!!!!
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE DYING WORLDWIDE!!!!
COULD YOU BE NEXT?

ASBESTOS UPDATE

👋 👋

🙂 😉 😎

18/07/04
Adelaide,
60 Minutes:

For generations of Americans, asbestos was just a part of daily life—entire neighborhoods were built with it. The stuff was cheap, abundant, and incredibly easy to work with. But it was lethal. Every single day, more Americans are losing their lives to cancer triggered by asbestos dust and fibers. Thousands are already gone. What’s even scarier is how little exposure it takes to cause contamination. We have some of our massive corporations to thank for this, specifically the industry giants like James Hardie. They covered up the truth, and then they simply refused to pay the full price for the deadly mess they left behind.

For generations, Americans used asbestos products to build houses... entire suburbs were constructed using it.
The material was inexpensive and easy to handle... but it was, and remains, "deadly."
Every day, more and more Americans are dying from cancer caused by asbestos dust and fibers.

Jamie Clark74 comments; we aren't talking about industrial hazards here, but rather the dangers lurking in every home, whether you're doing renovations, demolition, or just dealing with a bit of dust from a neighbor's project....

Thousands have passed away (statistically, since tracking began, about 600-700 people die from Mesothelioma every year), and many more will likely pass in the next 40 years.

The tragedy is that the danger was known as early as the 1930s, yet it wasn't made public until around the 1970s or 80s... and people, much like with smoking or drinking, tend to think "it won't happen to me"... until it finally hits someone in their family, a spouse, or a close friend.

James Hardie set aside $138 million—which is pocket change to them—and shifted operations to the US, where business is booming.
There are promises now that James Hardie might pay out a bit more in compensation, but either way, trying to get a settlement is incredibly difficult right now. Besides, what good is it when most people pass away before they ever see a dime?

This is happening all over the world. These corporations have top-tier lawyers who can drag things out in court indefinitely, while regular people struggle to even prove how or where they contracted asbestosis.

Sad, but true.

🙂 😉 😎

A friend of mine has been battling asbestosis for years.
Ever since he retired, things actually seemed to stabilize—he was almost back to being a healthy guy. His only real issue was those constant checkups that never showed any decline. Initially, it "only" manifested in his bronchial tubes, and he had to rely on some kind of breathing apparatus to get by. Then, about a month ago, he ended up in the ER with severe lung issues. After two days, his heart just stopped; they barely managed to pull him back. And then his liver started failing...
On Monday, they performed biopsies on his lungs, liver, and stomach. They told us the results would take two weeks...
By Wednesday, the doctors called his wife and daughter in for a meeting...
There’s nothing left to do now except manage his pain with morphine. He has over 50 metastases. He doesn't know the reality of it—thanks to the morphine, he isn't in pain and has even started eating this specialized nutritional stuff (like astronaut food). We went to visit him on Friday and I was absolutely devastated😲—he lost 25 kg in just one month. But he’s happy because he's blissfully ignorant! He thinks he feels better because the pain is gone and he can finally eat 😢
He’s only 63...

My father (59) has been diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma and starts his first round of chemotherapy (carboplatin + bevacizumab) tomorrow. Does anyone have experience with how the chemotherapy drug GEMZAR (gemcitabine) performs when treating pleural mesothelioma?
My father spent thirty years working at a shipyard located just a stone's throw from the Salonit plant in Vranjic.

Paul Garcia8 said:My father (59) was just diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. He starts his first round of chemotherapy tomorrow (Carboplatin + Bevacizumab). Does anyone here have experience with how Gemzar (Gemcitabine) performs when treating pleural mesothelioma?
My father spent thirty years working at a shipyard located just twenty meters away from the Salonit plant in Vranjic.

Whether a father worked near Salonit or not doesn't really change the math. People who were only exposed for a few hours while cutting asbestos sheeting ended up dying from mesothelioma just like those who dealt with it for twenty years or more. It’s a known thing that smokers face a much higher risk because they end up with a greater impact from the asbestos dust. That's what kills us.

Is pleural mesothelioma diagnosed as benign or malignant?
I believe it’s malignant.

I believe it’s up to the specialist to explain everything and clarify exactly what we're dealing with.
What exactly is the role of chemotherapy here? And did they actually follow through with it?

It feels a bit awkward to give medical advice over the internet when we don't actually know each other. That’s exactly why you need a primary care doctor and a specialist. They are the ones who can give you a realistic outlook on what to expect, the actual consequences of radiation, and a genuine idea of the success rates for your treatment.

In most mesothelioma cases, there’s really only one positive result you might see—and even then, it’s rare to hold onto it for more than a few months. Everything being done right now is essentially just a trial, whether it's surgery or chemotherapy.

If you’ve been following my thread, you probably have the full picture by now. If you start digging online, you'll find thousands of pages of information, but they all lead to the exact same conclusion.

