Anita Steiner was diagnosed with mesothelioma two years ago at the young age of 45. Mesothelioma is a rare and often incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos. The onset of cancer can take anywhere from 10 to 40 years to develop. Anita seems to be another case of secondary exposure, coming into contact with the deadly mineral as a young child when watching her father pull down a shed. Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma die within a year and there are no known cures. After six months of exhausting chemotherapy and drug treatments, Anita had all but given up hope and had set her mind to enjoying the short time left to her life.

Given her circumstances, Anita and her partner, Patrick Lemmens, could hardly believe when they were told that the cancer was in remission in January. They were even more surprised when they were told that Anita was pregnant! Despite worries over the health of the fetus, a healthy baby girl was born on December 4^th. A very happy ending to a story that usually ends with sorrow and loss!

For more information, you can visit Anita’s blog at http://blog.anitalive.com/.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 12:05 am and is filed under Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.