Mesothelioma Alert: Archaeologist Dr. Lawrence Barfield loses battle with asbestos cancer

A beloved and respected English archaeologist’s death from mesothelioma last July was the topic of a recent coroner’s inquest. Dr. Lawrence Barfield was a professor at the University of Birmingham, and was 74 at the time of his death last year. He worked for the university’s Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity for a 27 year period between 1966 and 2000, and while it is possible that the doctor was exposed to the asbestos that caused his mesothelioma at the school, it has not been conclusively proven.

What is certain, however, is that asbestos exposure does cause mesothelioma. This rare cancer does not occur in every person who is exposed to asbestos, but those who do contract this type of cancer can occasionally perish within mere months after being diagnosed. The disease typically lies dormant for up to fifty years before an individual begins to suffer from mesothelioma symptoms, and the majority of patients lose their battle with this cancer in less than two years following diagnosis.

Dr. Barfield could have been exposed to asbestos while working abroad on digs in Malta, Egypt, and Chile and across Europe. It is also possible that he was exposed to asbestos in his office, where renovations have occurred in years past.

According to Birmingham coroner Aidan Cotter, “Dr. Barfield spent his career as a university lecturer at Birmingham University and also took part in excavations around the world.” Because of this, Cotter stated that he was not able to make any determination about where the man was exposed to the asbestos that ultimately caused his lethal cancer.