A Minnesota mesothelioma patient is claiming she is cured, according to an article in the Minnesota Star Tribune. Heather Von St. James, of Roseville, MN, was diagnosed with mesothelioma two-and-a-half years ago, but after undergoing a rare surgery that removed her left lung, her cancer has not returned. The surgery was performed by Dr. Sugarbaker, who heads the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos that most commonly attacks the lining of the lungs (known as pleural mesothelioma). Von St. James says her cancer was caused by second-hand exposure to asbestos from her father’s (a construction worker) asbestos-covered work clothes. Sugarbaker notes that doctors are seeing more and more mesothelioma patients with second-hand exposure to asbestos.
Von St. James is married with a 3-year-old daughter, Lily, who was only 3 months old when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma. She has been disease-free since she ended treatments for mesothelioma 2 years ago. She told the Minnesota Star Tribune that she’s going to be the “first patient to live 50-plus years.”
Read the full article here.
