An English man has lost his wife of 60 years to an asbestos-related illness. Tony Boxall lost his wife Evelyn to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, earlier this year. It is believed she was exposed to asbestos while soldering valves on aircraft radios as a teenager.
Mesothelioma affects thousands of new patients each year, and while there are palliative treatment methods available, including chemotherapy, there is no known cure. The cancer may lie dormant for many decades before the first symptoms emerge. Unfortunately, the majority of patients lose their battle with this form cancer less than two years following diagnosis.
"We knew exactly what it was. She was working when she was 16. We got married when she was 21. The trouble is it laid dormant for so long. The way it grows is much like fungi," Boxall told reporters. "From last August she started to get out of breath and we found out she had fluid on her lung."
It is unfortunately not uncommon for people to develop mesothelioma or other asbestos illnesses decades after their initial exposure to asbestos materials. Those who worked with asbestos long before the health risks associated with it were recognized, like Evelyn Boxall, probably handled the carcinogen without ever knowing that it may one day cause them to develop cancer.
Mr. Boxall tearfully recalled the last time she was at home. "I remember when the nurses came to the house to take her to the hospice and she knew it was the last time she would be at the house. She asked the nurses to take her to the conservatory. I said to her ‘why do you want to go out there, ducky?’ She said to me ‘because I want to say goodbye to my lovely garden’. It broke my heart seeing her like that. I loved her very much and I miss her tremendously."