I have not been giving a regular update on this because as things were going so well it could get boring.
However,6 months ago my brother sent me a text to say,“The beast is back!”
Despite the optomistic results at first,the dreaded disease came back but my brother has remained strong throughout.
He gradually got weaker,and the classic car renovation he took on as a retirement project became an important thing to get finished.
Toward the end he could only sit and talk to me as I worked on his beloved car.
I was able to get it roadworthy for him so he was able to drive it,although it took a lot out of hm.
After that he went downhill rapidly and he died at home last Monday 14th .
My wife is a priest and will be taking his funeral service next week.
My brothers wife intends to keep the car as a memorial to him.
It is thought he contracted the disease 40 years ago when working as a trainee electrical engineer at a local power station where there was a lot of asbestos in the switchgear.
Just for the record,the car is a 1956 Mercedes 190 SL and was bought as two basket cases,one right hand drive and on left hand drive from which one right hand drive has been built.It has had a complete new floor welded in,an £8,000 spray job done and everything overhauled.
A red leather interior fitted by a Bentley upholsterer,and a new mohair hood.
It’s now worth about £70,000.
There will be his three classic cars in the funeral cortage,a Volvo P1800,(As the Saint used to drive),a Triumph Stag,registration 1 5TAG,and the Mercedes which I shall be driving.
Some pics follow.I hope it’s a fitting tribute to my brother.
That car looks amazing well done hope it is a fitting tribute to your brother & I hope it does go out on the road sometimes as it need to I would happy drive it will swap for my 2000 merc CLK 2lt coupe if you want
As if there was not enough problems in the family with my wife at present undergoing surgery for bowel cancer,(See thread “At your peril”,),a couple of weeks earlier,my brother had been having some problems with his breathing,getting breathless after just a small exertion,and a contant feeling of indigestion.
It’s taken 6 weeks and a lot of tests to find out he’s suffering with Mesothelioma,which is cancer of the lining of the lung.It’s such a rare form of cancer that sufferers are not counted in hundreds or thousands,but known by name.The late Steve McQueen died from it,not that it’s any consolation.
It is caused by asbestos.
Now my brother has not had anything worse than a cold all his life and has avoided illness all his life,he would not even visit anyone who was ill.
When he left grammar school 40 years ago,he started working for the MEB,the local power company.From there he moved into the kiln building industry,working for two local companies before starting up his own company 20 years ago.
At the time he started in the industry,asbestos was known to be a carcinogen and was being phased out,but there was still a lot of it in old installations.
Being well educated he was always in a management position so not in close contact like bricklayers would be,but apparently,one fibre is enough to cause this problem,but worse still,it can lie dormant for 30 or 40 years!
When I came off the road 23 years ago to work for him up until my retirement,I was in more contact than him with old installations that contained asbestos.
But going back 40 years when I first came out of the army,I worked in a truck dealers and a regular job was stripping down brakes and blowing the dust out,and it was all asbestos then,no one thought of wearing a mask.
Haven’t most of us at some time stripped the brakes on their car and got a facefull of dust?
Because myself and my son have worked in the kiln industry,we are getting a chest x ray soonest,although I have no symptons whatsoever,if i have a problem I hope it can be caught early and some easier treatment offered.
My brothers prognosis now is not good.
He has been told that untreated he may not live past next spring.The treatment he requires is so invasive there is only one surgeon in the country that can do it,and he is planning surgery for early in December.If the Surgery is successful my brother could live another 3 or 4 years.Who knows what medical advances will be made in that time that may help him further?
If a regular chest X ray had been done earlier,could this have been identified and treated before it became so overwhelming?
As I said on my wife’s bowel condition,by the time you get the symptons,it could be too late!
My brother is 2 years younger than me,he is 64,if this operation is not successful,he may never draw his pension!
So,if any of you have worked in ANY industry that had the slightest connection with asbestos,it may be worth getting a chest X ray.
