After graduating from Australian National University with a master’s degree in materials engineering, Randall Thompson was appointed as a chief engineer in Magna Semiconductors, developing and refining products for military, aerospace, medical and transportation industries. Unfortunately, it was during his venture at Magna that Randall was exposed to asbestos.

In the summer of 1997, Randall along with his girlfriend, Claire, was returning from an opera to their home in Sydney, Australia, when Claire noticed Randall’s unusual shortness of breath. Upon Claire’s confrontation, Randall admitted of having abnormal chest pains with frequent tiredness and shortness of breath for sometime. Claire insisted Randall to see physician, Dr. Steve Martin. Dr. Martin ran some chest X-rays followed by a CAT scan the other day.

Examining Randall’s reports, Dr. Martin saw some fluid surrounding his right lung and diagnosed Randall with malignant pleural mesothelioma after running some pathology tests.  The news was seriously shocking for Randall who was immediately told to see a thoracic physician for possible treatment. Randall set up an appointment with one of Australia’s most respected thoracic physicians, Dr. Carl White.

Dr. White carefully examined Randall’s reports. After noticing the affected areas of Randall’s lungs, Dr. White referred Randall to a thoracic surgeon for an immediate pleurodesis to control the fluid that had been building up and crushing the lung. Yet even after the surgery, the chances of full recovery were grim. Furthermore, the odds for a successful operation were dim as doctors told him about the discouraging 1:5 ratio of people dying from pleurodesis. Additionally, Randall was given only 8 – 16 months to live even if the surgery was successful. Depressed by this knowledge, Randall decided to go ahead with the surgery.

On 4 October 2000, Randall had his first round of pleurodesis. During the operation, the doctors assessed that the tumor had spread to the lining of the chest wall as well. This led the doctors to take a unanimous decision to remove his right lung. Throughout Randall’s post-operational recovery period, he endured a great deal of pain and fought a courageous battle against the deadly disease of mesothelioma. Finally, on 21st February 2001, Randall Thompson passed away, well before the doctors’ ultimatum.

An international research conducted earlier this year concludes that Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world. It is largely due to the frequent use of harmful building materials, banned in 2003 Australia-wide. These include but are not limited to gas masks, sheetrock taping, thermal pipe insulation, vinyl floor tiles, sheeting, adhesives and ceiling tiles that contain dangerous asbestos fibers.

Note: Names have been changed to retain the anonymity of the entities.