Warren Zevon died of lung cancer the other day. 56 years young. You probably heard about it. But I'll bet what you didn't hear was that his lung cancer wasn't caused by smoking. Warren Zevon died of Mesothelioma. Though exacerbated by smoking, Mesothelioma is caused solely by exposure to asbestos. The same disease just killed my father.

This is how Mesothelioma works: when someone is exposed to asbestos, the particles remain lodged in the outer lining of their lungs. Over a period of 20 to 40 years, the particles form a thick, orange peel-like cancer that completely encapsulates their lungs, diaphragm and chest cavity. It's extremely hard to diagnose because, by the time they realize what it is, it's too late. Always fatal, most people only live for a matter of months after diagnosis. Warren Zevon actually lived for a year.

The amount of time a person is exposed to asbestos doesn't seem relevant. Many people with years of exposure never develop Mesothelioma while others have become victims simply by living with someone who worked with it. The particles from their clothes affected family members who did their laundry. My father was exposed to asbestos when he worked for two days tearing down an old dormitory at the University of Montana when he was in college. Two days.

Surprise!
My father was a healthy man - a non-smoker, he ate right and exercised, but for a year and a half was plagued by a nagging stomach pain and an insistent hacking cough. In April, after a year of testing and false diagnoses, he made the trip to Mayo Clinic where, after a 20-minute exploratory surgery, he was diagnosed with Mesothelioma.

His ever present and distinctive sense of optimism vanished with the utterance of six simple words: "This tumor will take your life." In an instant, the spirit of the man I spent the last 35 years loving as my father was transformed. His humor was replaced with rage, often misplaced. He was literally dieing to just be done with it, with life, and sooner rather than later.