Although the majority of those diagnosed with mesothelioma are told their survival rate is less than one year upon diagnosis, stories of patients living beyond their original prognosis are continuing to surface. Every survivor story that comes to light gives current mesothelioma sufferers a little more hope for the future. One Mesothelioma survivor, Janelle Bedel, is raising awareness of the disease with her own success story.
Diagnosis
At the age of 31, Janelle Bedel was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an incurable cancer that grows in the covering of the lung and the lining of the pleural and abdominal cavities. Three years ago, Bedel underwent a rigorous treatment plan that included scans, chemotherapy, and a risky surgery in New York to remove her lung.
“My doctor said at the least she could go in and open me up, and if she can remove it all she will, and if she can’t she won’t touch me,” Bedel said, “It was like an up-and-down roller coaster. I didn’t know when I woke up if she’d done anything.” The successful surgery was a turning point in Bedel’s recovery and resulted in the last three years of cancer-free living.
Recovery
The last two and a half years has been a difficult time of recovery for Bedel, who has undergone radiation, physical therapy, medication withdrawals, and a schedule loaded with doctors’ appointments. Although the prognosis following her surgery was a life expectancy of about 10 months, she returned to New York on August 10th for her three-year check-up. With her third cancer-free year passing, Bedel has been busy helping to raise awareness of mesothelioma.
Raising Awareness
This summer, Bedel attended the International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma in Washington D.C, where she met other mesothelioma patients who had the same lung surgery that she had received. She also told her story to U.S. Representative Mike Pence, Senator Richard Lugar and Senator Evan Bayh, and lobbied for signatures on House Resolution 771, a motion to officially declare September 26th as National Mesothelioma Awareness Day.
Bedel is currently working on fundraising to benefit research for a cure for mesothelioma. She is involved with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation where she helps with their newsletters. She also has her own fundraising page on their website, where her money goes to the foundation and benefits the hospital that treated her in New York. These funds are allocated for research and discovering more efficient ways to diagnose mesothelioma.
If you have not yet received assistance in financing the treatment that you need for mesothelioma, contact a New York mesothelioma lawyer to see if there are benefits and compensation that you can receive to cover your medical expenses. Greg J. Borri is a New York mesothelioma lawyer who specializes in asbestos litigation.
His law offices provide legal representation to victims of asbestos exposure (the principal cause of mesothelioma), namely those diagnosed with one of the three mesothelioma types – pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial mesothelioma. Each New York mesothelioma lawyer there is committed to forcefully and effectively advocating their clients’ claims to legal compensation from the corporations that caused or contributed to their exposure to asbestos, allowing clients to focus on medical treatment.
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