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February 2nd, 2005
An accountant that spent six years doing the books for asbestos mining companies in Kuruman recently found out that he has mesothelioma, a type of deadly cancer that results from exposure to asbestos. Dave Bienz spent around two days each month in the Northern Cape, where he states he witnessed workers packing asbestos fibers into bags by hand. He stated: "Their hands were like claws, so deformed they were. If you think about it now, they probably all had asbestos-related disease. In the store room there was dust everywhere, even the rafters."
Mr Bienz only found out that he has mesothelioma just over two weeks ago, after spending the Christmas period feeling unwell and struggling to breathe. Since he found out about the mesothelioma, life has changed dramatically. His wife stated: "The days have just flashed by since then. We can't think further than the next doctor's appointment. At times like this you realize how close and valuable your friends are, how they've rallied around. We don't even want to ask the doctor what the prognosis is. We are taking it day by day."
Bienz himself added: “I am told once you've got [mesothelioma] you've got it. You can, however, improve the quality of the time you have left. When this happens you don't care about the money, even if there's some way of compensation from the big mining companies…”
Mr Bienz travelled to Kuruman monthly for around two days throughout a period of about six years.
