Please and Thank You
Nobody ever hits my and my blog up for sponsored posts or reviews or any of those other things that other bloggers get. Well, wait, I did get a t-shirt once. And once or twice I’ve gotten an email ‘offering to help me with content’ but I have just ignored them because they always seems somewhat scammy….and as you probably know if you read this, this blog is purely for me to report on, and reflect upon, my life, my interests, and my loves.
A week or two ago I got an email that I ignored right off, but went back and read again later. It was from a woman named Heather Von St. James, and she was asking for me to write something about mesothelioma awareness. This email tugged at me a bit though, because she was writing as a cancer survivor, trying to support awareness about causes for the cancer she suffered from. If you know me, you also know that cancer has touched my life (as it does to almost everyone at some point). Ernie continues to live with Stage 4 prostate cancer, and although he is living a full and (reasonably) happy life, it hangs over our heads. The loss of my beloved sister Judi, from bile duct cancer, still haunts our family some 6 years later. I also seem to have a great deal of friends that have cancer. My colleague Nancy and I laugh sometimes as we identify my friends---‘oh wait, is that the one with brain cancer or lung cancer or….’
As I go on through life, accumulating losses, I also read more and more about environmental and other issues that may very well be causing some of these. I read with a heavy heart about the cancer cluster found in St. Louis and wonder, or rather know, how that has touched those I love.
It is, of course, a slippery slope when you start to worry about these things. We can start to panic and wonder how to live our lives. There are times though, when answers seem relatively clear and causes direct. So after reading Heather’s email I decided to write this post and give you a bit of information.
Mesothelioma is a very rare and very aggressive form of cancer that can often go undiagnosed for decades. It's caused by exposure to asbestos fibers that are inhaled and become lodged in the lung lining. Tumors develop and can cause pleural, peritoneal, or even cardial mesothelioma. Treatment for mesothelioma includes surgery, and often removal of the affected organs, a form of heated chemotherapy, and radiation.
Heather was a new mother and undertook these treatments because even then, she knew she had to survive for her husband and for her daughter. She is celebrating 10 years of survivorship this February.
Apart from her amazing story, the most important thing to take away is that Mesothelioma is a preventable disease, if asbestos were made illegal and abatement (removal) policies were properly followed. Please click the links and think about this, and help spread awareness of this issue.
Thanks.