The following is a guest post by Heather Von St. James. Heather is a 5-year survivor of malignant mesothelioma. I feel honored to have the opportunity to use What’s Left Of My Head as a platform for her to offer inspiration to cancer patients and allow her to broaden their sense of optimism, awareness, and support.

By: Jackie Clark, assistant to Heather Von St. James

According to the  National Cancer Institute, mesothelioma, a cancer primarily associated with difficulty breathing, is “a rare type of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the lining of the chest or abdomen.” But for those who are familiar with the disease, mesothelioma is more than just another form of cancer. That’s largely because a diagnosis of mesothelioma can often be traced to something that has happened in the workplace: exposure to asbestos.

Nowadays, the dangers of exposure to asbestos have been well documented. Unfortunately, because the disease can lie dormant for a long period of time, many people who were exposed to asbestos years ago, before the dangers of exposure were fully known, are only now discovering that they have mesothelioma. To make matters worse, mesothelioma life expectancy can be adversely affected by the latent nature of the disease, which allows it to grow undetected, establishing a foothold in the body long before its presence is known.

But there is hope. There are treatments for mesothelioma, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, vaccine therapy and immunotherapy. And, while there are several factors outside the control of the mesothelioma sufferer that can influence the outcome of treatment – for example, the size and aggressiveness of the growth and whether the cancer is localized – there are things that can be done to maximize the patience’s chances of long-term survival. While there are no guarantees, patients who eat a healthy diet and who work to maintain a good fitness level may have an improved chance of beating the disease.

Naturally, any mesothelioma sufferer who can trace their cancer back to asbestos exposure years before the discovery of their disease wishes they could travel back in time to warn themselves, but the reality is that while what you don’t know can indeed hurt you, what you do know can also help you.

The bottom line here is that while there really are no guarantees, there is no form of cancer that is always one hundred percent fatal. And, while some cancers are more deadly than others, there are usually treatment options, even when the cancer has been able to avoid detection for an extended period of time. The key is to become educated about the available treatment options while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a positive attitude in order to fight the disease.

Thank you so much for sharing Heather!
You can read Heather’s full story here

• miss my kids and wish they still lived at home
• wear my heart on my sleeve
• sing in the car
• drink diet coke
• talk too much
• wear flip flops
• try to give people the benefit of doubt
• have some sort of camera with me
• wear baby lotion

• talk too much (see above)
• think into things too much
• trust too much
• forget to eat
• feel like isolating
• am naive about the obvious
• don’t answer my phone, just because
• take things too personal
• can sit in a bubble bath for hours

• am on time (totally working on that!) (swear!)
• have broken a bone
• go to bed when I should
• wear itchy sweaters
• fill my gas tank up
• have shoes on at home
• forget. forgive perhaps, not forget. (that bad?)
• have driven a stick shift
• drink milk

Blast from the past…
Originally posted May 2008

It was Christmas day.
It was a few years ago, but oh how fresh it is in my mind.
My face blended well with the red lights that adorn the tree.

It started out like any other Christmas day. We were up at 6 a.m., however I was awake at 4 a.m. pacing the bedroom floor anxious to see what Santa had brought me, I mean the kids. After all was said and done, (by the way I got squat that year!) we ate breakfast, (Costco muffins, I refused to cook after getting squat!) we showered and headed off to my parents for our traditional Christmas dinner.
For some reason, I’m thinking every flippin’ relative I have was there. From siblings to my aunt’s cousins step-daughters nephew. One person was too many that day, in a minute you’ll understand why. Relax…I’m getting there.
Too cool to hang with the old folks, my son and nephew (not my aunt’s cousins step-daughters nephew) sat in front of the stereo talking…I assume about boy/men ‘stuff.’ They, for whatever reason decided to call a radio station to request a song. No harm in that right? Except the D.J. completely blew them off over and over again and continued playing Tra-La-La-La-La songs. It is Christmas after all, even though I got squat at least the Christmas music is keeping me in the spirit.
Now they have a brilliant idea,
“Mom, you’re a girl(?) you call…he’ll listen to you!”
Tis the season, I can’t say no. I was still hoping for that present after all, so I agreed. As I start to dial I ask what song they wanted me to request.
“Big Balls by AC/DC.”
“Come again…..you want to hear what????”
(I can’t believe I am admitting this on the WWW) Being the cool mom I am….I continued with the phone call. (all the while in th background my mom is informing us it is almost time to eat.) (I brought my leftover Costco muffins.) (Blueberry)
Ring. Ring.
“Merry Christmas, KXXX Radio”
“Hi…um, I wanted to request a song?”
“Wow, you have a sexy voice…”
So now I am walking to a back room for privacy, this wasn’t going to be an easy call. Blushing like a 14 year old girl who was talking to a boy for the first time, I continue.
“I do?” I mean “I do!!”
“You sound hot!”
“Naw…giggle, giggle,” as I take a quick glance at the mirror.
“I bet you have a lot of boyfriends.”
“Naw” as I break out in a heat flash.
Now bear in mind I am doing this for the sake of the kids, it had nothing to do with getting my ego stroked…..even a little.
“But I do have a song request!”
“Oh, yes….anything, what can I play for you?”
Oh gees Louise, now I have to verbalize this song to this raunchy D.J. dude, “Um….Big Balls by…”
“Oh you tiger, I know who sings that”
“It’s for my kids.”
“Sure it is honey.”
I scream. Not the someone help me scream, but the scream of a 14 year old who who has just talk to a boy for the first time!
“Thank you so much!”
“Anytime hot mama.” (o.k. thats a lie, but he did say anytime!)
Click. I hung up to the calling of my mom who informed me they are waiting on me.
“Sorry, I had an important call to make,” as I wink at the kids its a done deal.
Now my mom tells us to turn the stereo off so we can say Grace. Does she not have a clue what I just subjected myself to. Can she not see the 8 shades of red that still adorns my face? So…just as my son approaches the stereo you hear the screams of a 14 year old girl from those big Hi Fi speakers. Not the someone help me scream, but the scream of a 14 year old who who has just talk to a boy for the first time!
It was a familiar scream.
It was my scream. (but who cares…really no one knows it’s me…and it was just a scream)

From there on out everything was in s l o w m o t i o n.
My family, now standing in a circle holding hands can’t possibly reconize the scream. But before my son hit the button my conversation with this raunchy D.J. dude proceeding the scream, played in full. You could hear a pin drop. The conversation which seemed to last forever finally ended. I try to play it off, but they knew, they all knew.
The kids are laughing hysterically.
My mom used my middle name.
Damn.
It was one thing I acted like a 14 year giddy girl flirting with a raunchy D.J. dude, it was a whole different story I was calling to request Big Balls. My phone rings, it rings again….and again. Seems everybody was tuned in to KXXX this wonderful Christmas morning. Sweet, innocent Heidi’s cover had been blown. Some have never acknowledged the incident since, others…well, I will never hear the end of it.
So did he ever play Big Balls? How could he resist such a sexy voice! So I did get squat after all…I got my 15 seconds of fame!
Merry Christmas kids.