Kathleen A. already the bus trip brochures sitting on the living room coffee table, waiting for his next scanner in December before making the final decision on where it goes next.
it still has many miles of road travel.
Kathleen, 68, is a survivor of pleural mesothelioma southern Wisconsin with an inspiring series of independence, still itching to go places in America where it has never been eager to meet new people along the way.
"I'm not ready for the grass to start growing between my toes just yet," said Kathleen, whose name is withheld for privacy. "I am ready to return to the bus again. "
She approaches the mark two years since his surgery pleurectomy decortication / and chemotherapy which held its mesothelioma cancer in check. Knowing his pace slowed, it is still determined to keep the wheels in motion.
Shortly after his last cycle of chemotherapy, Kathleen left home for a week on a bus tour with a musical theme which made stops in St. Louis and Branson, Miss., And Nashville and Memphis, Tenn. His previous Southern bus trip, shortly after doctors drained the fluid from his lungs that led to the initial diagnosis, went to New Orleans, where she danced to a jazz festival.
She was traveling without a companion, happy to make new friends along the way. Kids are great and the husband left, leaving her to come and go as she pleases.
"I hope this does not sound bad, but many people are busy. I can not wait for someone else to go with me. If I did, I would not be go anywhere, "she said matter-of-factly. "I want to make my own decisions. And I always meet new people. He's funny. "
Assuming the scanner in December okay ?? and is praying every day it will be ?? is considering the western national parks, South Carolina region / Georgia or the Florida Keys.
"I'm not even in Texas, either," she said. "Traveling is something I still want to do. This (mesothelioma) I have not yet stopped. I can not move as fast anymore. I get tired easily. You will not see me on the treadmill ,. I still get places, but I'm getting more slowly than usual. "
Paving Her Own Way
Kathleen has made its decisions on health care in the same way. Although it has a loving family that helped him through the process she is the one that insisted on a second opinion. she was the one who decided his course of treatment. she welcomed advice, and cherishes the help of family and friends, but it clearly follows his own path . 
"She still thinks she can do anything," said his son, Rob. "She did things I wish she would have someone call for her. she does not belong on a scale of 10 feet clean its cathedral ceilings. There is a sense of adventure, which is why she loves traveling by bus. "
she kept a Attention newspaper ?? dates, times and places ?? of doctor visits, consultations, treatment options and side effects. She insists to have someone else with it for all visits to the doctor, take notes, make sure that they understand what was said.
"At my age, the mind wanders. Still can not hear what the doctor says. Two other ears are always better, "she said." I have a neighbor with problems and she goes by herself to the doctor, and I do not think she meant half the things they say to him . I wish she would let me go with her. "
When she was diagnosed, Kathleen said surgery was not an option, chemotherapy and radiotherapy were his only choice. Fortunately, she looked elsewhere, and found the Cancer Center Carbone in University of Wisconsin. the surgery was performed by Dr. Tracey Weigel, who has since left the Maine Medical Center.
"If I had stayed where I was diagnosed, I probably would not lived this moment, "she said. "That's something I tell people all the time. Do not just take what the doctors tell you first and accept it. This is wrong. Get other opinions."
other Kathleen council is prayer. She believes it worked for her, and she is the reason she has already survived longer than first expected with this type of cancer.
"You do not want to offend anyone by bringing God, but it keeps me going every day. I believe in prayer. I do not know how to get through the cancer if they are not God in their lives. I think that's great, "she said. "I talk to him in my house. I tell her to walk into the doctor's office, in my analysis. I walk out there saying, Okay, God, we will do that. "And He is with me. I know that. "
asbestos exposure from multiple sources
What she still does not know exactly where the exposure to asbestos which was led mesothelioma cancer. it could have been his father, a chemist who worked for DuPont, who brought home. he died from mesothelioma, there are more than 30 years. it could have been her husband, who was in the navy and working on a ship when they married. Or it could have been the old house where she lived in Kenosha, Wis., where the hot water pipes were wrapped in frayed, asbestos insulation.
the relationship with his father peaked his interest in gene therapy, which is advanced in Philadelphia Abramson Cancer Center. She is intrigued by the clinical trials, involving gene therapy, which could lead to another of his travels.
"Many of my friends did not know what I had. I had to spell mesothelioma for them, and to explain, "she said." And they do not like to hear me say: There is no cure for it. I did not like to hear that, either. "
Although Kathleen feels good now, his postoperative period was not without problems. Shortly after she went to the hospital, she swelled badly because one lung was leaking fluid, and she had to be attached to a digital machine with a tote bag for weeks. But he did not keep his house very long.
"I had my questions, but I'm determined to do well, to return to my life. It's nice to have family and friends do things for you, but as soon as I could, I was walking and even if it was just to the mailbox at the end of the cul-de-sac, "she said. "I spent four days on the couch watching TV, but it was all I could handle."
She still wears the pin ?? "I am a patient with No Patience" ?? given to her by her son to an early treatment sessions. They both smile about it now, knowing how it is going to him
"I just keep coming back to the Bible verse: 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," he said. -it. "I now know I can do it."
