Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks to all Those in the Mesothelioma Community

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett
• Advocacy, Asbestos Exposure, Cancer, Family, For Your Family, Mesothelioma

Holidays can be challenging when you or a loved one is dealing with a serious medical issue.

Thanksgiving is a day steeped in traditions; A time for turkey, football, family, and all the reasons to give thanks, we share these rituals with family and friends yearly. If this is the first one that you or your loved one are celebrating with a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma chances are this one is different.

With the new perspective that comes with dealing with a rare cancer, and facing the unknown that is ahead, giving thanks takes on a new meaning. In addition to your usual support systems, this is a time to lean on the community that surrounds and tirelessly advocates for those afflicted with this mostly preventable cancer.

The mesothelioma community is an active group of family members, researchers, advocates, and caregivers all committed to supporting and advocating for patients and their families. From support groups, political activism, and advocates in the medical and legal community, the work moves forward. This small community continues to support and hopefully improve the lives of the victims and their families.

The mesothelioma community has made extensive accomplishments that slowly, and hopefully, will lead to a cure. We are grateful for the teams of researchers who have dedicated their lives to finding treatments for this complex cancer. The team consists of many people that work in behind-the-scenes labs that are required to complete this extensive work. It is not always successful, but they continue tirelessly, as each new day lays the stepping stones leading to a cure. Although the work is necessary and important, it often goes unnoticed. Without their contributions, there can be no new innovative therapies. We applaud and give thanks for their continued work.

Advocates within the mesothelioma community continue to work on behalf of all victims and their families. They have been working for decades now, to place into law, a nationwide ban on asbestos. The goal has never been closer. This could not be made possible without patients and family members who have made this their lives work advocating for a total ban on the leading cause of Malignant Mesothelioma, asbestos. Knowing the devastation that asbestos causes, they continue on so others may not have to suffer the losses they have. We applaud and give thanks for their continued work.

Caregivers of patients with Malignant Mesothelioma are constantly coordinating, researching, and helping the patients on a daily basis. These caregivers consist mostly of unpaid family members who sacrificed their time and energy, often at the cost of their own health. We applaud and give thanks for their continued work.

On this Thanksgiving, we want to take this time to give thanks to all those in the mesothelioma community that continue to support patients and their loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Resources Available;

www.curemeso.org

www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org