Some Crayons Have Asbestos, Asbestos causes Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer...what the what?

Why am I writing this?  Well, Saturday Sept. 26 is Mesothelioma Awareness Day.  Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer and is most commonly caused by asbestos.

I had a new friend reach out to share his wife's story about her battle with mesothelioma and we thought it would be great to bring some of this to light.  How did she get it? At the age of 36, Heather was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma shortly after giving birth to her daughter in 2005.  As a little girl, Heather was exposed to asbestos fibers on her father's work jacket.  That's all it took.  Decades later, the effect took place and she began the fight for her life.

She underwent a drastic surgery involving a heated chemotherapy solution and removal of her left lung.  She and her husband, Cameron, now spread awareness of this deadly cancer.

Like mesothelioma, lung cancer can develop from exposure to asbestos.  Guess what?  My high school underwent asbestos abatement while I was in school there.  Makes one wonder?

It is important that the public understand the possible outcomes of  asbestos exposure to keep your families safe.

As for the Crayons...it's more than that.  Google it.  But for those not wanting too, here is a recent Time Magazine article about the subject of asbestos and lung diseases:  Time Magazine

To read more about Heather's story, visit Heather's Story

As always, thank you for taking the time to read and thank you for your continuous prayers.  I have some other health issues going on I'll be sharing soon.  Fun times.  I'm starting to think the doctors just want me around.

And please pray for Elizabeth, the Andersons, Roy, Chaseman, and so many more.  They appreciate your prayers too.

Results 9/18/15

Well, good news.  The petscan came back with no active cancer again.  Yay!  I'm beyond blessed that tarceva is still working.  Praise God.  The scanxiety really gets to us these days.  But, once again, God has given us so much.

Life is not about money, or materialistic things.  It's about faith, hope, and love.  You can have all the money in the world, but without these three things, you can still be poor.  It took me so long to realize that.  I do have a great life.  I may not be rich....probably barely middle class.   But, I'm happy.  I'm happy to be alive and able to spend more time with my family and friends.

Thank you all for your continuous prayers. They just keep working.  Please pray for Carmen, Elizabeth, Amanda,Sheila/Faith's family and the Anderson family as they are all going through some tough times right now.

I'm just so happy to see how God is so good every day.  And thank you also to my wonderful friends who came out this past Saturday, in the pouring rain, to help raise money for lung cancer awareness and research with Free To Breathe.  You all are just more of my many blessings.  It made my heart fill with joy!

And I had a biopsy and took some pain meds today so I'm kinda tired.   If I left anyone out, I'm kinda loopy and very sorry. I just wanted to share the good news with you all.  God bless you and I love you. ❤️   I'll blog more when I'm not loopy soon.  Love you!

Well, hello there my old friend...scanxiety

It's beginning to get like clockwork.  I know my scans are coming up in two weeks from today (actually yesterday now that it's after 1 a.m.).  This is when scanxiety kicks in.  So for the next two weeks, I will be moody, sleepy, mean, and sad.   That's usually how I handle it.  Oh, and I like being alone during this time.  I usually tend to get a little mean.

So, I could use your prayers for good news, that the tarceva is still working.  I made a huge leap of faith and started making plans for the future.  I don't want to feel like I jumped ahead.  I want to live, really live.  Not just a mundane life, but something more extraordinary.  We always think we have time.  Believe me, it can change in an instant.  So, really live while you can.  You don't want to regret it.

Another piece of advice.  No matter how young and healthy you are, get life insurance.  I was working on it when I was diagnosed.  It didn't happen and no one will touch me with a 10 ft pole out there.  So, think about your children and their future.  I just pray have enough loved ones who can help Karley in the future when she needs it. 

So the next time I will update will be sometime Sept. 18th.  If you don't hear from me on here, just wait....don't start calling.  I'm not the best at dealing with bad news.

Thank you all for your continuous prayers.  And remember, it's childhood cancer awareness month.  Go gold and show your support.  The funding for these cancers is also minimal.  Pray for Chaseman, a family friend diagnosed recently with leukemia.  I could go on for days about all the people cancer has effected (directly and indirectly) that need your prayers.  So, please...just pray for them.

I'll update soon....Thank you all for being here and following my blog.  Sometimes it's boring, but when I'm angry I'm sure it's kind of fun.   I guess we will see which way it goes 9/18.

Until then, I wanted to leave you with something besides a bible verse, trust me, I'm not giving up on God.   Just switching it up a little.  I know everything is in His hands.

"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret?  There are better things ahead than any we leave behind" - C.S. Lewis