Roger Worthington, P.C.

The Link between Mesothelioma Awareness and Funding (May 14, 200

Why must we devote more federal research funding to mesothelioma?  If this question were actually posed to a random person off the street, they would most likely respond by asking “What is Mesothelioma?”  It is a sad fact that most of the general public is simply in the dark not only about this rare but lethal form of cancer, but also about the direct link between mesothelioma and asbestos, which millions of people are exposed to on a daily basis in their homes, communities, and at work.  Despite the fact that mesothelioma has already claimed so many lives, and the number of reported cases of this disease that continues to grow with each year, as well as the number of people that continue to be at risk, a lack of awareness about this disease still persist.  This lack of awareness is linked directly to the lack of sufficient research funding for mesothelioma.
It is no coincidence that the forms of cancer that we all know the most about are also the ones that receive the highest amount of funding.  Therefore, it is crucial that we devote more federal research funding to mesothelioma for three fundamental reasons: to increase awareness amongst the general public, to develop better treatments for mesothelioma patients, and most importantly, to increase the chances of finding a cure, which despite what some may believe, is still entirely within the realm of possibility.  It is crucial that awareness about mesothelioma be raised amongst the general public because by being exposed to asbestos they are at risk of developing the disease, as a link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma has already been established.  In addition, the general public can be a great source of advocacy for an increase in federal research mesothelioma funding, which is so desperately needed.  However, they cannot advocate for a cause that they are simply unaware of.  As more of us become educated about mesothelioma, we can advocate for more federal research funding to be devoted to the disease, which would make a big difference in the lives of mesothelioma patients; as greater funding could lead to the development of better treatments, which they are so deserving of.  Furthermore, an increase in federal research mesothelioma funding could lead to the development of a cure, which would ensure that not even one more life is lost to this disease.

Hope and cancer are alike and different. They are different because hope is something that you want and cancer is something that you don’t want. They are alike because you hope you don’t get cancer and when you have cancer you hope you can treat it. Also there are a lot of people who hope that there is going to be a cure for cancer.

Nobody hopes that they get cancer. Usually you hope that you don’t get cancer. Cancer is a disease that just happens. You don’t know why you got cancer. You don’t know how it happened. Your just thinking, why me? You hope it goes away. You hope that it’s just a dream and you really don’t have cancer.

When you find out you  have cancer, you hope and pray that it goes away and can be treated. You hope that there is something that can be done. No matter how much it costs and no matter how long it takes, all you want is for the cancer to go away. Hoping doesn’t take the cancer away, but trying can.

Cancer takes away peoples hopes and dreams. You can hope and dream for something you really want and cancer can take it away in a second. I remember a book that I read called, A Rose for Melinda. It was about a girl who had a big dream to become a professional dancer. She was a really good dancer and she was on her way to achieving he dream. She got accepted to praticipate in some classes at a dance studio in Washington over the summer. Only the best dancers got accepted. She was doing really well, but one day while she was dancing she passes outh and they toke her to the hospital. While she was at the hospital they found out that Melinda had lukemia. She had to go home and go through all kinds of treatment. After a long time of therapy, Melinda and the doctors finally thoughtthat she didn’t have lukemia anymore. When she went back fo a checkup they found out the lukemia came back. She had to go right back to therapy. While she was going through treatment she died. It was a very sad novel, but one of my favorite books. It’s also a good example of how cancer can take a lot away from somebody.

I hope you see how Hope and Cancer are alike and how they are different. Hope and cancer are like water and fire, the can be helpful to each other and can also be dangerous towards each other. Cancer and hope are alike and different. You can hope and hope that you won’t get cancer, but it’s not going to make a difference. Hope is something you want and cancer is something you don’t want.

Can you imagine waking up and thinking that this day might be your last? If so, you have stepped into the life of a cancer patient, where there is a small amount of hope of living longer and possibly surviving. Millions of people have been afflicted by cancer and suffer as a result of this dreadful disease. Many find it hard to stay positive when diagnosed because in most cases, cancer is not curable. According to Dr. George M. Carman, the director of the Rutgers Center for Lipid research, “Cancer is a disease where the patient can contribute a great deal of help himself if he or she can retain their morale and their hopes.” In other words, although drugs play a large role during the battle, cancer patients need hope and a positive attitude to fight the battle against cancer.

Given that cancer is like a frightening beast, many cancer patients are daunted and give up any hope. Since some give up hope, their negative attitude simply harms them. In fact, Scott Hamilton, a cancer survivor, once spoke the words, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Scott Hamilton is stating that absolutely nothing good will result from a bad attitude.

