Asbestos exposure has long been a concern for firefighters, as working with crumbling buildings puts them at a high risk of inhaling fibers.  In Portage, Michigan, one fire department is rallying around a fellow worker recently diagnosed with stage three mesothelioma. 

It is likely that Brad Wilson was exposed to asbestos while on the job.  Though he has been given only between 6 and 18 months to live, Brad holds his head high and is focusing on how to handle his disease rather than pinpoint its cause.

Brad has accepted that asbestos exposure is "part of the job" he loves; his wife Cinda said that being away from firefighting is making Brad restless.  "The hardest part is knowing how much he misses coming into work, it just kills him," she said.  The Portage Fire Department is feeling his absence just as much.  They bring Brad's helmet with them on all calls, so he remains part of the team, even from home.  The members of the PFD are covering Brad's shifts in turns, so that he may maintain long-term disability benefits through September.

The support Brad is receiving is particularly gratifying for members of the Portage Fire Department, who say they are excited to repay Brad's selfless help from over the years.  "If someone had to switch days, had an emergency or if someone was down on their luck, Brad would be the first guy to offer to work a shift for them or organize some effort to help," said Rick Nason, a firefighter and president of the Portage Professional Firefighters Union.  Brad's 25-year career with the PFD was full of kind and generous acts such as these, and co-workers are honored to return the favor.  The department has even solicited the help of the public and will hold a fundraiser to cover some of Brad's medical and travel expenses.

Brad, his wife, and his mother will journey to Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center soon for expert advice on treatment plans and ccomplementary medicine.  Brad expects to return at least once, most likely for lung surgery. 

Even in the face of terminal illness, Brad has not compromised his integrity.  "[He] has a character that you don't see in everybody," Nason said. "Who he is as a person, it's a credit to the city and the profession."

Doctors often mistakenly fear that frank conversations with their patients about death will harm them. Now, a new study confirms that these fears are unfounded; avoiding conversations about death provided no benefit while being direct with patients yielded a host of advantages.

Patients who received straight talk from doctors were no more likely to become depressed than patients whose doctors did not address death. They were less likely to spend their final days in hospitals, connected to machines, paying for futile care. Once they died, their families were more at peace. These findings come from a study of 603 patients whose cancer did not respond to chemotherapy. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is publishing the results.

Being well-informed about death and their diagnosis gives patients the opportunity to explore options such as hospice care. Having a conversation early on about dying affords them the time to seek out resources pertaining to death and loss.

Every patient responds differently to a terminal diagnosis, but from an ethical standpoint, patients have the right to know their likelihood of survival. Mental and emotional preparation for death can help ease the process for both the patient and their family. The California Assembly believes so strongly in frankness about death, that they recently passed a bill requiring health care providers to give complete answers to dying patients who inquire about their options.

Some doctors are protesting the bill, insisting it interferes with proper medical practice. Why do so many doctors dodge the death discussion? Some fear that it will smother the patient's hope. For others it generates a sense that they have failed the patient if they quit battling the disease. But for many individuals, candid and honest conversations about death are a way to build trust, remove anxiety, and eliminate feelings of isolation.

"I like being told what my health condition is. I don't like beating around the bush," said one 67-year-old cancer patient. "We all have to die. I've had a very good life. Death is not something that was fearful to me."

Click here to read more. For resources on facing death and coping with loss, click here.