Beating the Odds...Mesothelioma Awareness Day

Happy Saturday guys and dolls! I hope you've been having a great weekend so far.  Wow, I just can't believe it is already almost the end of September! Sheesh, this month has just flown by, hasn't it?!  In case you didn't know, today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. A few weeks ago, a lady by the name of Heather Von St. James reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to share her story about her experience with Mesothelioma here on my blog in honor of Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Well, of course I said yes!  

Mesothelioma is a cancer that is caused by exposure to Asbestos and the inhalation of Asbestos particles. Most individuals never know they have Mesothelioma until many years later after the exposure has occurred. You can learn more about that here.  When Heather was a child, her dad worked in drywall construction and had unknowingly exposed his daughter, Heather, to Asbestos through his work jacket. Once she was diagnosed back in 2005 at the very young age of 36, Heather was given only 15 months to live.  She worried that her husband of 6 1/2 years would become a widow and that she would no longer be around to raise and watch her 3 month old beautiful baby girl grow up - that was over 10 years ago.  I have known a few people in my lifetime who have cancer and who have died from cancer.  As a matter of fact, I currently work with 2 ladies who have breast cancer, and we just lost a co-worker who died of brain cancer.  He was only 59 years young and the ladies I work with are also in their late 50's and early 60's. It seems that cancer knows no age. I really hope that a cure will be found in my lifetime.

After reading Heather's story of triumph over her Mesothelioma, I was just in awe, literally.  Heather is a very brave woman whom I have come to admire and have a great deal of respect for all that she has been through.  Personally, I just don't know that I would ever be as strong as Heather has been if I had to go through such difficult times.  Along with telling you about Heather's story, she gave me permission to share photos of her and her beautiful family as well:

I love her spunky look and her hair - I mean, I adore it, don't you?! She's so young looking and the gray/silver hair just highlights her face and brings out her beautiful eyes and attributes even more, I think.  She is just adorable and her family is adorable as well.  If you would like to learn more about Heather and her story, you can find it here.  Also, if you would like to learn more about Mesothelioma, you can find it here. What about you?  Do you have any personal stories relating to cancer that you'd like to share, maybe that you've experienced or are experiencing now personally or with someone you know?  I would love to learn about your stories as well, so please feel free to share.  If you have a story that you'd like me to share, please let me know and I will be glad to do so.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks again for stopping by to say hello and learning about Heather's and her story.  :)

Lots of love and hugs,