My name is Brian Harvey and I should be dead today.
On September 2, 1999, I was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos. In the United States, most people diagnosed with mesothelioma that don’t receive treatment die within eight months. Those who do receive treatment increase their life expectancy to an average of 18 months. Overall, a person’s chance of surviving five years is one in 20. I am now 42 months from my diagnosis and feel fortunate to be talking to you today about the asbestos crisis in America.
While mesothelioma can never be cured, I was lucky to have been diagnosed early. Because of my early diagnosis, I was eligible for an experimental treatment program at the University of Washington. I first underwent five months of chemotherapy followed by surgery. The surgeons removed my left lung, the surrounding pleura, a rib, the left half of my diaphragm and half of my pericardial sack. Following the surgery, I underwent a month of radiation treatment.