For cancer patients, hope represents a future, giving them a way out of their misery by allowing them to believe that they might be able to live again. Furthermore, hope represents religion; consequently, many patients find hope by their faith in God. Praying and keeping a close relationship with God gives them strength to face their ordeals. Also, many cancer hospitals offer support groups, hoping to encourage cancer patients not to give up hope and inspire others to live with a positive attitude. In fact, a negative attitude can lead to stress, initiating a chain reaction of health problems. The result of negative attitude includes depression, stomach problems, emotional and physical problems, and poor sleep; it also weakens the immune system. Since a negative attitude can cause harm, cancer patients should learn that a negative attitude is indeed destructive. Even if a person is seriously ill and has a positive attitude, at least, they can enjoy their last days in a more joyful way, like Winston Churchill once said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” As a result, we must learn never to give up and always have hope.

Of all human emotions, hope is the most mystical and unexplainable.  When a blessing comes our way, we are happy; when something doesn’t make sense we are confused, and when we want something that someone else has we are jealous.  Hope is unlike all of these emotions, for it is not evoked or stimulated in a logical fashion.  Whenever tragedy strikes and all signs point to the situation only worsening, a glimpse of hope can be found within someone’s heart.  Hope expresses humanity’s belief in a greater power; their belief that what they perceive with their senses and what they understand to be rational and logical will somehow alter itself for the better.

Just like hope, cancer is extremely illogical.  It attacks those whom we have believed to be the most healthy and claimed many whose hearts were most pure.  Its nature is unpredictable, and when a cancer patient is fairing well and recovering they still must worry about what the future holds.  Considering that medicine has not found a cure to this horrific beast, the best way that humans fight it is with the weapon of hope.  While in the face of suffering and danger this is most illogical, emotion does not abide by the laws of nature and takes a course of its own.  Even though humans may know better, even though doctors tell cancer patients daily that they have a few more days or hours to live, they hope for better.  They imagine a brighter tomorrow where their illness is gone and the world is filled with peace and harmony.  While the cancer may be able to defeat the body’s immune system and fight all the medicines that the doctors have to offer, it can never defeat hope.  No matter how prevalent cancer cells are within a cancer patient’s body, it will never be able to consume a person’s ability to hope and dream.  A patient’s hope and strength not only affects themselves and their own morality, but it also has a rippling effect on the people around them.  Ordinary people who hear the heroic stories of cancer patients who survived against all odds are truly inspired and begin to recognize their own hopes and dreams; this motivational effect of the strength and hope of cancer patients is truly amazing and has changed the world forever.

There is always hope when fighting cancer. I know this because I could understand how my mom was feeling inside when she had breast cancer. I know she had hope because she was tough not only on the outside, but on the inside. Everything inside her wanted to keep on moving. She never let the amazing pain slow her down. She never lost confidence that everything would turn out perfect. Hope always sparks that energy you need to keep going. Cancer was like a race for mom. If you don’t have hope, you won’t do well. She did have hope and everything inside of her worked like a perfect engine of a car. She wanted to use everything she had to be the best mom she could be to me. It showed that she had hope by the smile on her face every day. She would always make the best of what she had. Cancer is a lot like the Holocaust. In the Holocaust, many people lost their hope in God and in everything. Cancer is also like the largest giant there is. When David had to defeat Goliath, the only reason that he defeated Goliath is because he had hope and was confident. When my mom fought cancer I could tell that she had hope because she defeated it. When she was fighting cancer, I also needed to have hope. When my mom first found out that she had cancer, she had to have a surgery to try to get the wierd thing out. That was unsuccessful. It was hard for me not to lose hope. I knew what the consequences would have been if too much hope was lost. When my dad explained to me what would happen in the next surgery, I didn’t know if I could handle it anymore. She had to have a bilateral mastectomy. Deep inside the hope was still there. The spark of hope soon lit a fire in my whole body. I knew many things would change, but everything would be all right. The thing I realized was that mom had the fire of hope burnning first which spread to numerous people who cared about her. My mom changed so many lives by all of this She made many people see how hope and God can work in us if we accept it and want it to change us.

Our horror story began in the spring of 2003. This was a time we usually looked forward to working in the yard, going to the ranch to go fishing and camping, but most of all, we looked forward to the warm evenings on the patio enjoying each others’ company. I always thought our life was too good to be true and felt like any moment it could come to an end. My worst fear became a reality on May 6, 2005.

My husband and soul mate surrendered to brain cancer that Friday night. One would think two years should be sufficient time to anticipate, plan, and prepare to be alone and independent. I know now eternity would not have been enough time to prepare me for the last three years of being on my own.

Jody was everything I admired about a person. He was calm, logical, analytical, and had a common sense intellect that could solve any problem. He had been my advisor for so many years that I didn’t know how I would make decisions without his help. For thirty years I depended on him for everything, from financial to emotional support.

At about this time there was an election in my county. One sure way to find out if you have any courage left is to enter a political race. I was elected judge of the Justice Court of Roberts County, Texas thanks to the support of friends in our small community. Every day has become an opportunity to apply the logic and common sense taught to me by the world’s most wonderful tutor.

