Mesothelioma kills life-long criminal and infamous author

James Fogle stole his first car at the young age of 12 and set a course for the remainder of his life that would consist of an endless string of crimes.  James, who contracted mesothelioma, spent most of his life living in a prison, and eventually died living behind bars at the age of 75 in August, 2012 probably from the malignant mesothelioma he got while working as a pipe fitter.

Fogle described himself as a restless child born in a small town in Wisconsin and lived with an abusive father.  Early in his youth, he decided that stealing cars would be a form of escapism.  Consequently, James would spend much of his life as a youth in juvenile correctional facilities.  According to his autobiographies, it was in these facilities where he learned methods from other criminal detainees on how to pull off various crimes.  As he sustained his life path of criminal behavior, after serving time in jail as an adult and learning from fellow inmates, upon his release he began robbing drugstores.  James Fogle, all his life, was in and out of prison and seldom experienced freedom for more than a year between sentence terms.

During one of his prison terms, he was trained to be a steam pipe fitter.  It is suspected that during this era of his life he was exposed to asbestos, which later led to his development of mesothelioma.  When one is  exposed to asbestos fibers, some of the fibers floating in the are you breath can become trapped in the lungs when inhaled, and this can cause the deadly diseases known as mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma lung cancer is caused by exposure to floating asbestos particles.  However, with mesothelioma there is usually a latency period of 20 to 50 years from the time of exposure before the development of symptoms can be recognized.

Mesothelioma diagnosis typically begins with a sufferer’s visit to the doctor complaining of chronic chest pain. This pain is caused as a result of a buildup of fluid inside the pleural space; this is called pleural effusion and is the most common presenting symptom of malignant mesothelioma.

Preliminary mesothelioma detection can be achieved through a chest imagery scan (CT scan, x-ray); however, mesothelioma is often misdiagnosed as viral pneumonia at this stage because of certain symptomatic similarities between the two. The only way to definitively verify a suspected case of malignant mesothelioma is through a biopsy.

Because of his mesothelioma cancer condition and toward the end of his life, James was required to use an oxygen tank to breathe.

Mesothelioma kills book writer

While James  only had a sixth-grade education, he became inspired by books he read during his prison time.  From his reading he developed his own writing style, and wrote 11 autobiographical novels while doing his time.   “Drugstore Cowboy,” is the story about drug addicts who teamed up to support their drug addictions by working together to  rob  pharmacies.  This was the only book he wrote that got published.  This novel was used to create a highly-regarded and  successful film by director Gus Van Sant.  The film was made in 1989 with Matt Dillon playing the lead role.  William Burroughs, one of the major faces of the Beat Generation, had a minor role in the movie, and lauded Fogle’s novel.

At the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Washington, James Fogle was serving out his 16-year sentence for  crimes committed when he died of mesothelioma cancer.

References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/us/james-fogle-author-of-drugstore-cowboy-dies-at-75.html

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/26/local/la-me-james-fogle-20120826

http://seattletimes.com/html/obituaries/2018979541_cowboy24m.html