Bob Thacker was diagnosed in late 2007 with sarcomatoid mesothelioma. After a tough and valiant struggle, at the age of 59, Bob, our friend and colleague, succumbed to asbestos cancer on April 29, 2008. Despite the rapid spread of his tumor, Bob soldiered onward, driven by a sense of mission for his family. His toughness, grace, and good humor were with him to the end.

Bob showed that no physical ailment can ever dominate the human spirit when that spirit is strong, when it is infused by a sense of justice, and when it is bolstered by the love and comfort of a caring family. Bob drew his already tightly-knit family even closer, and left those around him in a state of awe and reverence. His humor and brilliant wit were with him until the end, and they left us all wiser, happier, and humbled as a result.

Bob was a California attorney, union pipefitter, husband, father, and asbestos cancer victim. He was also a hero, as he died soon after completing a long and difficult deposition. Bob is survived by his wife Vicky their two children, Robbie and Holly. Bob’s heroism wasn’t played out on a battlefield. It was played out in the halls of hospitals, in the waiting rooms of doctors, in his own living room where he confronted the corporations who poisoned him, and at the factories in which he labored throughout the years he helped build the economic might of America.

Bob’s heroism was contained in his bravery and unwillingness to bend in the face of great physical pain, and great disappointment in learning that his life would be cut short due to asbestos poisoning. Knowing that he would never see his grandchildren, and knowing that a family dependent on his strength and health would face great hardship, Bob nonetheless maintained incredible courage, faith, and kindness throughout his ordeal.

Attorney John Caron had this to say about Bob: “The man was filled with toughness, determination, kindness, and grit. No amount of adversity ever daunted him, and nothing ever so much as dented his goodness and his warmth. Up until the end no one was quicker with a laugh and a smile. Bob was a hero.”

The march of a cancer

In November 2007 Bob began to experience unusual shortness of breath and pain in his right side. On November 21 he presented to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. Several tests were performed including chest x-rays and a CT scan. The films revealed a right-sided pleural effusion. Bob’s symptoms worsened and he sought treatment at the Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo.

Bob was diagnosed with meso in Mission Viejo. He consulted with Dr. Robert Cameron, director of the mesothelioma program at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine regarding his candidacy for the lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication procedure. Unfortunately, Bob’s cellular subtype was sarcomatoid, the most aggressive and treatment-resistant form of mesothelioma.

Bob was referred to an oncologist in Mission Viejo, who started him on Alimta/cisplatin chemotherapy. Bob completed two rounds of Alimta/cisplatin chemotherapy before a PET scan revealed that his tumor was not responding to the treatment. The oncologist changed the chemotherapy to high-dose ifosfamide. This treatment regrettably failed to stem the spread of his mesothelioma.

Prior to his diagnosis, Bob enjoyed excellent health. He was a fit, lifelong non-smoker who worked out every day on a stationary bike. One of the complications of Bob’s mesothelioma was that it sparked the return of a latent condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neuromuscular condition that results in weakness in the extremities, poor coordination, and instability.

The condition had been dormant for the last 25 years but returned in November along with the increasingly severe onset of mesothelioma symptoms.

An honorable life

Bob was exposed to asbestos while working at various trades in the 1960s through the 1970s. In January 1973, after graduating college, Bob moved to southern California. In the summer of that year, Bob enrolled in the Western States University School of Law. In order to support his family during law school, Bob continued to work in the various trades. He passed the bar exam and was admitted to the California bar in 1978.

Bob was married to Vicky for over 27 years. Their children live nearby and were devastated by their father’s disease. Robby accompanied his father to every medical appointment and tirelessly researched all treatment options. Even when the course of the disease seemed certain, Robby was always at his father’s side, a source of constant love, caring, and support.

In America it is customary to praise as heroes those soldiers who died defending their country. We honor their service, we revere their sacrifice, and we memorialize their struggle. Bob Thacker died defending his family and his rights under the U.S. Constitution to demand justice for the injuries done to him.

Prior to his death, Bob encouraged us to advocate for changes to the law that would speed up the trial process for people afflicted with terminal diseases. He also urged reforms that would put reasonable limits on the length of time asbestos defense lawyers could conduct cross examination. Bob and his family were grateful when Judge Dunn agreed with our motion for a protective order and limited the cross for each defendant to 30 minutes. We are hopeful that Judge Dunn’s example will serve as the model for protecting all mesothelioma claimants from overzealous defense lawyers.

** POSTED MAY 21, 2008 **