Some mesothelioma patients are beating their cancer and living far beyond their expected prognosis. We feature exclusive interviews with these survivors, with the hope of benefiting others who are fighting this horrible cancer.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma survivor F.X. Dickert doesn’t have time to die. His schedule is already full. Dickert, 66, will undergo aggressive surgery in October for the third time in the last two years, and he’s approaching it with the same energy and optimism he had for the previous two operations. “I’m already supposed to be dead,…
Mesothelioma survivor Jim Huff always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, but he never quite found the time. Work and family obligations always took precedence — until now. A diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma 10 months ago finally made it happen, leading him into the music store where his guitar lessons began and…
Chuck Gast’s daily work commute consists of a half-mile walk to and from his home in Toledo, Ohio. It’s something he’s done since joining Yark Automotive Group in 2007. Gast never took it for granted, but he cherishes it more now after pleural mesothelioma took the simple pleasure away for an entire year. “Life has…
Gene Hartline was ready to concede after doctors at a highly rated, big-city cancer center told him there was little they could do for his advanced-stage mesothelioma. His family refused to believe it. Hartline returned home and found innovative medical oncologist Dr. Rama Balaraman. The two started a patient-doctor relationship that has given him new…
Every year, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor Trina West-Clark takes a trip to the casino to have a few cocktails with friends and celebrate another year of living cancer-free. To celebrate 16 years of mesothelioma remission, she will travel to Canada and meet fellow peritoneal mesothelioma survivor Raeleen Minchuk and Cheryl Ewoldt, who lost her husband, Barry,…
Pleural mesothelioma isn’t an issue for Tim Crisler anymore. Aggressive surgery that removed a lung and major parts of his diaphragm 15 years ago eliminated the cancer that hasn’t returned. His problem is the residual pain that never subsides and the growing unavailability of the pain medication that once held it in check, allowing him…
Diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma at age 15, Alyssa Hankus’ adolescence was anything but normal. She missed nearly her entire freshman year of high school and spent much of her sophomore and junior years in and out of hospitals dealing with the effects of aggressive cancer treatments. “I wanted everything that wasn’t necessarily promised to me…
Judy Goodson met her mesothelioma diagnosis with uncommon optimism. Instead of focusing on the prognosis or worst case scenario, she thoroughly researched the rare cancer. She was determined to beat it. By the time doctors diagnosed her with peritoneal mesothelioma in March 2013, Goodson had already survived non-Hodgkin lymphoma. CT scans from that cancer eventually…
Mesothelioma survivor Jim Madaris doesn’t worry about tomorrow anymore. He is too busy enjoying today, savoring triumphs large and small. He already has won this fight. Madaris is still standing after undergoing an extensive 14-hour abdominal surgery and HIPEC procedure for peritoneal mesothelioma when he was diagnosed in 2013. A few years later, tumors emerged…
Cancer survivor Yvette King was not about to take a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis sitting down. As an avid runner, she credits her survivorship to exercise, God and becoming her own advocate. Now, the 52-year-old Maryland survivor wants to use her strength and story to help others battling this aggressive cancer. After her diagnosis, King launched…
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