Monday, August 15, 2011

Philadelphia legend succumbs to mesothelioma

The death of Frank Bender has left a hole in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was a prominent and well-respected local celebrity. Bender created clay busts of John and Jane Does solely by examining their skeletal remains, thereby helping investigators identify dozens of corpses. He was arguably the world's best-known forensic sculptor, until mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the body’s major organs and cavities caused by prolonged asbestos exposure, claimed his life.

Bender suffered from the most common type of this fatal cancer, pleural mesothelioma, which specifically affects the lining of the lungs. Bender suspected that he’d been exposed to asbestos while sleeping in a Navy destroyer escort's engine room in the 1950’s. Asbestos is used in shipbuilding, and navy mesothelioma, which affects many veterans, is a known result of living asbestos use in military vessels.

When Bender’s mesothelioma was diagnosed, doctors gave him only eight months to live, a not uncommon prognosis. That was in 2009. Bender remained healthy and very active through the first half of 2011, but by the beginning of the summer, his health began to deteriorate. Despite losing a large amount of weight and having increased difficulty breathing, Bender, at the age of 70, was determined to work one final case, that of a woman whose remains had been found a decade ago near Easton, Pennsylvania.

"I always wanted to serve a purpose," said Bender prior to his death. "It's only now I've realized what I've done." Although the artist will be greatly missed, it is comforting to know that he lived life to the fullest, inspired those around him and left his mark.

source: mesothelioma.com

1 comment:

  1. Inside more than 80% of mesothelioma caused diseases, the cause is exposure from asbestos. Throughout the initially semi of the 1900s, asbestos was used surrounded by multiple types of businesses. Whether it was on a sailing craft or surrounded by the walls of a family, it made thumbs down difference. Asbestos was bestow and with the intention of was a lofty mix. It wasn't until the in the dead of night 90s with the intention of asbestos was prohibited in the United States. Asbestos has been prohibited pro longer than with the intention of in the UK. Asbestos is a type of filling used pro various types of locations. The exposure to asbestos greatly increases the expose of getting malignant cancer; a cancer in which here is thumbs down heal. Patients who are diagnosed with mesothelioma typically live up to 1 time longer (after detection).



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