Arthur “Art” Putt was diagnosed with mesothelioma decades after serving in the U.S. military and working as a mechanic. Given a year or less to live, Art is still alive today.
Video Summary: Arthur Putt received a mesothelioma diagnosis after working as a mechanic for decades. He and his wife Jan filed a lawsuit with Simmons Hanly Conroy, a national firm, to pursue justice. View Transcript
Arthur Putt:
What we do every night, we sit together and we'll watch TV, and then at 07:00, we have our ice cream
bar.
Jan Putt:
My name is Jan Putt. I'm married to Art who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in April 2018. Originally,
the doctor said he would have possibly six months to a year, and that was four years ago. So I love him. I
still got him.
Arthur Putt:
I feel sorry for somebody that loses someone and they don't have that time to say what they think or
last or how they feel. We do it every day, and it has been that way even before this happened. We did
everything together, remodeling our homes and stuff like that, her woodworking.
Jan Putt:
We used to go out for long drives, just go out sightseeing, and we'd be gone for four or five hours.
Arthur Putt:
We never get tired of being together.
Jan Putt:
His very early symptoms were just a very light hacky cough, and I couldn't get him to go to see the
doctor until it got a little worse one day and he decided maybe he needed to go see somebody. They did
a X-ray and they thought he had pneumonia, but the radiologist wasn't happy with that and wanted
more tests. So they did some scans, and that was the first time they said he had mesothelioma.
Arthur Putt:
It was kind of good to know that there was no cure for it in a way. I was able to make the best out of my
life from that point on. We just got positive about it, that I was lucky to have time, to spend quality time
with her and say what I wanted to say, and not just all of a sudden be gone. So we cherish every day of
it.
I really wasn't much of a mechanic at first. I got a job at a service station. We did a lot of brakes. That
was probably our, besides tune-up, that was our next busiest thing. We had done it the old-fashioned
way and we had dust everywhere.
Jan Putt:
We filed a mesothelioma lawsuit because we had family members and stuff that encouraged us to do it.
Our daughter in Indiana knew somebody that had worked with Simmons Hanly Conroy and had had a
very good experience.
Come on in.
John Barnerd:
It's so good to see you.
Jan Putt:
John first came here and we had several meetings with him and crowds of people at times.
John Barnerd:
Within about nine or 10 months, I think from when we had filed the case-ts
Arthur Putt:
We had four settlement jury verdict, and only one we had to go to court for. The one thing that shocked
and amazed me was when they called me in to see them. I walked in there and it must have been 8, 10
lawyers in there all working on this thing.
What he did for us, made our financial situation a whole lot better. We gave all that money to our kids,
paid our house off. It made our life a little easier. We've got no financial worries, and that makes it
easier for me to know that she's taken care of, and we have John and his firm to thank for all that.
What I tell people, is it's the one good thing that came out of something bad. I can't say how miserable
this would be without him and what he did and his firm, and his family as far as we're concerned.
Art served in two branches of the U.S. military in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He began with a tenure in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1960 and then served in the U.S. Air Force between 1960 and 1962.
Many U.S. veterans developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos products while they served. However, Art was mainly exposed to asbestos while working as a civilian car mechanic.
“We had done brakes the old-fashioned way, grinding them with sandpaper. We had dust everywhere. We didn’t know any better,” Art recalls.
Art had no idea that his work would one day put his life in danger, as mesothelioma can form 10-50 years following asbestos exposure. Yet, in 2018, he became one of the thousands of U.S. veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.
Get a Free Veterans Kit if you or a loved one has mesothelioma — we may be able to help you secure military benefits, find the best treatments, and access compensation.
In 2018, while enjoying retirement with his wife Jan, Art developed symptoms like a cough and mucus buildup that wouldn’t go away.
A chest X-ray raised the possible suspicion of pneumonia, but his radiologist wasn’t so sure. Art agreed to more tests, which confirmed that he had pleural mesothelioma, the most common type of this cancer.
This cancer develops in the lining of the lungs (pleura), and though it can be treated, there is no cure. Art’s doctors expected him to live only six months to a year.
But despite a grim prognosis, Art never let his spirits fall.
“It was kind of good to know that there was no cure for it in a way. Knowing there was no cure, I was able to make the best out of my life from that point on," Art says.
Given the life-threatening diagnosis, Art and his family promptly began exploring mesothelioma treatment plans with experienced doctors.
Art first received chemotherapy (medication to kill cancer). While it's often very effective, Art suffered severe side effects, and his cancer stopped responding to it. Art’s doctors then used immunotherapy, but the cancer grew resistant to it too.
Art’s wife Jan and their daughter, both nurses, suggested an immune-boosting alternative therapy of asparagus, beetroot powder, cottage cheese, and oils.
Today, Art is feeling much better and credits his family with saving his life.
Call (877) 450-8973 to speak with our team and learn about top mesothelioma treatments that could help you.
"Nothing can cure mesothelioma, just slow it down. But to me, it was kind of good to know that there was no cure for it in a way. I was able to make the best out of my life from that point on."
Art Putt
U.S. Army & Air Force veteran with mesothelioma
Like many, Art initially was unsure of filing a mesothelioma lawsuit — but ultimately, doing so significantly improved his family’s life.
On the advice of one of his daughters, Art contacted veteran-founded mesothelioma law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy, and an attorney met him and Jan at their home.
“We liked our lawyer, right off the bat, but we liked him better afterwards when we got to know him. He made us feel at ease and comfortable.”
Art’s mesothelioma lawyer told him truth about his diagnosis: It could have been prevented. Asbestos companies knew the dangers of the mineral for decades but hid the truth from the public to make a profit.
This spurred Art and Jan to file a mesothelioma lawsuit and hold these companies accountable.
Get a Free Veterans Kit to see how mesothelioma lawyers can help you or a loved one.
Art’s lawyers retrieved significant compensation for him, allowing his family to cover a wide range of expenses.
“The financial freedom that came from filing a mesothelioma lawsuit was the one good thing that came out of something bad," Art says. "We gave all that money to our kids, paid all their debts off, and paid our house off. We had no financial worries.”
Art has been enjoying another unexpected blessing: More time with his family. He celebrated 6 years of survivorship in 2024. Art and Jan remain inseparable, ending every night with an ice cream bar.
The Mesothelioma Veterans Center salutes Art — a hardworking veteran who continues to see the positive in light of his battle with mesothelioma.
Call (877) 450-8973 or get a Free Veterans Kit if you or a veteran that you love has mesothelioma. We can help you find top doctors, file for benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and explore legal compensation options.
