Mesothelioma Cancer Takes Life of Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Former National Football League (NFL) player Merlin Olsen passed away on March 10, 2010 at the age of 69 after battling the rare cancer mesothelioma.
Olsen gained fame from his 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams, 14 of which he was selected into the Pro Bowl. In addition to his career in the NFL, Olsen was a sportscaster, actor and spokesperson for FTD Florists.
Prior to his death, Olsen and his wife were in the process of suing NBC Studios, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox Sherwin Williams, Lennox Industries and other companies for his development of malignant mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Americans each year. The primary cause is asbestos exposure, which Olsen says he experienced at the early age of 10 or 11 years old while working after school performing manual labor. He also believes he was exposed to asbestos during his employment with NBC and 20th Century Fox later in life.
Symptoms of mesothelioma can take as long as 20 to 50 years to develop. In many cases, symptoms do not arise until the disease has already reached the advanced stages, leaving patients with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. After receiving a diagnosis, the average lifespan of a mesothelioma patient is four to 18 months.
Olsen opted to receive chemotherapy in order to improve his overall health, but the treatment had little effect on prolonging his life. In January, Olsen said mesothelioma “is a vicious, painful and invariably fatal malignancy” without a cure.
Additional information about mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 3:54 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.
