By Jackie Geddis
My Daddy passed away from pleural mesothelioma on 11 March 2025 at the age of 80.
His diagnosis came completely out of the blue in January 2024. He had gone to A&E because of a badly swollen knee that he woke up with. During his assessment, the doctor asked him a few questions about his general health as they thought it was odd his knee was swollen and yet he hadn’t fallen or hurt it. Daddy had always been incredibly fit and active, and even the doctor was shocked by his age, saying he looked almost 20 years younger.
When Daddy mentioned that he’d noticed he wasn’t walking the long distances he normally enjoyed, he said he was stopping slightly earlier.
The doctor arranged for a chest X-ray. To everyone’s surprise, it revealed that his lungs contained around two litres of fluid. The hospital staff couldn’t believe he wasn’t struggling to breathe, but he wasn’t.
Daddy said he felt nothing wrong with his breathing. He could still swim 1.5 lengths underwater.
The hospital discharged him and all tests came back fine but he was referred to the city hospital as his left lung would still need to be drained. Dr Magee, on his second appointment, asked him if he would allow him to run a biopsy which Daddy agreed to as he said he was now feeling something wasn’t right.
He was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in February 2024 at the age of 79. Like so many others, he couldn’t believe that somewhere during his working life he had been exposed to asbestos. He had made staying fit and healthy a priority throughout his entire life. He loved sport and exercise, so receiving such a devastating diagnosis was something none of us could ever have imagined.
He began immunotherapy as he did not want chemotherapy and managed a couple of rounds before the side effects meant he couldn’t continue. Even then, he remained positive and continued to do remarkably well for many months. Every single day he got up, washed, shaved and faced the day with dignity. He never complained once.
Everything changed in January 2025. He lost a dramatic amount of weight. I remember giving him a hug and feeling the bones in his back. It broke my heart, but I never mentioned it to him. He always wore shirts and what he called his “pullovers” 🤣 so it wasn’t something you could see.
The support we received made such a difference. When I reached out to Mesothelioma UK, the kindness and support they gave me were incredible. I will also be forever grateful to Dr Magee and Nurse Stephanie at the respiratory clinic at Belfast City Hospital. Their compassion, care and professionalism were exceptional, and they treated both Daddy and our family with such kindness throughout his illness.
Some days I’m overwhelmed with sadness and other days I’m angry. I feel we were robbed of our Daddy. Even at 80, he still had so much life left in the tank. He should have had many more years making memories with his family.
Despite everything he went through, Daddy remained kind, brave and resilient. He never let mesothelioma define him. He faced it with incredible courage and dignity until the very end.
He wasn’t just our Daddy, he was our hero. I miss him every single day and I always will. If sharing his story helps raise awareness of mesothelioma and the devastating impact of asbestos exposure, then his legacy will continue to make a difference.
It melts my heart when approaching his first anniversary in March, I received the most beautiful letter & hug in a mug from Mesothelioma UK. I couldn’t believe it. I cried and it meant my Daddy & my family were not forgotten about x ❤️
