Beating Cancer with the Help of Family and Friends
On August 4, 2005, my only child, Lily, was born via C-section. Family and friends welcomed her into the world, genuinely happy for my husband and me. Life was wonderful.
Soon, I returned to work following maternity leave, but gradually I began noticing a tired, breathless feeling throughout my body. Although I thought the problem was linked to the adjustments of being a new mother, I made an appointment to see my doctor. Following several tests, the doctor delivered very bad news.
I was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer on November 21, less than 4 months after delivering a healthy baby girl into the world. Malignant pleural mesothelioma comes with a grave prognosis. If I chose no treatment, I would have about 15 months to live. I thought of my husband begin left to raise Lily alone, of Lily growing up without a mother. Something needed to be done to save my life.
My husband and I decided to go with the most aggressive treatment available. That winter we left Lily with my parents in South Dakota while we flew to Boston so I could be treated by one of the world’s premier mesothelioma physicians. On February 2, during a procedure called an extrapleural pneumenectomy my left lung was removed along with the cancerous tumor in the lining of the lung. For the next 18 days I recuperated in the hospital there.
Meanwhile, Lily continued to grow and develop. While my mom and dad where at work in South Dakota, girls I had babysat years ago stepped up and watched my Lily. To keep my husband and I up-to-date on our daughter, my mom regularly sent pictures via email of Lily learning to eat, scoot and roll around. My husband printed these out on a community printer and brought them to my room where the nurses and I would ooh and ah over my baby, all the while choking back the tears.
I returned home for another 2 months of recovery before beginning chemotherapy and then radiation treatments. As I grew stronger, I was able once again to care for my daughter.
Today, my husband, Lily, and I do our best to keep in mind the precious fragility of life. We make all we can of each moment we share. Like Auntie Mame said in the 1958 movie, “Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”
Fighting cancer wasn’t fun, but the lessons learned are the most valuable of my life. Each day is a gift during which we can feast at the banquet of life. I am thankful for all the good that had come from the bad and will never forget this life lesson.
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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