Healthy Lung Month--Heather's Story

I was contacted by Heather Von St. James and agreed to post about her story as part of Healthy Lung Month. Heather isn't the person you think of when you hear about Lung Cancer, she was in her thirties, she had a 3 month old baby and the specific cancer she had Mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer specifically caused by asbestos. It didn't take long to realize where her exposure had come from; Heather's father was a miner, exposed to asbestos he inadvertently brought it home on his jacket which Heather would sometimes play dress up in. The diagnosis was devastating, the treatment was debilitating, but it's now been almost ten years and Heather has found in her struggles a voice she is using to inform people about how to keep their lungs healthy. Not just for situations like hers, but in regular day to day life. I encourage you to read her story in her own words HERE. You can also learn the difference between Mesothelioma and typical lung cancer HERE. There is also a great resource for anyone looking for support with patients who have mesothelioma HERE.