I am so pleased to present to you a a guest post written by a woman who has been through an incredible struggle but found her way to the light on the other side. I hope you will all read and comment on her story.
Finding Good in the Bad
Several years ago, I experienced several events that showed me the importance of having a close circle of family and friends that I could trust. It truly does take many people to get you through a hard time. It all started after a very normal pregnancy when I gave birth to my baby girl, Lily, by emergency C-section on August 4, 2005. I was so thankful for the many family and friends who came by at this time to surround my husband and me with their care. Little did I know then that I would need even more of their kindness in the following months.
Shortly after returning to my job, I began experiencing strange fatigue as well as difficulty breathing. I might have written these symptoms up to typical concerns related to being a new mother; however, there was something about them that really concerned me. Because of this, I decided to see my physician. He ran a number of tests and discovered that, as I had suspected, there was a problem.
I was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma on November 21, 2005. This cancer is known to be quite deadly and ruins the lining of the lungs. It occurs in people who have been exposed to asbestos. To my surprise, I found out that a chance exposure to asbestos as a child had come back to haunt me as an adult.
I was told that if I did not quickly seek aggressive treatment, I would only have fifteen months to live. What bothered me most during this process were my thoughts of my husband and new baby. I could not bear to leave them alone. This was my driving force as I dropped Lily off at my parents’ home in South Dakota and headed to Boston with my husband to begin treatment with one of the best mesothelioma doctors in the country. On February 2, 2006 I had an extrapleural pneumonectomy, which removed my entire left lung and the surrounding tissue. Over two months of recovery followed. Of course, this was not the end of the testing and procedures as I had a great deal of chemotherapy and radiation treatment in the following months.
I am sure that facing motherhood alone is a difficult task. However, I found myself fighting a very challenging battle as I faced mesothelioma and its treatment at the same time. Without the help and support of my family and friends, I do not believe that I would have been able to make it through this time. They helped me but even more importantly took care of my daughter at a time that I was unable to do so myself. While it was difficult to miss many of those beginning months with my daughter, remembering her kept me in the grueling fight against cancer. Today, I am cancer-free because of my family and friends. Even when cancer paints a bleak and terrible picture, a priceless support system can bring good from the bad.
Heather Von St James is a 43-year-old wife and mother. Upon her diagnosis of mesothelioma, she vowed to be a source of hope for other patients who found themselves with the same diagnosis. Now, over 6 years later, her story has been helping people all over the globe. She continues her advocacy and awareness work by blogging, speaking and sharing her message of hope and healing with others. Check out her story at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.
Several years ago, I experienced several events that showed me the importance of having a close circle of family and friends that I could trust. It truly does take many people to get you through a hard time. It all started after a very normal pregnancy when I gave birth to my baby girl, Lily, by emergency C-section on August 4, 2005. I was so thankful for the many family and friends who came by at this time to surround my husband and me with their care. Little did I know then that I would need even more of their kindness in the following months.
Shortly after returning to my job, I began experiencing strange fatigue as well as difficulty breathing. I might have written these symptoms up to typical concerns related to being a new mother; however, there was something about them that really concerned me. Because of this, I decided to see my physician. He ran a number of tests and discovered that, as I had suspected, there was a problem.
I was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma on November 21, 2005. This cancer is known to be quite deadly and ruins the lining of the lungs. It occurs in people who have been exposed to asbestos. To my surprise, I found out that a chance exposure to asbestos as a child had come back to haunt me as an adult.
I was told that if I did not quickly seek aggressive treatment, I would only have fifteen months to live. What bothered me most during this process were my thoughts of my husband and new baby. I could not bear to leave them alone. This was my driving force as I dropped Lily off at my parents’ home in South Dakota and headed to Boston with my husband to begin treatment with one of the best mesothelioma doctors in the country. On February 2, 2006 I had an extrapleural pneumonectomy, which removed my entire left lung and the surrounding tissue. Over two months of recovery followed. Of course, this was not the end of the testing and procedures as I had a great deal of chemotherapy and radiation treatment in the following months.
I am sure that facing motherhood alone is a difficult task. However, I found myself fighting a very challenging battle as I faced mesothelioma and its treatment at the same time. Without the help and support of my family and friends, I do not believe that I would have been able to make it through this time. They helped me but even more importantly took care of my daughter at a time that I was unable to do so myself. While it was difficult to miss many of those beginning months with my daughter, remembering her kept me in the grueling fight against cancer. Today, I am cancer-free because of my family and friends. Even when cancer paints a bleak and terrible picture, a priceless support system can bring good from the bad.
Heather Von St James is a 43-year-old wife and mother. Upon her diagnosis of mesothelioma, she vowed to be a source of hope for other patients who found themselves with the same diagnosis. Now, over 6 years later, her story has been helping people all over the globe. She continues her advocacy and awareness work by blogging, speaking and sharing her message of hope and healing with others. Check out her story at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog.
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