Back from the Brink: Man Cured of Mesothelioma
Stephen Bolon is the first person in Australia to be declared free of mesothelioma, which has plagued him for two years.
Mesothelioma is a frequently deadly cancer of the mesothelia of the lungs. Even though mesothelioma is most often caused by inhalation of asbestos, Bolon is a rare patient who seems to have never been exposed. The cancer can lie silently in the lungs for decades before symptoms begin; patients are typically diagnosed too late to be effectively treated. The life expectancy for a patient diagnosed with mesothelioma is often just 12 to 18 months. Thanks to an early detection system, the cancer can now be caught much earlier, and aggressive treatments can be taken.
Bolon, a 54-year-old father, had a biopsy on his lungs done, and even though there was no cancer seen on the biopsy results, the new early detection test showed that there appeared to be a peptide present usually seen in mesothelioma sufferers. This led to his doctors taking immediate action. Bolon underwent a series of radical treatments to prevent the deadly mesothelioma from taking his life. Two years after radiotherapy and surgery to remove his entire right lung, part of his diaphragm, his pleura, and part of his pericardium, Bolon is cancer free.
Hoping to make the early detection process simpler with a breath test, doctors are using a $60,000 grant from the Slater and Gordon law firm for funding of the research. Perhaps the future will see more cases like Bolon’s.
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