ABSTRACT
D r. Milton “Mike” Horowitz was an educated man. He was a World War II veteran, earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, worked as the chief psychologist at the University Hospital of Western Reserve in Cleveland, served as the director of professional education at the Reiss-Davis Child Study Center, and was a founding member of the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies. A smoker since his days in the military, it was not exactly a surprise when Dr. Horowitz was diagnosed with cancer. What was unusual, however, was the type of cancer with which he was diagnosed: mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from cells comprising the protective lining of the human body’s internal organs, especially the outer lining of the lungs. Th ere is a very specifi c profi le associated with mesothelioma patients; virtually all such patients have been exposed to asbestos. While asbestos is a naturally occurring substance and mesothelioma is more common in populations located near naturally occurring asbestos,3 the major risk factor for mesothelioma is working with asbestos (e.g., shipyard workers, heating and construction workers, those employed in the manufacture of asbestos products).4 Th ere was no evidence of occupational exposure in Dr. Horowitz’s case. However, he did claim to have smoked Kent Micronite cigarettes, which had an asbestos fi lter, and that was the basis of the lawsuit he fi led against the Lorillard Tobacco Company, the manufacturer of Kent cigarettes.5
