National Mesothelioma Awareness Day

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett
• Cancer, Family, Mesothelioma

On Monday September 26, 2022 National Mesothelioma Awareness Day will be celebrated. This is the day set aside to increase awareness of this life threatening cancer.

Established in 2004 in conjunction with the mesothelioma community and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, the day was started to bring more attention and funding to this rare cancer.

The mesothelioma community is small. With approximately 3,000 people diagnosed a year with Malignant Mesothelioma, it classifies as a rare disease. It has always been challenging to get the word out about the toll that this deadly cancer takes on its victims and families. Persistence and advocacy have been the hallmarks of the community.

Awareness days can serve as a time to do public education about the disease and increase visibility. It can also serve as a day of celebration and pride, a day to remember those who have lost their battle and those that are in the midst of theirs. To celebrate progress and renew our resolve to press on.

Increased awareness can lead to more funding which potentially leads to more research leading to a cure.

The color blue is the color that has come to symbolize meso awareness. This year the mesothelioma community will be lighting up landmarks blue on September 26th. Starting in 2020 with a few places, last year 30 landmarks across the country were lit up, this year at least 40 will be lit. Continued increased community support increasing public education, another example of the community at work.

On September 26th, take the time to tell someone the facts about malignant mesothelioma – the fact that asbestos is the leading cause of this preventable cancer. Thanks to tireless advocates in the mesothelioma community, we are closer to having a ban on asbestos in the United States than ever before. Spread the word that there are promising new treatments that are being trialed. That research has led the way, steady gains are being realized.

The faces of mesothelioma are family members, friends, neighbors, loved ones they all have stories to share. Wear blue and start a conversation about the mesothelioma community, its victims, and the important work that continues to be done.