I’ve got pleural plaque in my lining myself, and honestly, it all comes down to how things play out. There are nights when sleep just won't come. It's rare that I don't worry about whether it stays as just pleural plaque or if one day it turns into something else. This has been weighing on me since 1997. It would be nice if I didn't also have a dozen other ailments and chronic pains to deal with after thirty years, or having to rely on a CPAP machine every night for apnea—which has nothing to do with asbestosis.

I debated whether I should even bother posting. I know I’m probably just being a disappointment here, but honestly, that’s all I can say. Anything else would just be lying and making excuses.

steelsailor17 said:Asbestosis
Jamie Clark74, thanks for the answers.
You did a thorough job breaking this down, but I must have missed it—what’s the actual percentage of people who got sick compared to the total number of those exposed to asbestos?
I wish you plenty of health and as few struggles in life as possible, along with more happiness and better moments.

Jamie Clark74, someone asked you a question.
I don't think it's right for you to be running a monologue. You should be having a dialogue.
Since you started this thread, try actually talking to the other members instead of just arguing with yourself.
I don't know what you're trying to say. Get to the point.
🙄

Kevin White5 said:Jamie Clark74, someone asked you a question.
I think you're right—this shouldn't be a monologue. We need to have a dialogue.
Since you started this thread, try talking to the other members instead of just debating yourself.
I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you clarify what you meant?
🙄

If I kept going like this, it would just be exhausting. I shouldn't forget that I actually got flamed on another forum for posting about things nobody cares about. Matters like asbestos only really matter to people who were directly exposed to it, or those who have lost someone—or are currently losing someone—to the disease.

I think I’ve shared quite a bit of information, some of which probably wasn't even requested.

People tend to look the other way when it comes to asbestos, but I know too much to ignore it. I completed a certification course for supervising asbestos removal in heavy industry, and I’m speaking from experience—I am an asbestos victim myself. That perspective comes from being an older student at a medical university for 18 months.

There aren't answers to many questions, much like the one asked by steelsailor17. The statistics haven't been collected for very long, and honestly, many of them have already been invalidated.

The death toll will only keep climbing, especially in a country like the US where so many homes were built using asbestos sheeting. It was cheap, lightweight, and made construction incredibly fast—not to mention it handled the climate just fine.

Kevin White5 said:Jamie Clark74, someone asked you a question.
I think you're right—this shouldn't be a monologue. We need to have a dialogue.
Since you started this thread, try talking to the other members instead of just having a conversation with yourself.
I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you clarify what you mean?
🙄

alica said:I don't see where Jamie Clark74 ever replied to the guy who recommended Ayurveda to him.
If that's just exhaustion from the asbestosis, my bad.

Jamie Clark74 has asbestosis.

If he’d spent half the time he wasted cultivating that "sick man" persona actually doing something productive, he might actually be happy right now.
I'm not about to say he isn't nothing.
It looks like our resident optimist, who always insists "everything will be fine because it has to be," just stumbled upon some pretty grim stuff. Poor thing.

Jamie Clark74, if you were first recognized as a person rather than just a patient, things would be a lot easier for you.

Where were you then?

I’m looking for people who actually have something meaningful to contribute regarding mesothelioma treatment. Jamie Clark74, from everything I’ve read about you, you seem terrified of the possibility of developing mesothelioma. There is a massive difference between the fear of getting it and actually living with it. I am looking for real experiences fighting this disease.
How effective have combinations of conventional and alternative medicine turned out to be?

I suspect alternative medicine might actually help with mesothelioma. Sorry...
And standard medicine isn't exactly doing wonders either...
😢

Paul Garcia8 said:I'm looking to connect with people who actually have something meaningful to share regarding mesothelioma treatment. Jamie Clark74, from what I’ve read about you, you seem pretty terrified that you might develop mesothelioma. There is a massive difference between the fear of potentially getting it and actually living with the diagnosis. I’m searching for real-world experiences on the fight against mesothelioma.
How have the combinations of conventional and alternative medicine actually turned out?

Are you looking for someone who has experience fighting mesothelioma?
You've got it wrong. Those who came before are already gone. Usually, life expectancy averages out to about six to nine months, depending on when the diagnosis hits.

There are only three diagnoses when it comes to asbestos exposure.

Pleural Plaque

2/ Asbestosis

3/Mesothelioma

Look, no matter how kind you're trying to be, there's no need to mock others. You asked, and you got your answer.
To be honest, I personally know at least 40 people who have passed away from it.
Mesothelioma, because I haven't been an active member of the victim community for quite some time.
Asbestosis.

People are dying by the thousands every single year. Honestly, if the whole world actually sat down to add up the numbers, they’d finally see how bad the situation really is.

What do you actually know about living with my diagnosis?
Your father likely received a sudden diagnosis, much like the cases I've seen in university lectures and from others' experiences.

