A RETIRED plumber who died from an asbestos-related disease could have been exposed to the deadly substance while working on a boiler at University College Hospital in Bloomsbury, an inquest heard last week.
Doctors were convinced, but could not prove, that Henry Foy, 75, a former RAF dentist, was suffering from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer strain.
But coroner Dr Andrew Reid ruled at a St Pancras inquest that the pensioner had died of mesothelioma – just as his doctors believed.
Mr Foy, of Cantelowes Road, Kentish Town, died at Hampstead’s Marie Curie Hospice on April 9 this year.
His son, Ian, told the hearing his father, who in later years had worked as a plumber and boiler engineer, was likely to have come into contact with asbestos while working in places such as University College Hospital.
Despite London Heart Hospital specialist consultant Martin Hayward taking repeated and extensive samples from Mr Foy’s lungs for examination, analysis failed to show any traces of the deadly disease.
But Mr Hayward, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, was certain asbestos was the cause of Mr Foy’s ill health.
He told the inquest: “Mesothelioma is a difficult tumour to diagnose and it’s often difficult to find.”
Mr Hayward had operated on Mr Foy four times. He had found Mr Foy’s lungs to be thickened, white and dense.
He said: “I took extensive biopsies at the time but to my surprise and disappointment they came back negative for mesothelioma.
“I spoke to his son and said many times I believed he had mesothelioma but I can’t prove it. There was no foreign material, particularly no asbestos fibres.”
Further samples sent for analysis produced the same result.
The inquest was told that Mr Foy refused to let his illness get him down. Mr Hayward said: “He was a tough guy and a gentleman. I remember one time he went home quite sick and sprang his wife out of a care home. He was that kind of person.”
Towards the end of 2004, Mr Foy was fitted with a colostomy bag to help drain fluid from his lungs.
However, his GP, Dr Iona Heath, of Caversham Group Practice in Kentish Town, wrote to Mr Hayward with some concerns.
Mr Hayward said: “She said he was having trouble at home. It seemed like he was putting on a brave face for me.”
By the time of his fourth operation, it became clear Mr Foy was not going to recover.
In February this year Mr Foy was referred to the Marie Curie Hospice, where he remained until his death in April.
A post-mortem showed Mr Foy had suffered from multiple tumours and found evidence of mesothelioma.
Coroner Dr Reid told the court Mr Foy had died as a consequence of malignant mesothelioma as a result of occupational exposure to asbestos over a period of 30 to 40 years.
Verdict: industrial disease.