Back at the end of last year I received an email from a woman named Katherine Keys. She shared with me a remarkable story about her life and mesothelioma. This story really struck a chord with me because in 2009 my father died from mesothelioma. I agreed to post her story and then I got sick. Life as I knew it was put on hold. I must apologize to Ms. Keys for my failure to carry the story out. with that said, today, April 26th I am sitting here at work thinking about when we got the first diagnosis. Mesothelioma is a scary word. To me it meant instant death and I began to research what it was and what it did. One site that helped me a great deal is the free ebook on Mesothelioma. My dad was in the Navy during WWII and when he returned from the war, worked around asbestos. Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is caused by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers. The mineral asbestos gets its name from the Ancient Greeks. The Greeks recognized the fireproof qualities of asbestos, while recognizing the harmful effects on asbestos workers. The word asbestos means inextinguishable.Mesothelioma got the best of him in 2006 and he died in 2009. So my question is....Have you walked in my shoes? Do you or a loved suffer from this dreaded disease? I am sharing Katherine's story so that if someone is helped it will be a good thing. I have also enclosed some sites for you to find out about mesothelioma.
"My name is Katherine Keys and I have been fighting mesothelioma cancer for the past 9 years. If you don’t know, mesothelioma is a cancer caused by asbestos exposure. People are can be exposed to asbestos in many ways. I was exposed when the office I was working in decided to redo the floors, which contained large amounts of asbestos.
At the age of 49 I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Pleural Mesothelioma and was told I had less than two years to live. But I was determined to stay positive and beat this cancer against all odds. My treatment included having my right lung and the lining of the lung removed. Soon after, I began several months of radiation therapy.
I am overjoyed to say that my fight paid off and now 9 years later I am still cancer free! But I know I did not face this battle alone. The doctors and staff at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are true miracle workers and I am forever grateful to them.
I was also helped greatly by the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma Lawyer Center. Not only did they help me obtain financial compensation which helped with my treatments and quality of life, they genuinely care about my well-being. I am proud to call them my friends and they continue to stand by my side as I fight mesothelioma.
I feel it is my duty to give back to the community--to let people with asbestos diseases know they are not alone. There is help available!
You have a great website. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind posting a link to mesotheliomalawyercenter.org and mdanderson.org on your website? I know together we can help a lot of people! I look forward to hopefully hearing from you, and thanks for all your time in advance.
All the best,"
Find out all you can about this dread disease and let's all work hard to eradicate it.....NOW!