15
Year Shipbuilder Survives Mesothelioma Lung Cancer - Cancer Treated
with Precise Radiation & Advanced Surgery Techniques
(October 16th, 2008)
 Houston,
TX. - Former Navy shipyard worker (shipbuilder) John Ross built
ships for 15 years before coming to find out that he had inhaled
asbestos fibers that formed the deadly mesothelioma lung cancer
in his lungs. Mr. Ross lived and worked in Mississippi but has now
traveled to Houston for cancer treatment; accompanied by his son
John Ross Jr. and daughter Dorothy. The family says they have spent
tens of thousands of dollars for his treatment & checkup costs
as well as the 700 mile, 11 hour journey to Houston.
Mr. Ross was diagnosed with Asbestosis in the early 1980s; Asbestosis
is a disease that scars the lungs due to fluid buildup (pleural
effusions) and causes breathing problems as well as excessive cough.
One of the worst symptoms that Mr. Ross faced was heart-attack like
chest pains that then lead the doctors to accurately diagnose mesothelioma.
Mr. Ross sought treatment options at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
in Houston, Texas. He underwent aggressive surgery and precise radiation
as treatment options and has today survived the cancer successfully.
Towards the left is an image of a shipbuilder constructor working
on the roof of a ship. Shipbuilders commonly worked around the boiler
rooms, valves, pumps, gaskets, welding blankets, plumbing insulation
or electrical insulation.
 Mr.
Ross's symptoms began in 1996 when he felt random crush feelings
in his chest. These chest pains occured irrespective of what he
was doing, they occured even whilst he was sleeping. The time intervals
for these chest pains was very random; sometimes he wouldn't feel
them for 3 months or more and all of a sudden they would appear.
Mr. Ross quotes, "I was just an ordinary guy, no other sickness,
no nothing at all in my life. And then this thing here (mesothelioma)
comes along, and here I was. I didn’t know what was happening
to me. I kept having (what I thought were) heart attacks."
Mr. Ross went to several hospitals and visited many different doctors,
although no one could diagnose any disease; some thought he was
even pretending or acting! His doctors told his wife, Dorothy Ross
that they could do nothing for him, except to make him feel comfortable.
Towards the right is an image of a digital medical linear accelerator
that is used to conduct IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy)
and other forms of radiation therapy.
One and a half years later, Mr. Ross was diagnosed with Pleural
mesothelioma at the age of 76 at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center,
where he then enrolled in a clinical trial. The clinical trial was
specifically for the study of a process known as extrapleural pneumonectomy.
Extrapleural pneumonectomy is a type of surgery where a diseased
part of a lung, pericardium (membrane covering the heart), diaphragm
(muscle between the lungs and the abdomen) or part of the parietal
pleura (membrane lining the chest) is carefully removed from that
area of the body with precise radiation tools. High dose of radiation
helps surgeons direct their surgical equipment to the exact extent
and location of malignant tumors and helps them remove any damaged
areas of the lungs. In the case of Mr. John Ross, he began 25 treatments
of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). Intensity-modulated
radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced mode of high-precision radiotherapy
that uses computer-controlled x-ray accelerators to send precise
radiation doses to malignant tumors or specific areas of tumors
within the lungs. IMRT has the ability to deliver high dose of radiation
to damaged cells and let the good healthy cells free of radiation.
Side effects of these treatments have been hard for Mr. Ross. Some
of the side effects include loss of hearing as well as occasional
pains. Through this painful period in his lifetime, Mr. John Ross
always likes to keep a positive attitude, enjoys going on sailboats
& fishing and follows up with his doctors periodically. He says
smilingly, "I’m a miracle man."
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