Mesothelioma: No
Respecter of Age
“You have cancer.” Those three little words have the power to strike fear in the bravest of hearts. I was a new mother with a three-and-a-half-month-old child when I first heard them. The most devastating part of my diagnosis lay in the type of cancer. I had malignant pleural mesothelioma cancer. This cancer, generally associated with asbestos exposure, is seldom seen in young people, especially young women. I was only 36 and had not worked in the construction industry, as have most who are diagnosed with mesothelioma. My father, however, was a construction worker. Unknowingly, throughout my childhood, he had brought home a harmful white powder on his clothes each evening. Years later, my life hung in the balance.
At the beginning of the medical field’s fight against mesothelioma, the majority of sufferers were men who had worked in construction, home repair or one of the military careers where asbestos exposure occurs. Slowly, the scourge of mesothelioma spread. Women who worked near or lived with men who held these hazardous jobs became ill. Wives who did loads of laundry covered in asbestos dust contracted mesothelioma. School employees who worked for years in outdated buildings full of asbestos also became ill. During all of this, however, the age of mesothelioma sufferers remained high. Those considered to be at risk had spent years working in and around asbestos or in the company of a worker who brought the poison home on clothing and shoes.
Recently, a new group of people diagnosed with mesothelioma has emerged. These are the children of those workers. For years, they innocently hugged dad or mom when he or she came home wearing work clothes peppered with asbestos. Like myself, many of these children innocently borrowed Dad’s work jacket when they went out to complete a chore such as feeding pets or taking out the trash. Our parents had no idea of the consequences that would come.
“You have cancer.” Those three little words have the power to strike fear in the bravest of hearts. I was a new mother with a three-and-a-half-month-old child when I first heard them. The most devastating part of my diagnosis lay in the type of cancer. I had malignant pleural mesothelioma cancer. This cancer, generally associated with asbestos exposure, is seldom seen in young people, especially young women. I was only 36 and had not worked in the construction industry, as have most who are diagnosed with mesothelioma. My father, however, was a construction worker. Unknowingly, throughout my childhood, he had brought home a harmful white powder on his clothes each evening. Years later, my life hung in the balance.
At the beginning of the medical field’s fight against mesothelioma, the majority of sufferers were men who had worked in construction, home repair or one of the military careers where asbestos exposure occurs. Slowly, the scourge of mesothelioma spread. Women who worked near or lived with men who held these hazardous jobs became ill. Wives who did loads of laundry covered in asbestos dust contracted mesothelioma. School employees who worked for years in outdated buildings full of asbestos also became ill. During all of this, however, the age of mesothelioma sufferers remained high. Those considered to be at risk had spent years working in and around asbestos or in the company of a worker who brought the poison home on clothing and shoes.
Recently, a new group of people diagnosed with mesothelioma has emerged. These are the children of those workers. For years, they innocently hugged dad or mom when he or she came home wearing work clothes peppered with asbestos. Like myself, many of these children innocently borrowed Dad’s work jacket when they went out to complete a chore such as feeding pets or taking out the trash. Our parents had no idea of the consequences that would come.
Since my diagnosis and subsequent recovery, I have spent much time working with victims and their family members. The more time I spend in this community, the more young patients I meet. Many of them are women and men in their 20s or 30s. Many are newlyweds or new parents. It seems that just as their lives are beginning, a mesothelioma diagnosis brings everything to a halt. Fortunately, this halt doesn’t have to be a permanent one. New research and technical advances are currently evolving to fight mesothelioma, and mesothelioma treatment options are advancing. More and more survival stories bring hope to each person who hears the devastating diagnosis, “You have mesothelioma.” Hope keeps community members fighting.
As a survivor of mesothelioma, I believe the most important thing I can do is to spread awareness. In the medical community, we have seen great strides in early diagnosis and successful treatment when average people take it upon themselves to raise awareness. When people learn, know and understand about mesothelioma, more research and better diagnostics will become available. When I can help someone stop living in fear of mesothelioma, I know I am doing the right thing.
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