Mesothelioma Pain: What It's Like Glynn Kron, 57, of Ponchatoula, La., didn't experience pain from his mesothelioma at first. In fact, he didn't experience any symptoms at all. "I went to a pulmonologist to receive help to quit smoking," says Kron, who says he probably was exposed to asbestos while working on cars, and as a teen, when he worked on construction jobs. When the doctor evaluated his health before prescribing him medication, she found a collapsed lung on the X-ray. After it wouldn't re-inflate, he says, the medical team took a look inside and found the tumor. It was diagnosed as mesothelioma in October 2007. He had major surgery in January 2008, which left a huge scar. "They cut a lot of nerves and muscle," says Kron. He lost his whole lung, part of the chest wall, the chest wall lining, and the heart lining. Today, he says, while he is cancer-free, he still has a lot of numbness � and pain. Kron is still trying to find the right way to manage his pain post-surgery. He's taking medication, but doesn't want to keep taking it forever. "I tried some over-the-counter [OTC] pain medication but it's not strong enough � and you have to take so many of them," he says. Plus, the cost of those OTC medications gets too high too quickly, since insurance won't pay for them. He's considering seeing a pain management specialist for better control. "It certainly has an impact," Kron says of his daily life with mesothelioma. He has problems bending over and even has difficulty tying his shoes. "Between the pain and the loss of the lung, it's reduced and changed my activities quite a bit."
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