Meet Heather Von St. James.
As she approaches her 10 year anniversary of being cancer free after having her left lung removed, she reached out and asked to help spread the word about bringing awareness towards the very preventable disease of mesothelioma.
What is mesothelioma?
A rare form of cancer, mesothelioma occurs in the thin lining of the body's internal organs and in roughly 70% of all cases, is found in the pleural lining of the lungs. Approximately 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the US alone and while early detection leads to higher rates of remission, the US suffers 2,500 mesothelioma-based deaths a year.
So how do we beat the odds and bring awareness towards such a preventable and treatable disease?
First of all, understand that 80% of all mesothelioma cases can be attributed to asbestos exposure. Shockingly, neither the US nor Canada have any such bans on asbestos exposure which put as estimated 20 million people in the US at risk for developing this disease. Given that the latency period between the first exposure to asbestos and developing mesothelioma is typically between 20 to 40 years, this is truly a long term problem affecting many people at potentially the weakest times in their lives.
There are simply so many options for us when attempting to spread lung health awareness!
Another way to bring awareness to this campaign is by wearing PEARL, so in honor of #pearlylungs #healthylungs, a number of bloggers and Instagrammers will be posting pearl manis.
As she approaches her 10 year anniversary of being cancer free after having her left lung removed, she reached out and asked to help spread the word about bringing awareness towards the very preventable disease of mesothelioma.
What is mesothelioma?
A rare form of cancer, mesothelioma occurs in the thin lining of the body's internal organs and in roughly 70% of all cases, is found in the pleural lining of the lungs. Approximately 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the US alone and while early detection leads to higher rates of remission, the US suffers 2,500 mesothelioma-based deaths a year.
So how do we beat the odds and bring awareness towards such a preventable and treatable disease?
First of all, understand that 80% of all mesothelioma cases can be attributed to asbestos exposure. Shockingly, neither the US nor Canada have any such bans on asbestos exposure which put as estimated 20 million people in the US at risk for developing this disease. Given that the latency period between the first exposure to asbestos and developing mesothelioma is typically between 20 to 40 years, this is truly a long term problem affecting many people at potentially the weakest times in their lives.
In addition to educating ourselves of the laws in our own backyard, we can also educate ourselves on our own body health. While focused on our lung health, we can also "double dip"; there are many charities that both give back while helping us keep our lungs healthy in the process. For example, with Miles for Meso, you can can sponsor and partake in charitable 5Ks with proceeds going to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
There are simply so many options for us when attempting to spread lung health awareness!
Another way to bring awareness to this campaign is by wearing PEARL, so in honor of #pearlylungs #healthylungs, a number of bloggers and Instagrammers will be posting pearl manis.
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