Widow of Actor Steve McQueen Speaks Out About Mesothelioma

Steve McQueen, the actor best known for his appearances in movies such as Bullitt, Papillon, and The Great Escape, died 28 years ago from mesothelioma cancer.

At the time, his illness was reported in the press as lung cancer, and many assumed that the cancer was due to smoking.

However, his widow Barbara recently spoke with UK publication The Mirror about Steve’s death, in response to the Mirror’s current campaign for asbestos awareness.

Barbara had said little in the press regarding her husband’s death prior to this interview.

Mrs. McQueen told The Mirror:

“I commend the Mirror for its watchdog efforts in leading the charge regarding asbestos exposure. My husband’s death was a long and painful ordeal, and I can readily identify with those who have been exposed to asbestos as well as their loved ones….The Mirror’s five demands are not only sensible but would right a wrong that should have been rectified decades ago.”

Barbara recounted Steve’s last months in her interview. Steve began to feel sick while shooting a Western film. He was often tired and short of breath, and later began having night sweats.

Tumors were found in his right lung, and he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was told he only had a few months to live.

Steve McQueen could never pinpoint his cancer to one culprit. He had been surrounded with asbestos his whole life. When he was in the Marine Corps., he would be punished by being forced to clean asbestos-lined pipes. Later in life, he wore asbestos-lined racing suits on his motorcycle.

The dangers of asbestos were not recognized until the late seventies and early eighties, and very few nations have placed a ban on the substance. In the UK, for example, countless individuals are diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses each year, and recently, published reports claim that a “new wave” of asbestos victims will surface in the near future and that rates of asbestos disease will rise.

Steve McQueen’s death was painful and lingering. The cancer spread throughout his body, and by the time he was operated on, he was very weak. On November 7, 1980, a day after surgery to remove some of the cancer, he died of a heart attack.

Here in the United States, approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma annually.

Source:

The Mirror UK