Hi Joanna,
Thank you so much for your response! I came across your blog and really identified with some of your writing. My name is Cameron Von St. James and my wife was diagnosed with an extremely rare and deadly cancer called mesothelioma. Normally when diagnosed with mesothelioma, a person has a life expectancy of about 3-12 months, but after intense treatment and recovery she is still here over 7 years later. There are many steps to take as a caregiver when dealing with any type of harmful disease. Would you allow me to write an article for your blog about my personal experience as a caregiver to my wife? We struggled through so many hardships during this tough time, but found a way to make it through. I'd love to share our story of hope with your readers who might take something away from it. This is an important message to get out there so please let me know if you would be interested in seeing it and sharing it with your readers.
Thank you for all you do in making a difference,
Cameron
I know that what he is writing about is not about Breast Cancer but as I have such a strong readership base & number of pageviews, if I can help spread his message then why the heck not!
Please see below for Cameron's post:
Being a Caregiver to My Wife Strengthened Me
I will remember November 21, 2005 for as long as I live. This was the day that my beautiful wife Heather was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. This cancer shook our small family to the core when we received the news of Heather’s diagnosis. It came at such an unexpected time because everything had been going great. We were just celebrating the arrival of our daughter Lily three months earlier. Whatever joy we had at the birth of our daughter was cut short by this tragic news.
At a time when we had planned to be preparing for the holidays, we were seeking out treatment options for Heather. We could go to a local university hospital, an excellent regional hospital, or to a mesothelioma expert in Boston. We chose the expert in Boston, Dr. David Sugarbaker, because we wanted someone who had extensive experience in treating this form of cancer. All we could do is pray that he would be able to help Heather.
Heather was struggling with worry and I also was trying not to fall apart. I had a few moments where I nearly gave in to panic, but I mustered up as much courage as possible and made a determined commitment to be the best caregiver for her. By becoming her primary caregiver, I had taken on a huge responsibility, and I never could have done it without invaluable support from wonderful family members and numerous caring friends in the community.
I stayed by Heather’s side as she went through seemingly endless rounds of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. A few times, I just sank to the floor and cried and gave in to my worries and fears. But somehow, we managed to make it through even the worst of all these events and Heather is now cancer-free. It has been over seven years since the mesothelioma diagnosis, and she remains happy and healthy to this day.
I will remember November 21, 2005 for as long as I live. This was the day that my beautiful wife Heather was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. This cancer shook our small family to the core when we received the news of Heather’s diagnosis. It came at such an unexpected time because everything had been going great. We were just celebrating the arrival of our daughter Lily three months earlier. Whatever joy we had at the birth of our daughter was cut short by this tragic news.
At a time when we had planned to be preparing for the holidays, we were seeking out treatment options for Heather. We could go to a local university hospital, an excellent regional hospital, or to a mesothelioma expert in Boston. We chose the expert in Boston, Dr. David Sugarbaker, because we wanted someone who had extensive experience in treating this form of cancer. All we could do is pray that he would be able to help Heather.
Heather was struggling with worry and I also was trying not to fall apart. I had a few moments where I nearly gave in to panic, but I mustered up as much courage as possible and made a determined commitment to be the best caregiver for her. By becoming her primary caregiver, I had taken on a huge responsibility, and I never could have done it without invaluable support from wonderful family members and numerous caring friends in the community.
I stayed by Heather’s side as she went through seemingly endless rounds of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. A few times, I just sank to the floor and cried and gave in to my worries and fears. But somehow, we managed to make it through even the worst of all these events and Heather is now cancer-free. It has been over seven years since the mesothelioma diagnosis, and she remains happy and healthy to this day.
We are so grateful to people
who so generously gave their support and time to help us make it through this
terrible ordeal. I also learned a lot about being a caregiver and about
sacrificing for someone else. My experience in being a caregiver
strengthened me and gave me much more confidence about what I could do and what
I could handle.
I ended up going back to school once Heather’s recovery was complete. I studied Information Technology and I even had the privilege to give the graduation speech for my class. I know that being a caregiver to my wife equipped me to take on other challenges in life, and I shared these lessons with my classmates in that speech. Now, I hope that by sharing my story with others, I can help them in their own battles today.
I ended up going back to school once Heather’s recovery was complete. I studied Information Technology and I even had the privilege to give the graduation speech for my class. I know that being a caregiver to my wife equipped me to take on other challenges in life, and I shared these lessons with my classmates in that speech. Now, I hope that by sharing my story with others, I can help them in their own battles today.
Update: 03/07/2013:
Hi Joanna,
How have you been? I just wanted to reconnect and let you know about a project that my wife and I are involved in that I thought might interest you. Heather and I participated in a short video about her cancer experience, and I thought it would make a great follow up to the article of mine that you posted a while back. We’re hoping to use this video to continue to spread hope and awareness to those who need it. If you wouldn’t mind sharing it with your readers, Heather and I would be so grateful. Here is the link to the video: www.mesothelioma.com/heather
Thanks again for your help! I hope all is well.
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