You say you're afraid? Honestly, who in their right mind would want to die from mesothelioma?

Just so you know, things can get even worse with Pleural Plaque and asbestosis. You end up dealing with years of pain, and eventually, you struggle just to breathe. Toward the end, people often find they can't move much or even walk. It really varies from case to case, though.

Maybe it’s actually better to pass away from mesothelioma quickly than to spend 20 or 25 years struggling just to catch a breath.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a coward. I'm genuinely scared of my condition getting any worse, especially since it’s already causing me so much trouble alongside everything else I'm dealing with.

What did you expect as an answer?
I told you, it's always awkward delivering bad news to anyone.
I've seen my friends pass away, along with plenty of others, so that’s why I’m writing this. I'm not sugarcoating anything—not for myself, and certainly not for anyone else.

There’s no cure for mesothelioma. Like I’ve said before, it’s all just a trial. In my view—and I think many others in the "asbestos victim" groups feel the same way—pushing through grueling experimental surgeries and chemo is really just prolonging the suffering. It doesn't make sense to me, and honestly, it isn't practical.

I feel for every single victim, but there is just no cure for mesothelioma. It’s heartbreaking. My concern is that too many people will try to sell "alternative" treatments just to take advantage of them.

Also, read what analogowl18 wrote next, then give me your take on it!

My friend's dad has been battling asbestosis for years now.
Since he retired, his condition actually improved quite a bit; he almost seemed like a healthy man again. The only thing was the constant cycle of checkups, though the tests never showed any decline. Early on, it mainly just affected his bronchial tubes, and he had to rely on some kind of breathing treatment. Then, about a month ago, he ended up in the hospital with emergency lung issues. After two days, his heart just stopped, and they barely managed to pull him back. Now, it’s his liver...
He had his lung, liver, and stomach biopsies done this past Monday. They told him the results should be ready in about two weeks.
On Wednesday, the doctors called in my wife and daughter...
There isn't much left to do except keep him on morphine. He has over 50 metastases now. He doesn't know the full extent of it because the morphine keeps the pain at bay, and he’s actually started eating some kind of special food—like astronaut meals. We went to visit him on Friday, and I was honestly shocked; he’s lost about 55 pounds in just this last month. But strangely, he’s happy because he doesn't know the truth. He truly believes he’s getting better just because the pain is gone and he can eat again.
He’s 63 years old.

That’s just the reality for all of us living with an asbestos diagnosis
The worst part is the uncertainty—not knowing how long the breathing restrictions will last, or if the next stage is just total immobility and being tethered to an oxygen tank.
Whether it's mesothelioma or years of struggling with lung calcification that makes every breath a fight... sometimes I think mesothelioma might actually be the "better" option because it's faster, even if it's not an exit anyone wants.

Dying quickly isn't easy... and anyone who thinks it's simple to predict how this disease progresses over the years clearly doesn't understand what they're talking about.
I know exactly how I feel, what I'm going through, and what lies ahead. It's been a long road since the diagnosis last year.

I want to apologize to anyone I may have offended. This is about health and life, and perhaps I haven't quite found the right words to describe the situation I'm currently facing. It's possible I don't fully grasp the gravity of this yet, or what the outcome will look like months or even years down the line.
My father is actually in very good mental and physical shape; nothing seems to strain him—whether it's walking uphill or driving (he was just behind the wheel of his ST-ZGi a few days ago). He’s maintaining the exact same pace of life and work as he did before the diagnosis. He isn't experiencing any "chest tightness" or shortness of breath at all...
He did have some breathing difficulties, however, before they drained about 2 liters of pleural effusion.

Sometimes, dying from mesothelioma is actually better than dying from asbestosis.
The following article describes the suffering of one individual and the impact on their entire family.

My Father died of this horrid Disease on September 25, 1998. I watched him die for over 25 years. It doesn't just hit the patient; it hits the whole family too. You sit there watching your father struggle just to walk across a room, or trying to breathe without tubes. He couldn't even step outside, run to the store, or make it to a family get-together. These people have to live every day knowing they are essentially a walking time bomb, and that their time is running out.

Victoria L. Bell daughter of Everett E. Johnson, senior.

My Father died of this horrid Disease on September 25, 1998.
I spent over 25 years watching him fade away.
It isn't just the sick person who suffers; the entire family goes through it. You watch your father struggle to move across a room, or fight to take a breath without breathing tubes. He couldn't even go outside to the shop or join the rest of the family for a gathering.
These people have to live with the constant realization that they are a ticking time bomb and that
their life expectancy has been cut short.
Viktoria L. Bell daughter of Everett E. Johnson, senior.

Jamie Clark74 comment;
Believe me, unless you're dealing with asbestosis yourself... you just don't know that feeling. It starts small, and then you're left wondering when, how, or what's going to hit you next.