September 26th A Day For Heather

http://homewithmommy-fran.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-cancer-story.html

I did that post on May 20th. It's about Heather and Mesothelioma. September 26th is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Heather would like as many people as possible to share this link on as much social media as you can to spread Mesothelioma awareness.

http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/awareness/#.UjHZwETD_4g

I have been emailing with Heather. Both of our kids started school recently and are off to a good start. The more we communicate, the more I like her. It's so energizing to see someone be so positive after Cancer. There are a lot of stories about people like that and they are all inspiring.

In the Cancer post I didn't talk about Mesothelioma that much but did post links. It's time to talk about it now. If you are exposed to asbestos or inhale asbestos particles you are at risk to develop Mesothelioma. But the symptoms won't appear until 35 - 50 years later on average (American Lung Association). I have read as early as 15 years is possible though. Asbestos is in a lot of things. "Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring minerals that are resistant to heat and corrosion." - OSHA. We don't always know if something has asbestos in it so we can't always protect ourselves from it. If it is likely to have asbestos, like pipe insulation, wear a face mask when working with it for protection. Only 40% of Mesothelioma patients survive a year. Less than 20% survive two years. If Josh got exposed to it today at work he wouldn't feel the symptoms until 2048 the soonest. He'd be 68. Most cases are related to asbestos exposure from work.

The symptoms are:

Fatigue
Shortness of Breath
Coughing
Reduced Respiratory Function

Survival Rate:

http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/survival-rate.php

American Lung Association:

http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/mesothelioma/understanding-mesothelioma.html

Mesothelioma Alliance:

http://www.mesothelioma.com/

Asbestos from OSHA:

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/

The Mesothelioma Center:

http://www.asbestos.com/

I know I post a lot of links in some of my posts. I know that not everyone reads them. Some people read at least one link others don't read any. I put them in my posts to cite my sources to avoid plagiarism and to have reliable sources available for those who want to learn more about what I post. The above links are to provide more information and cite information I have provided. I'm asking readers to share a link on their social media pages and that means some of you might want to learn more about the topic in question before being willing to post of Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. We are doing this for Heather and other people who have Mesothelioma. We are spreading awareness of something not well known because it's cause, asbestos, is still legal and common. That needs to change. The more people that send these links to their lawmakers asking for a change in regulation the fewer people get Mesothelioma. Please sign the Change.org petition and urge congress to ban asbestos.

Change.org Petition to ban asbestos:

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-united-states-congress-take-immediate-action-to-protect-public-health-and-ban-asbestos


Here is a petition Heather is a signatory on. Others share their Mesothelioma stories in this petition to ban asbestos.

http://www.mymeso.org/ban-asbestos-petition/


September 26th is Mesothelioma Awareness Day:

I support Heather, do you? If so, share this link:

www.mesothelioma.com/heather/awareness

https://mesothelioma.net/mesothelioma-awareness-day/

https://mesothelioma.net/mesothelioma/