About Mike

Michael George Street, my husband, died of malignant mesothelioma, on Tuesday April 13, 2010. This page is to honour his memory, and initially, so that friends and family can donate money to Mesothelioma UK in his name. Beyond that, I'd like it to be a channel for further fundraising for the charity.

Mesothelioma is a hard word to say and a very hard thing to live with. Pleural mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos and affects the lining around the lungs. People who work in building trades are particulary vulnerable, though Mike was an electrical engineer for most of his life. 

Apart from raising money for further research into treatments and to help support those affected by this illness I'd like to see money donated here used to help make people aware of the dangers of exposure to asbestos. Prevention is everything: even for those who have been at risk, it's unlikely there'll be a screening programme because there is as yet no truly effective treatment. Asbestosis itself is serious, but mesothelioma is so aggressive. On average people live for one year from diagnosis. Mike was diagnosed on July 15 2009. He lived another nine months. 

Mike was a warm and loving man, who had been strong and healthy all his life. Once his condition was diagnosed, he had a full course of chemotherapy. At Christmas he was told the spread of illness had been halted. In March he was told it was on the move again, but slowly. He was devastated, but we thought he would have the summer to spend with his family and friends. In the end that's what mattered most. We didn't know the illness had invaded his heart. This was not diagnosed until the day before he died.

If only I had looked at Mesothelioma's information pages sooner, I would have known what to tell the health professionals to look for: his breathlessness was not only due to the constriction caused around his lungs, as we were repeatedly told, but also by pericardial effusion, a build up of fluid around his heart. The small hospital where he was being treated was friendly and kind, but no one was available to perform the difficult procedure necessary to drain the fluid and relieve his symptoms. I later learned that nothing could have stopped the fluid building up again. There are no easy answers.

We were trying to move Mike to a medical centre that could take care of all his needs but he died on the morning of his arranged transfer.

A few weeks before this, Mike drove hundreds of miles to visit his family. He insisted on driving there and back. He was 'looking forward to it' he said and it was an amazing effort, considering how much more ill he was than he or I really knew. He saw many loving members of his family and he cuddled his grandchildren for what turned out to be the last time. We made plans to move house to be near them and everyone helped to make that wish of his come true, and then the end overtook him. 

We miss him so much.

As we always said: 'Love you, miss you, see you soon.'

Thank you for reading my page and, if you donate, thank you for that too, in Mike's name.

Maria Street