Let us hope the outcome is better than the heads up Ian. It just shows what we do in an earlier career can come back and haunt us later. As you say, anyone who worked in a workshop, cleaned out brake drums with an airline, drive belts were made from asbestos, insulation in schools and offices. We siphoned petrol and diesel through a bit of hosepipe and who ever thought of wearing latex gloves to change their engine oil?
I have been through the medical mill a bit myself over this last 18 months and you can give me several years. From an irregular heartbeat to breathing difficulties I have had chest x rays, spirometry, blood tests, liver and kidney functions and done the treadmill punishment. At present I have some of the finest consultants in the Midlands discussing my case and whether the rest of my organs will stand up to a stent in my kidneys and a total hip replacement and revision of the other one.
During my tanker driving years we carried many hundreds of carcinogenic substances, we cut corners occasionally, we sometimes went to places where safety was just classed as another expense or at best something to spend money on to impress a new customer, once the new contract was won, the safety went through the window. Things like being given a jamjar on a piece of string to collect a sample of cyanide.
I hope your Brothers situation is reversible, and as you say, we need to get checked out before the symptoms start. My symptoms at the moment are breathlessness and Asthma.
I can only wish all the best to your brother and wife
and hope that all goes well,my thoughts and prayers
are with you and your family , all the best Pete,
The latest on my brother.
This cancer is one of the worst you can get.From being diagnosed a ouple of months ago his specialist says that without treatment he won’t last until next spring!.
There is only one surgeon that can offer treatment for this and he is based in Leicester,and my brother is booked in for some massive surgery an December 7th at Leicester hospital,
If this surgery is successful,it could give him another 3 or 4 years.
I went for a chest x ray last week and I’ve to see my GP next week for the results.
Until your post Ian. I knew about the dangers of Asbestos but not heard the name of the disease, but this story appeared in my local paper and I remembered your post.
My brother had surgery at Leicester hospital on December 7th,and came home last Monday 21st.
He is doing well,the doctors are very pleased with the way the operation went but it’s too early yet to give a prognosis on how the future looks until he has had some time to recover.
He is not able to hold a long conversation as he gets tired after 5 minutes,but it’s good to see he has made it to Christmas with a chance of getting through the next year.
The results of my chest x-ray were clear,thank God.
My brother is recovering well after his surgery early in December.
The job involved removing the lining from his lungs and heart,replaced with some modern manufactured material,and the removal of half of the diaphragm.
He has a scar from the top of his breastbone,under his right rib cage up to the top of his right shoulder blade.
He is light hearted enough to say he can claim to have survived a shark bite!
He is now on chemo,which takes 8 hours to be dripped in every couple of weeks,and gives him sickness for a couple of days.
He can walk short distances but cannot carry out any tasks or drive.
When a passenger in a car he has to have cushions at his back and front so the seatbelt does not put any pressure on his chest.
All in all he is pleased with the result,as are his doctors,considering the prognosis was that he may not have survived until spring,which is any time now!
Great news!
My brother has had a scan and has been told he is clear of cancer and has to go for a check up in 6 months.
There’s every chance that it will come back again,but some people have survived 6 or 7 years after surgery,BUT,you have to be healthy enough to stand the surgery,it’s so massive that anyone less than healthy will not survive it,that’s why so few people are put forward for it.
He has slowed down a lot.
He is still on pain killers 8 months after his op,and soon gets out of breath,but he’s still with us.
Since you brought this to my attention. I have read more and more about Mesothelioma. It seems much too common in Derbyshire from the railway, engineering and aero engine industries. I sent your brother good wishes around Christmas last year, 9 months on it is still good news. Give him my best wishes again, “every little helps” as they say in retail.
Although common in industrial jobs, this chap has touched many hearts in the local area.
That is good news hope he keeps it up & gets stronger as this can take time & effort but as you say you have to be healthy to be put forward for this op