Losing someone you love to cancer takes time and energy to heal. Unfortunately, some of the pain never goes away. So many great moments that we should be having right now–holding hands and enjoying time together, I now spend wishing he was here with me. Three days after his memorial service, our oldest daughter graduated from college. And in case you think life stands still, our first grand-daughter soon entered my life, followed by another grand-daughter who is her grandfather reincarnated. Every time she smiles it is like we are smiling back at the man we miss so much.

Tresa Seuhs

My hand held in his,
His hand holding mine,
Seems there’s no sunshine.

In the gentle touch of my little hand,
Love is all to understand.

His pain is hard to bear,
Not just he will suffer here,
We all must suffer together.

Tears of the children flow through their hearts, Grandpa knew the hourglass was almost out.

In the gentle touch of my little hand,
Together we would stand.

Waiting for the time to come,
Wishing for the luck of some,
Quiet stillness follows me,
But always in the memory,
Of Grandpa Freddy.

Nikki Hillman

Cancer has affected my life in several ways. When I was in first grade, my grandfather was my favorite playmate. He would be so excited to see me everyday when I was dropped off. While my parents were at work, that was the best place of my life. My grandparents house had everything that you could think of. My grandfather wanted to play games and hear me laugh all day long. I have so many good memories of him. The bad thing was that he smoked and got cancer from smoking when I was in first grade. When I was dropped off for the day, I would run to play with him. To hear him say “I can’t anymore” broke my heart. When I was in first grade, I didn’t really understand anything about it. Then all I had there were toys that I had to play with by myself. I would see my grandfather lying in bed sick and throwing up. When I saw that the tear in my heart became bigger. I would color pictures to see a smile cross his face everytime I saw him lying in bed. When I tried giving him a picture and he didn’t move, I knew what happened. About a year ago, my mom found out that she had brest cancer. She had a surgery to get what the doctors thought was causing the cancer out. The surgery was unsucessful. She had to have another surgery to get them both removed. As my father explained everything that was going on, I wanted to cry. After the surgery he explained that she would have to go through chemo and other medicines to reduce the chances of the cancer occuring. All of her hair fell out. She looked like a Holocaust survivor. All of her hair was gone. She was becoming weaker from the chemo. She would cry in pain. I felt like nothing. Months then started to go by like days after she was recovering after all the treaments of chemo. All of her hair started to grow back. Her strength was also comming back. Her physical appearance changed, but her heart has always been in the right place.

Jordan Jacobson

Cancer has in a way changed my world. My best friend, she has recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was a traumatic discovery for her. She has been my friend, my rock, and my supporter, since we first met. It was shocking that she could have such a thing. Now she has treatments, and doctor visits that she has to attend, as well as her work, and her chores at home. She somehow battles it and still after, the day well spent, and she’s tired, we still talk in the evenings. I know it is selfish to wish that it never happened to her, and she really did nothing to cause it, but I just wish I could make it all go away for her, all her pain. And then about a week ago or so, the doctors that she was seeing, think that she may not be able to have children, when that was one of her dreams in life, was to have a little bundle of joy. My fiancé’s grandmother was also affected by cancer. She is currently undergoing chemo-therapy, for breast cancer. She doesn’t want to lose her breasts, but if the chemo, does not take, then she may have no choice. She is a wonderfully, and strong woman, but we all understand that she is in her elder years, and may not have much more of a kick left. Its sad, but when dealing with cancer, there really is no happy ending, to the story, unless miracles are involved.

Crystal Owen

We were in the day to day bustle of life when one phone call would change our lives. As I flashed over I heard the familiar voice of my father yet it was not the confident strong voice I am so accustomed to hearing from my daddy, instead a trembling voice stammering to force the words out. My father had experienced a stroke-like seizure and was being ambulanced to the University Hospital in Minneapolis. Though doctors claimed him delirious ,the medical test contradicted the facts to show that my father had a tumor. In the next few weeks my faith would be tested to the ultimate extreme, my heart struggling to find the courage to get through, my hope trembled, and I couldn’t help but to feel the utmost fear. I found myself asking God, why? God, why my family? Why my dad? I didn’t seem to find the answer right away, and it wouldn’t be for a few weeks that those questions would be answered for me. Yet through a successful surgery, non-expected results of positive cancer, and the beginning stages of treatment I started to find the answer to these questions. It was found in the endless times I could say, “I love you” to my family, the extra time I would take to spend with my little brothers whether wrestling or reading, shaving my Dads head before it even had the chance to fallout during treatment, or taking the time to realize the blessings I have in my life. My family took a hard reminder of what is important in our lives, and the small things we busy ourselves with in the long run do not matter. Cause whatever happens, wherever we are, whatever might happen to us, we have our family. Though what we may be going through is tough, we have learned from it, been blessed by the pain, and are now stronger .The scars will heal, medical bills will get paid off, tears will dry, memories will weaken, but our family will never be the same because of this experience. It happened to us for a reason, and I thank God for the blessing of this momentary trial to strengthen a family for a lifetime.

Anna Plys