noun
grounds for believing that something good may happen.
Long term survivors may provide you with grounds for believing that even though you or someone you know may have mesothelioma, something good may happen.
Survivors
Stephen Jay Gould
Courtesy Kathy Chapman
Paul Kraus, author and mesothelioma
survivor - Cancer Monthly
Stephen Jay Gould
Courtesy Kathy Chapman
Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an american scientist that specialized in paleontology and biology. He was an accomplished author and teacher. He was diagnosed with peritoneal (abdominal) mesothelioma in 1982 at the age of 41. He discovered at that time that the median life expectancy of the disease was 8 months. After thinking about that statistic, being the scientist that he was, he wrote an article for Discover Magazine entitled,"The Median Isn't The Message". In this article he discusses how the median expectancy simply meant that 50% of the people diagnosed with this cancer would survive less than 8 months but the other 50% would survive potentially much greater than 8 months. After chemotherapy and radiation, Stephen Gould was completely cured and lived for another 20 years. He died at the age of 60 from a form of lung cancer that was unrelated to mesothelioma.
Paul Kraus, author and mesothelioma
survivor - Cancer Monthly
Paul Kraus (1944 – present) is a mesothelioma survivor that worked in an asbestos factory in the 1960's. He was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 1997. Paul's story is a fascinating one because he has not chosen any of the traditional non-holistic therapies for treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. He was told by his physician that those therapies would only provide temporary relief of his symptoms but in the long run they would reduce his quality of life but not extend his life. Consequently, Paul turned to holistic methods which included herbs such as Cat's claw, Chinese medicine, vitamin C, and switching to a vegetarian diet. He has written two books on surviving mesothelioma. The first one is entitled "Surviving Cancer: Inspirational Stories of Hope and Healing".
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