HomePatientsMesothelioma TestimonialsJames Winkle

James Winkle sought adventure from a young age. Growing up in Fort Benton, Montana with his five siblings he was constantly outside, camping, snowboarding, fishing, and mountain biking. It was this curiosity and thrill for adventure that caused him to enter the Navy in 1982 and serve for six years. He arrived in the Philippines in 1983 after thirteen weeks of boot camp and six months of machinist school. The tropical, exotic environment was Winkle’s first introduction to life outside of the United States and where he first realized his love of traveling. While he was there for two and a half years he spent his free time traveling among the islands, conversing with the locals, and trying the cuisine. Then in 1985, he was transferred to Yokosuka, Japan where he worked as an engineer on a Navy destroyer. His job entailed taking care of the equipment in the engine and boiler room. While on this destroyer, he traveled extensively throughout the South Pacific and the Persian Gulf in his role as small boat engineer patrolling the seas for Russian and North Korean submarines and acting as protection for other ships traveling in dangerous waters. After his return to the U.S. in 1988 he joined the Navy Reserves and moved to Spokane, Washington where he met his wife Kimberly and got a job working for a trucking company. His life seemed to be falling perfectly into place, Winkle had met a woman he wanted to share his life with and start a family. Unfortunately, just when everything was falling into place, he was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s disease in June 1991 and soon embarked on another fight, only this one was raging inside of him. He married his wife while undergoing chemotherapy that year and in 1995 when he relapsed, he decided to undergo a stem cell transplant. The surgery appeared to save him and in 1998 Winkle had his first child with his wife and a second chance at life. After getting a clean bill of health from his doctors Winkle joined the Montana Army National Guards in 2001 and was sent to Iraq in 2004 as an infantryman. His role as team leader in the conflict-driven town of Hawija involved apprehending people, searching for suspects, and clearing buildings of any suspicious individuals. His experience and knowledge from his tours in the Navy served him and those around him well as he made it his responsibility to look after the younger men in his battalion who experienced culture shock and nerves during their first tour. After his return from Iraq life returned to normal for Winkle and his family. He worked for the Army National Guard, met with his buddies one weekend a month for National Guard training, and he watched his daughter and now son grow up in front of him. Then in 2013, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. After having his colon removed and going into remission, his doctor found a spot on the outside of his lung and what was originally thought to be scar tissue, was in fact, malignant pleural mesothelioma. Initially, Winkle did not know a great deal about mesothelioma. He had heard the familiar commercials at night from lawyers and had known a few friends who got it from working in mines in Montana, but he did not know much about the disease itself. He realized he was exposed to asbestos when he worked at a dry dock in the Philippines during his time in the Navy. While researching mesothelioma he was referred to Pacific Mesothelioma Center Scientific Adviser Dr. Robert B. Cameron who subsequently performed his lung-sparing pleurectomy surgery on Winkle in June 2015. Five years later and Winkle is continuing his immunotherapy treatment and advocating for greater mesothelioma awareness and funding. On October 26th,2020 Winkle participated in our Virtual Walk for Mesothelioma, walking through the snow in Montana to help raise funds. He has shown that his determination and strength are no match for cancer.