Peachtree Corners resident Rich DeAugustinis is driven in what he’s doing to bring about specific legislative changes for Georgia. It’s important.
That’s because Tara, his late wife and teenage daughter Aubrey’s mom, lost her battle against mesothelioma far too soon.
“Most Americans aren’t even familiar with the disease,”
Rich said. “It’s a rare cancer, but deadly.”
Tara’s Journey
Tara was diagnosed with mesothelioma (or meso) in early
2016 at age 45. Just before her lung surgery in 2016, she wrote: “I am mentally
and physically ready. I know this will be difficult, but I am a fighter.”
Throughout her 15-month ordeal, with surgery, setbacks
and sadness, Tara pushed forward with all her strength. As the months slipped
by, the DeAugustinis family continued to share their thoughts, as well as
prayers for their family, friends and for those who might be facing similar
circumstances.
By November of 2016, Rich wrote: “Tara will be continuing
radiation treatments through Thanksgiving week. As a result, we expect the next
couple of months to remain challenging.”
By spring of 2017, the journal betrayed a hint of sorrow:
“This week we have learned that Tara’s latest scan shows the mesothelioma has
spread to her remaining left lung, and also in the abdomen and in several lymph
nodes. Bottom line,” Rich wrote, “the immunotherapy is not working.”
Tara continued to be strong as she added later: “So what
is next?… I keep fighting…We focus on one day at a time. I start a new drug
protocol at the end of the month. It is a combination of two immunotherapy
drugs.”
But, on May 19, 2017, her husband added his most
heartbreaking note: “Tara’s battle with mesothelioma is coming to an end…we
don’t know how much time she has left.”
Sadly, four days later, Tara died.
What’s Next?
Working through a tremendous amount of personal grief,
Rich knew he had to change the public’s awareness of meso through education.
“That first year, I was shell-shocked,” he admitted. It
took him about a year to emerge. He wanted to move forward with his life and be
the father his daughter needed.
When he decided to take on the battle of educating others
about meso, he realized how difficult it was to find credible information. In
fact, it was challenging.
Many folks don’t have the resources that Rich does. As a
highly educated Georgia Tech alum and 30-year Coca-Cola executive, he has the
background to understand the research and the finances to travel wherever is
necessary. So today, he is fighting for Tara as well as all the families who
experienced meso before her and those who are experiencing it today.
Finding the Cause
Meso is associated with environmental and occupational
inhalation exposure to asbestos fiber, according to the experts. Rich said that
meso’s delayed attack can take place decades after initial exposure. “Asbestos
is still very much present in the community around us,” he said.
For years, asbestos was widely used as a form of
insulation in many industries. People who worked in paper mills, shipbuilding
or construction are particularly vulnerable. The microscopic fibers can get
lodged in the lining of the lungs or tissue surrounding other organs. Loose
asbestos fibers breathed into the lungs can cause several serious
diseases—including malignant mesothelioma.
Tara didn’t work in any of those industries. She was
exposed to baby powder during her childhood years, according to her husband.
And it is that powder that Rich believes contained asbestos.
“I believe that’s what happened to my wife,” he said.
This led to his conviction that Georgia should ultimately
ban asbestos in all products. Although the dangers of asbestos are well known,
and building codes were changed throughout the 70s because of it, the use of
asbestos is still alive and well in Georgia, Rich said.
“Many people think of asbestos as yesterday’s problem,”
he explained. “It’s today’s problem, too. Years ago, we figured out it was a
deadly carcinogen.”
A Day of Mesothelioma
Awareness
To support meso awareness, Rich and his daughter Aubrey were at the state Capitol on September 26, 2019. The date was proclaimed Mesothelioma Day by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
Rich and Aubrey were joined by state Rep. Beth Moore and state Sen. Sally Harrell, both of whom plan to introduce legislation to ban asbestos in products during the current legislative session. At the Capitol, Rich took time to share his wife Tara’s battle with the debilitating disease.
“Tara lost everything to mesothelioma,” he said, “and we lost Tara.”
Continuing the Journey
Today, Rich is on the board of the Mesothelioma Applied
Research Foundation, a nonprofit charity dedicated to ending meso and its
suffering. For him, success would be “banning asbestos completely and educating
the public about its dangers.”
Asbestos has been banned in 55 countries worldwide,
according to asbestosnation.org. Rich stated that most people don’t realize
that among industrialized nations, the U.S. is one of the few that doesn’t have
a ban on asbestos. “There’s no such thing as an understandable or acceptable
cost to including asbestos in any products,” he said.
Meso is one of the most painful and difficult cancers for
any human being to go through, Rich said, “and yet it propels me to get out of
bed every day to fight the good fight.” He added that he’ll be motivated for
the rest of his life to help drive the necessary legislative changes for
Georgians.
“Tara’s death was a preventable tragedy,” Rich said. “I’m seeking justice. I want society to make different decisions to protect the health of our citizens. It’s only those who are left behind, who have had their lives profoundly and completely changed by this disease, who can say, “this is unacceptable.” ■
Tara’s Journal
When death comes to one mother, one daughter, just one person, it takes on a deeper meaning. To help others understand Tara’s journey, the family shared their deepest feelings from the beginning to end. Every stage of the journey has been chronicled in Tara’s journal, which is online at
curemeso.org/blog/tara.
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
703-879-3820, curemeso.org
American Cancer Society
800-227-2345, cancer.org/cancer/malignant-mesothelioma.html
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Cancer Institute
(NCA)
800-422-6237, cancer.gov/types/mesothelioma
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
800-CDC-4636
