A man who got diagnosed with a deadly lung cancer has shared that he almost ignored one recurring symptom that turned out to be a sign for the illness.
He had been persistent with getting checked out
Malcolm Ledger had been persistent with receiving X-Rays on his lungs following the death of an old friend from issues in his lungs.
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Since they’d usually come back with no warning signs, he almost ignored one strange symptom that turned out to be a sign of the disease.
But he got the symptom checked out
Instead of ignoring the pains, Ledger raised the issue with his doctor and discovered that he has mesothelioma, a type of cancer that develops in the outer lining of some of our organs, which for Ledger, was his lungs.
The incurable disease is linked to asbestos exposure, according to the National Health Services in the UK.
He was regularly exposed to the fibers
Ledger shared that he was regularly exposed to asbestos during his days as a builder. The toxic fibers are likely the reason for his serious lung damage.
He shared that he first started working as an apprentice at 15 years old, being exposed to asbestos at a time when ‘nobody knew how bad’ it was.
The 64-year-old explained his situation
“In the 70s and 80s, you always got the rough jobs in your first year as an apprentice,” Ledger shared.
“You were always knocking walls down or doing repairs. In those days, nobody knew about how bad asbestos was, there was no personal protection equipment or anything like that. I remember working with it, but I was definitely not aware of the damage.”
Ledger admitted he had been thinking about it
The father shared that one of his former co-workers had died from suspected asbestos, which caused him to begin getting regular X-Rays on his lungs to make sure they remained healthy.
“It always stuck in the back of my mind,” Ledger shared, but he had stopped getting regular check-ups after moving to a different city.
He finally got checked up again
When Ledger eventually underwent another X-Ray in March 2023, it came back clear, until he developed a strange symptom in September 2024.
“It started with a little ache under my right rib, just an annoying ache,” he explained.
He had to do a CT scan too
After informing his doctor of the strange symptom, he was told he also needed a CT scan, which later confirmed he had malignant mesothelioma in the lining of his lung.
He then started immunotherapy treatment in January.
He warned others to take care of their health
“If you feel any aches or you’ve taken in dust particles, ask for a check-up and say you feel something is wrong. If you feel any inkling something is wrong, ask for an X-ray – only you know your own body,” Ledger said.
“I could place blame and be angry with the world, but it’s not going to achieve anything. Why not be happy with the world and just enjoy what time I’ve got?” he added.