Mesothelioma is a disease that typically goes unnoticed for the 20 to 40 years between exposure to asbestos and diagnosis. That’s why everyone was shocked when a young high school football star in Pasadena, California died months after being diagnosed with this rare form of cancer. Though mesothelioma strikes nearly 3,000 people annually in the United States alone, there are very few—almost none—cases in patients so young.
Austin Lacy was only 18 when he died from complications due to this aggressive and fatal form of cancer. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma attacks the membranes which surround the lungs and digestive tract and line the interior of the abdominal and heart cavities. The cancer forms around asbestos fibers that enter the body through inhalation or ingestion and usually takes decades before symptoms appear.
The diagnosis was a shock to family members and doctors alike. A mysterious illness led Macy’s parents to take him to the National Institute of Health in Baltimore, but it wasn’t until tests in early May at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona that the mesolthioma diagnosis was confirmed.
This sad case illustrates the dangers of asbestos and the insidious nature of mesothelioma. While doctors struggled to make such a diagnosis in a patient so young, even discovering the disease earlier would not have affected the outcome of Lacy’s treatment—mesothelioma is invariably fatal. Current treatments for the disease can only hope to prolong longevity and reduce the patient’s suffering until the end.
His mother, in a statement released to the press, said that her son “never did like school that much – like a lot of kids – but he was intent on graduating. He was looking forward to college.”
Instead of going to her son’s graduation, Lacy’s mother buried him in a ceremony marked by tears and grief but also in remembrance of what a funny and dedicated young man Lacy had been.
There is no word on where the young student may have come into contact with the asbestos that caused his cancer but the mineral was a common additive in building materials prior to the 1980s.
Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma come into contact with the carcinogen in the workplace, industrial settings, or schools but some are exposed during home renovations or other projects which involve opening of walls and ceiling spaces contaminated by asbestos fibers. Some locations have also been found to have high concentrations of naturally occurring asbestos fibers—caused by expose asbestos containing rock—but friends and family members still have no idea where Lacy might have come into contact with the carcinogen.
This tragic death should serve as a reminder that while mesothelioma is often viewed as an older person’s disease, it can strike anybody, anywhere, at any time. Please contact us immediately if you have been exposed to asbestos and are experiencing symptoms of mesothelioma or asbestosis. We can help connect you with both legal and medical services specialized to asbestos related diseases.
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 10th, 2011 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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