Honored To Help / Asbestos Awareness Week

Last week I was especially honored to be contacted by Heather Von St. James an inspiring woman who asked me if I would like to help raise awareness through my blog for Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. After reading her email, and doing a little research I jumped at the chance to help her out.

In November 2005, just three and a half months after the birth of her first and only child. Heather was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Heather was exposed to asbestos through her fathers work jacket and the second hand exposure as a young child was enough to make her sick many years later. She was given only 15 months to live, but with treatment and surgery to remove her left lung, Heather is a survivor.

Unfortunately, around 3,000 people are diagnosed each year with this ferocious disease.
On average, they are given 10 months to live.
That's 300 days.
7,200 hours.

Since 2003 here in Australia it is illegal to import, store, supply, sell. install, use or re-use asbestos. However in the US it is still not a banned substance, with around thirty million pounds being used each year.

This week, April 1st - 7th has been Asbestos Awareness Week  I was delighted to have been asked by Heather to be a voice and take a part in sharing the awareness.
In honor of Asbestos Awareness Week the Von St. James Family has created a webpage dedicated to raising awareness of this deadly disease. I am happy to share their webpage HERE on my blog to help educate and raise awareness of this preventable disease.

Thank you so much Heather for this honor, and I wish you and your family all the best for the future.