Note: Names have been changed to retain the anonymity of the entities/individual.
In the fall of 1999, James Elliot, a 54-years old husband, father of four and an electrical engineer, experienced hacking cough with severe chest pains. He met with his local physician in Atlanta, Georgia. The doctor after taking several chest films noticed a large left pleural effusion.
James was immediately admitted at Northside Hospital, Atlanta and went through a thoracentesis. The doctors at Northside managed to extract 1000 ccs of pleural effusion from James that was sent for fluid analysis. Based on the test results, which came positive for malignant cells, the doctors at Northside Hospital, Atlanta diagnosed James with adenocarcinoma and James was told that he would live only for a few more months. He was recommended to see an oncologist for further treatment.
James was scheduled to meet Dr. William Peer, who upon examining James’s reports recommended him to take a bronchoscopy, biopsy, a CT scan and a bone scan. With the required test results, Dr. Peer confirmed that the cells in pleural fluid were malignant.
James’s next appointment was with Dr. JD White, a thoracic surgeon at Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Atlanta, who performed a thoracoscopy with talc pleurodesis. Pathology, obtained through thoracoscopy, confirmed that James had indeed developed malignant mesothelioma. At that point, James’s life began to fall apart. His journey on the road to survival came to a dead-end as James lost hope.
Upon Dr. White’s expert opinion, James traveled to Boston to meet with Dr. Patrick Gray of Brigham & Women’s Hospital, who prescribed James to undergo radical pleurectomy. On December 12th, 1999, James had a successful surgery after he which he underwent a series of chemotherapy with some antibiotics. Unfortunately, James lost his battle to mesothelioma on June 25, 2000, though he fought bravely and courageously.
James was exposed to asbestos during his ventures at his successful jobs. After earning his degree in electrical engineering from Emory University, he had worked as an electrical engineer at a steel foundry, a textile mill and an aluminum factory. It was within these asbestos-rich work environments that James was exposed to the dreadful effects of asbestos, gradually developing mesothelioma.
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