Mesothelioma and Asbestos

My Dad was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2005. I was scouring the internet for “when you possess mesothelioma, what do you die from?” Ya, from cancer, but how does that all play out. He died in May 2009. I thought I would relay his story in case anyone else was looking for this information.

If you are in a hurry as well as can not read this story, here are some keywords you can look up: paraneoplasty syndrome, active dying. The things I found concerning these items were a play book of what was to follow.

We lived on unlike sides of the country so I don’t possess ALL the details myself.

He was diagnosed in 2005 as well as started using Alimta. He was doing pretty well until October 2008. He was moving extremely slowly because he was so exhausted.

I saw him next in January of 2009. He would sleep all the time as well as was very weak. But, once in a while he would show signs of life.

Between January as well as May 1, he fainted 2 or 3 times as well as was suffering from extreme dehydration. Periodically he would get intravenous saline as well as he would feel best for a abridged time. Numerous trips to doctors did not reveal any cause for him being exhausted, weak as well as dehydrated. The oncologist was measuring the tumor sizes as well as they were getting bigger, but not much as well as did not cause any alarm.

On May 1 he fainted again as well as was admitted to the hospital. He was diagnosed with mild pneumonia. He spent 3 days in the hospital where he continued to get weaker. Numerous tests did not reveal any problems although an EEG showed slightly lower brain activity. Since he was so weak, they sent him to a rehab center.

In the rehab center, he would barely eat as well as could not do clear arm exercises. During the weeks around May 1, he lost 27 lbs. He slept most of the time. I called him a couple of times as well as we had pleasant conversation but I could tell he was still very weak.

After 4 days of not really doing any therapy, he was moved to a nursing home. Still getting weaker, not doing any rehab, as well as then started hallucinating … fixing things that were not there, seeing people that weren’t there, etc. He was then moved to a section of the nursing home with patients that were REALLY sick. He had a lazy eye for about 2 months so my brother decided to take him to a neuro-opthamologist (sounded crazy to me, my Dad slept all the time as well as was hallucinating as well as my brother wanted to get him glasses?). The neuro-opthamologist thought these symptoms were a result of paraneoplasty syndrome. An untreatable, irreversible condition where the body is creating antibodies in response to chemicals given off by the tumors. The antibodies attack the nervous system. After reading about this on the internet, it sounded similar the chemistry way of saying “you’re dying”.

The next day (Friday) he was admitted to a hospice. I arrived the next day. He seemed to recognize me as well as threw up his are for a hug. He was totally in a daze, similar a critically injured person that was still alert. He said very few things that night, but all seemed coherent. They were giving him morphine as well as Phenobarbital in a pump.

After Saturday, he never spoke again. The nurses kept turning him as well as he would moan as well as grimace, but no words. On Sunday, he developed Cheyne-Stokes breathing. A healthcare professional visited later that day as well as said he had 2 hours to 2 days to live. They gave him more morphine, an immediate dose of Phenobarbital as well as increased the amount per each pump he was getting.

Monday, his breathing changed to rapid as well as shallow. Not panting, but close. Now when he was turned, he did not moan or grimace.

Early in the morning on Tuesday, he redeveloped Cheyne-Stokes breathing as well as soon after, he died.

I always thought, as my whole family did, that there would be an increase in the size of the tumors to indicate an upcoming problem. That did not happen.

I hope this account will help you as well as your loved ones deal with the eventualities of mesothelioma.