If you’ve been flipping through the channels on your TV over the past few decades there’s a chance you’ve heard something that sounds a lot like this:
“If you or a loved one was diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to financial compensation."
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer. It affects nearly 3,000 Americans annually, including Jennifer George, a Bay County resident.
She was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma on Sept. 3rd, 2024.
"It was actually an incidental finding because I was undergoing a workup for something completely different. I was just having some tightness in my chest, a little bit of cough, some severe fatigue,” George says.
A major cause of Mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, which can come through direct contact at construction sites, exposed older drywall and in George's case through cosmetic products such as baby powder or makeup with talc.
When George was diagnosed, she says fear immediately struck her.
“ Your stomach just completely drops. I was scared to tell my family and friends because what I knew of it was it was a death sentence. When I went to my first doctor, he told me you have 12 to 18 months to live. And so your life literally flashes before your eyes,” George says.
The microscopic fibers of asbestos can become trapped in tissue, causing cellular damage and inflammation. Julie White, who is Director of Patient Services for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, explains that while asbestos is not the cancer itself, it does lay the groundwork for cancer to form.
“What happens is you inhale the fibers and then they create a chronic inflammation. And then the inflammation causes damage to the cells. And then that causes the cancer,” White says.
While other forms of cancer may be more swayed toward a particular group, such as male or female, Mesothelioma follows no such guidelines.
“We have patients who are in their 20s, women, patients of all ages, of all races. It does not discriminate. It's across the board. The face of Mesothelioma is everyone,” White says.
There is currently no cure for Mesothelioma, and treatment varies case to case. For George, treatment meant 11 rounds of chemotherapy, as well as two surgeries.
“I used to be able to go for a walk or do more physical activities. And now that is drastically changed just because I don't have the stamina,” George says.
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, which back in 2004 established September 26 as a national Awareness Day for the cancer, continues to fund research for new treatments.
Melissa Gerard, the organization’s communications manager, says it spent $850,000 last year on research.
“Some of those grants go to new researchers that are looking at treatment viability. Some of it is genetics work. With mesothelioma, some of it is clinical trials. So, there's always expansions and new types of treatments that individuals can have [like] different types of surgeries,” Gerard says.
Gerard says awareness has also grown over the past two decades, including through its ‘Paint the World Blue’ campaign.
“They're asking to get landmarks lit up blue, putting blue lights in their house [and] sharing it on social media. So more and more people know about it. And really just showing the world who is the community. Even though it is small,” Gerard says.
George currently has no evidence of active disease after her last surgery in December. But she says she still lives three months at a time, from CT scan to CT scan.
“You have to take in those little moments. Might not be significant to somebody else, but there's things that you can never get back. It is the little day to day things. Spending time with loved ones, going out to lunch with a friend that you haven't seen in a while, making a phone call to someone that means a lot to you. Let them know that spending that quality time doing what makes you happy is what I meant by living life to the fullest,” George says.
And while the commercials may be familiar, both George and Gerard want people to know there is much more to Mesothelioma than what they see on TV.
“Most people hear me and the first thing they say is, oh, like the lawyer commercials,” Gerard says.
“Don't believe just what you see on TV, because there's so much more to all of us who are fighting this rare cancer than what is advertised on TV,” George says.
George's next scan comes at the end of October. Until then, she says she's focused what's most important to her-- her family, friends and her faith.
