Stories of Survival

Doug Jackson
Survivor
Pleural mesothelioma may have pushed Doug Jackson into an early retirement – abruptly ending the teaching and coaching career he loved – but it didn’t stop him from living with a p[…] Read Doug's Story
Charles Wood
Survivor
Charles Wood wasn’t about to just sit back and accept the often overwhelming, gloom-and-doom diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Not after spending a lifetime making thing[…] Read Charles's Story
Michael Bederman
Survivor
Two weeks before undergoing aggressive, life-changing surgery for mesothelioma, Michael Bederman was driving a rented motor home more than 1,000 miles through Alaska, a trip he ins[…] Read Michael's Story
Jim Dykstra
Survivor
Jim Dykstra has good reason – a lot of good reasons – to fall into the woe-is-me, gloom-and-doom trap that often engulfs those diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a rare ca[…] Read Jim's Story
Jim Huff
Survivor
Mesothelioma survivor Jim Huff has taken his bucket list to another level, resuming his lifelong passion for speed. Cancer remission never felt like this before. Since being diagno[…] Read Jim's Story
Col. Doug Thomas
Survivor
Col. Doug Thomas, 45, currently serves as chief of operations for the Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team at the Fort Sill (Oklahoma) Army Base. He was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in May and underwent extensive treatment that included aggressive surgery at the Baylor Medical Center in Houston. He returned to his post in September. Read Col.'s Story
Col. Doug Thomas
Survivor
Colonel Doug Thomas believes that his 21-year career in the U.S. Army has prepared him well for the fight of his life. Malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer with no[…] Read Col.'s Story
Terry Latham
Survivor
Maryla Latham remembers vividly the day her husband was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, and driving home together in a numb silence after hearing he had six to 12 months to li[…] Read Terry's Story
John Fiala
Survivor
Two days after John Fiala underwent his twice-monthly treatment for pleural mesothelioma cancer, he was back on his fishing boat, landing a four-foot blacktip shark off the west co[…] Read John's Story
Joe Barna
Survivor
Joe Barna married the love of his life 13 months after he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma cancer. Today, life is good. Barna is a mesothelioma survivor and a stunning remin[…] Read Joe's Story