June 3, 2006
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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 (http://www.phlbi.org ), a
medical research foundation in Los Angeles.
"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.
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
http://www.mesothel.com/pages/mccann_lat.htm , 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 http://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
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