Merlin Olsen suffering from Mesothelioma
Merlin Olsen was one of the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome, but the 69-year-old Hall of Fame left tackle, TV commentator, and TV actor could not defeat mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. He died on Thursday, March 11, in California.
Olsen’s life was a colorful one, beginning in his birthplace of Logan, Utah, to Utah State University, where he was the school’s best interior lineman and won the Outland Trophy to prove it. He joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1962 and wore their uniform for 15 years before retiring. While he played for the Rams, he received his master’s degree in economics.
In 1977, shortly after retiring from football, Olsen took his 6 foot 5 inch frame to the airwaves as a commentator for NBC’s pro football and Rose Bowl programs. He also tackled other roles, including starring in his own series, “Father Murphy,” playing the character Jonathan Garvey in NBC’s “Little House on the Prairie,” and serving as a spokesperson for FTD florists in commercials.
The one role that was more than he could handle was mesothelioma. This is a rare form of cancer in which cancerous cells develop in the mesothelium, the protective sac that covers most of the body’s internal organs. According to the National Cancer Institute, only about 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Although it appears more often in men and the risk increases with age, this cancer can develop in either sex at any age.
Mesothelium has different names, depending on where it is in the body. Most cases of mesothelioma begin in the pleura (membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity wall) or the peritoneum (membranes in the abdominal cavity).
The major risk factor for mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Between 70 to 80 percent of people who have mesothelioma have been exposed to this industrial material that has been used in everything from root shingles to textiles, insulation, brake linings, and cement. In the remaining patients, the cause is usually unknown.
The risk of developing asbestos-related lung disease increases with greater exposure to the material, but some people develop the cancer even if they had only brief exposure to asbestos. However, not everyone who has been heavily exposed to asbestos develops related diseases.
Merlin Olsen visited Utah State University in December 2009, and during a halftime ceremony of a basketball game the school announced that it was dedicating the football field at its Romney Stadium as Merlin Olsen Field in 2010. Olsen was ailing at the time, so much so that he missed a St. Louis Rams home game that same month that honored him.
Merlin Olsen was taken down by mesothelioma, but he leaves behind a long line of memories and awards, including entry into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982, the NFL’s most valuable player in 1974 as chosen by the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia, and being voted to the Pro Bowl 14 out of his 15 years with the Rams.
SOURCES:
National Cancer Institute
New York Times, March 11, 2010
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Hawaii Evacuation Zones after Tsunami Sirens Sounded
Tsunami sirens sounded at 6am local time (1600 GMT) to alert residents to the risk posed by the waves.
Warnings were triggered on islands all across the Pacific following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake 70 miles from Chile’s second largest city Concepcíon.
Tsunami waves radiated out from the epicentre and have already hit land at the southern Juan Fernandez Islands, about 400 miles off the coast of Chile, where it was reported to have caused “serious damage”.
Easter Island has also been evacuated ahead of the waves hitting.
Residents in Hawaii were warned that the potentially destructive waves were forecast to reach the islands by 11.19am local time.
Experts at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said they were expecting a tsunami of more than three feet in the central Pacific.
It is the first time Hawaii has experienced voluntary tsunami evacuation since 1994.
Emergency services were laying on fleets of public buses to provide free transport for anyone needing to leave evacuation zones.
“If you live anywhere in the evacuation zone, you have to evacuate,” said John Cummings, Oahu Emergency Management Department spokesman. “We’re going to treat this as a destructive-type tsunami.”
Local media reports showed lines of people at gas stations along the busy Kalanianaole Highway on Oahu and in Hilo as residents left for higher ground.
Honolulu’s managing director Kirk Caldwell said the city was working with hotels to warn tourists in the famous Waikiki beach area to effect a “vertical evacuation,” meaning people should evacuate to the third floor or higher.
He said police will close roads in inland areas at 10am, an hour before the first wave is scheduled to hit, to prevent gridlock in flood zones.
Meanwhile the state Department of Transportation urged ships and shipping companies to get their vessels out of port ahead of the waves.
Tammy Mori, spokesman for the department, urged people not to panic, warning that residents had several hours to evacuate.
“It’s important that those in low-lying areas can get to higher ground. We want to remind people that they have five hours to evacuate after the alarms sound,” she told the Honolulu Advertiser.
Officials at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves in enclosed bays could reach six to eight feet while in other shorelines they would only be around three feet.
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Redlands earthquakes become a ’swarm’
REDLANDS–An active earthquake “swarm” that began February 13th is keeping areas of the Inland Empire on edge.
The shaking has been traced with an epicenter south of Redlands in San Timoteo Canyon.
Seismologist Tom Heaton at Cal Tech described the sequence as ‘not unusual’.
“It’s really difficult to predict what can happen with swarm. Sometimes they continue for weeks or months. Sometimes they’re over in a few days.”
Earthquake ‘swarms’ usually occur in active geothermal areas. This sequence is connected with the San Jacinto Fault it is happening in a depth of three to four miles.
There is no reported damage.
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