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Press Release Source: The Pacific Heart
Lung & Blood Institute, Inc.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060608/dath032.html?.v=55
Thursday June 8, 4:29 pm ET
LOS ANGELES, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Terry
McCann, Olympic gold medalist, Toastmaster CEO, and asbestos victims
rights advocate, died yesterday from malignant mesothelioma. As a
wrestler, surfer, environmentalist, coach, devoted father, and spokesman
for asbestos cancer patients, Mr. McCann dedicated his life to serving
others. He was also a director on The Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute
(www.phlbi.org), a
medical research foundation in Los Angeles.
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Roger Worthington,
Terry and Lucille with his 1960 Gold Medal. February, 2006 |
"We mourn the loss of a giant," said Roger
Worthington, a director on PHLBI. "Terry was one of the toughest men I
have ever known, with a heart of pure gold. In his final days, Terry's
only concern was for his family, his friends, and other mesothelioma
patients."
Terry was diagnosed with mesothelioma in
April of 2005. He pursued surgical, chemotherapy and radiation treatments,
which regrettably failed to retard the advancement of the tumor, which had
wrapped around his right lung. Despite access to the best available care,
Terry endured unimaginable pain in the last few months of his life.
"I will always remember Terry as a fighter.
He knew what the future held, but he never gave up," said Dr. Robert
Cameron, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA. "We owe it to Terry to continue his fight to make mesothelioma
research a national priority, including pain management."
Each year, mesothelioma strikes
approximately 3,000 Americans. The median survival for mesothelioma
patients hovers between 9 months and 19 months, depending on the
treatments, if any, the patient is able, both physically and financially,
to pursue.
Terry joined PHLBI as a director after he
learned how little money had been invested in finding a cure, despite the
enormous wealth of the asbestos companies and their history of knowledge
of the hazards of asbestos.
"Terry used to tell me that if the
companies back in the 1950s had invested a fraction of their wealth in
finding a cure, instead of hiring hack lawyers and quack doctors to dummy
up phony research, or hide the truth, he wouldn't be facing a death
sentence now," recalled Mr. Worthington, who represents the McCann family
in a civil action pending in Los Angeles.
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Terry McCann taking down his opponent, 1950s |
Mr. McCann, a wrestling Hall of Famer, was
exposed to asbestos in the late 1950s during the construction of an oil
refinery in Tulsa. At the time, he was training for the 1960 Olympics in
Rome. Despite recent knee surgery, and the bad luck of missing a start
time due to a scheduling snafu, he managed to fight through the qualifying
rounds and eventually win the gold medal.
Sadly, on the day of Mr. McCann's death,
the lone defendant in McCann's asbestos lawsuit, Foster Wheeler Ltd., came
out in favor of federal legislation that would bar mesothelioma patients
from pursuing their constitutional rights to a jury trial. Mr. McCann
testified in his deposition that he was exposed to tons of asbestos that
would rain down like snow from Foster Wheeler's massive boilers and
pressure vessels.
"Terry McCann's exemplary life is an
inspiration to all of us. He grew up in the mean streets of Chicago. His
prospects were bleak; his father was an elevator operator and alcoholic.
Yet, thanks to his tireless pursuit of the American dream, he went on to
become a living legend," said Mr. Worthington. "He will be remembered as a
bullish advocate for corporate accountability, an athletic icon and an
American hero."
Terry is survived by his wife of 52 years,
Lucille, 7 children, and 18 grandchildren. For more information about
Terry's mission to protect the constitutional rights of asbestos victims,
see click here,
including the television commercial in which Terry objected to the
"asbestos bail out" bill (S. 3274). For more information about The Pacific
Heart Lung & Blood Institute's mission to expand treatment options for
victims of occupational diseases, see
www.phlbi.org .
The Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute,
Inc.
11818 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Telephone: (310) 622-4960
Telecopier: (310) 231-2131
e-mail: rcameron@phlbi.org
contact: Dr. Robert Cameron
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Source: The Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute, Inc.
*** POSTED
JUNE 8, 2006 ***
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