Survivors and Fighters

 “There is no type ofcancer from which some people have not been cured. There is no type of cancer forwhich there is no treatment,” says R.A. “Dick” Bloch, founder of the R.A. BlochCancer Foundation, Inc. and 30+ year mesothelioma survivor. Bloch was given 3months to live in 1978.

Bloch’s advice is to commit totally to survival, then learneverything about your disease, and do everything possible to seek the besttreatment without delay. If your doctor says nothing more can be done, seeanother doctor immediately, and continue until you find one that does have atreatment plan that he believes could be successful for you. By committing tosurvival, he means that you go beyond an emotional or mental commitment, andredirect your lifestyle toward doing whatever needs to be done to succeed.

"She said if you don't start from your heart and have apositive attitude, your body's not going to follow." Jerry Kaven wasquoting his wife, Shirley. "She said, 'You gotta take charge and be thecaptain of your own ship.' She was not going to let it take her without afight."

Shirley Kaven was diagnosedwith mesothelioma at age 51, in 1989. Determined to beat the odds, shelived another 14 very full years, on a 35-acre equestrian ranch andvolunteering at a therapeutic riding center helping disabled children learn toride horses. She spent another five years traveling the country with herhusband in a motor home.

Margie Levine was another 14-year survivor of malignantpleural mesothelioma. Levine, a health education teacher, social worker andtherapist held mind-body seminars for cancer patients, and published a book in2001. A believer in holistic medicine, she practiced meditation, seeking joyand ate a special diet, to augment her conventional treatment.

More Reasons to Hope

An article in Cancer Monthly, April 19, 2007 suggests thatimmunity has much to do with the survival of mesothelioma patients. It reportsseveral patients who have survived from ten to fourteen years, with several ofthem doing well at the time the article was published. These and other cases ofsurvival have led to research based upon immunotherapies, and several studiesare in clinical trials reporting survival rates of between fifteen andtwenty-nine months.

If you have received a diagnosis of mesothelioma,you’re encouraged to commit to believing in your survival and take steps toimprove your health, lifestyle. Find a doctor who believes he can help you andtrust in his plan. Educate yourself about your disease and all treatmentoptions including conventional, clinical trials, holistic treatments,meditation, prayer and determination.