giovedì 31 dicembre 2015

Diario di una combattente: la lotta di Mavis Nye contro il mesotelioma

Mavis Nye of England shares her inspiring story of her ups and downs while fighting pleural mesothelioma. Through an email interview with MesotheliomaHelp, Mavis discussed how she takes on her cancer the same way she lives her life – with humor and through support from her family.
PART I
“I have found that I have laughed a lot,” said Mavis. She believes that not only does humor help her and Ray better cope with her disease, but, she said, “I think it makes it easier for people to talk to me and not shy away not knowing what to say.”They say “laughter is the best medicine,” and for 72-year-old Mavis Nye that may be just the case. Mavis, of Seasalter, England, has been battling pleural mesothelioma since 2009. Although she has had her share of bad days, Mavis laughs a lot, makes fun of herself and even jokes about dying. It is this lighthearted approach to the serious, terminal cancer that has kept Mavis and her husband, Ray, enjoying their golden years.
Don’t let her humor fool you though – Mavis is a very serious and tenacious fighter when it comes to keeping herself alive and happy. She and Ray just celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary, and she plans to celebrate many more years with the man who stole her heart when she was just 16 years old.  She also wants to be there for her sons, Tony and Terry, her daughters-in-law, and her three grandchildren, who have put their lives on hold and rallied around her throughout her mesothelioma ordeal.
When Mavis was first diagnosed with mesothelioma, after experiencing difficulty breathing and numbness in her arms, she was told that she had just three months to live. Now, four and one half years later, Mavis is happy to say she has been controlling her destiny as much as the medical team that has been treating her.
Preparing for the Battle 
Like a fighter heading into the ring, Mavis began preparing for the fight of her life on June 4, 2009, the day she heard the devastating news. In her June 12, 2009 blog article Mavis noted that she was already planning her fight: “I have a real battle on my hands, but with all these lovely wishes, I will fight— I promise.”
“Don’t think I’m sitting about like an invalid,” Mavis wrote in her blog just days later. She “tidied the garden and laid a little patio in a quiet place so I can sit and read when I’m on chemo.” She cleared out the shed of “stupid things we collect,” and began packing for a weekend camping event. Then, she added, “I have gone on the dog walk this week, 2 miles every day, as exercise will build the lungs — so you see I’m ready for this fight.”
Mavis needed that fighting spirit for the long road ahead.  She has endured surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, a clinical trial and countless procedures and tests. And she is still looking for that silver bullet that will rid her of the cancer that has invaded her body. Mavis just completed a fourth round of chemotherapy treatment. Her doctors weren’t sure whether to proceed, but knowing Mavis’s strength and will, this summer they went ahead with six sessions.
Home Away from Home 
Since Mavis’s initial treatment, a talc pleurodesis surgery where a talcum “slurry” was inserted in the pleural layers to seal the space so no further fluid could accumulate around her lungs, she and Ray have continued to do what they enjoy most – joining friends at an RV rally or kicking back for a few days of camping. After her first procedure, when she was still weak, Mavis and Ray packed up their motor home, grabbed their loyal dog Louis, and headed out for some R & R
“Ray and I enjoy doing so much together,” said Mavis. “We are laughing all the time and enjoy camping together in the motor home. That’s when we can really relax.”Since then, the two have barely missed an invitation to meet up with their friends from their “motor homer’s club.” And that time together has only strengthened the couple’s already unshakeable bond.
When they aren’t in their RV, the two are busy planning their next trip. Whether it is another country in Europe, a party in the next town, or a day of shopping, Mavis and Ray are buoyed by their excursions. They see each day as an adventure, and it also happens to be the best way for Mavis to cope with her mesothelioma.
“There have been some very bad days when in chemo, and the sickness and pain has been intolerable, but on those days I just lay back and rest knowing that the chemo was working on my Mr. Nasty.”
When asked what it is that gets her out of bed every morning, Mavis said simply, “I love getting up each day because it is a new start, a fresh start and I will see another day. Laughter and great friends and the love of life are what keep me going.”
PART II
Mavis Nye said that sometimes it feels like she lives her life in three month blocks. That is the length of time between each of her CT scans where her oncologist can determine whether her treatment is effective. Prior scans showed she was keeping the cancer at bay. However, her last scan showed some regrowth of the tumors.
“I have had so many scans and tests that I know that mesothelioma is the only thing wrong with me,” Mavis told MesotheliomaHelp in a recent e-mail interview. If not for the cancer, “I could have lived to 99 like my mother did. That makes me so sad.”
It is this sadness and frustration that leads Mavis to do all she can to let everyone know that asbestos is extremely dangerous and to fight to shield future generations from this “nasty cancer” — a cancer she developed by inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers that clung to her husband Ray’s clothes that he brought home from his work at the dockyard.
The Prolific Writer 
Within months after Mavis’s diagnosis she began to connect with other patients who were also struggling to make sense of the disease. Through social media, Mavis found a support group of mesothelioma warriors who had been through treatments and had joined forces to educate the public about asbestos and this terrible cancer. Via Twitter, @GrandmaMavis slowly began to post articles about newly discovered asbestos hazards, safety violations and medical breakthroughs. On Facebook she “liked” articles sent by others, sent affirming thoughts to patients struggling through treatments and the side effects, and shared information about clinical trials and upcoming medical conferences.
During this time Mavis became more knowledgeable about the disease, and she became more frustrated. She was determined to capture her story, as it unfolded, and what she has learned along the way. She became a prolific writer and she and Ray have made virtually every step of her diagnosis and care available to the public.
Mavis and Ray both maintain a daily blog. They leave their readers both laughing and crying as they follow their ups and downs, struggles, and highlights of their days. Mavis’s trademark humor and Ray’s adventures as a caregiver, and sometime patient himself, present a clear picture of how mesothelioma affects more than just the patient.
The two also created and manage OneStop Mesothelioma, a website that contains information they have gathered about asbestos, mesothelioma, medical resources, and even heart health. (Ray suffered a heart attack this year, and he offers readers information about angioplasty and stents.)
In 2010, Mavis published her book, “Meso Warrior” to share her story and to “give other mesothelioma sufferers the insight that it’s not all doom and gloom.” All proceeds of her book go to Mesothelioma UK to help raise funds for research.
My Name is Mavis and I Have Mesothelioma 
The first time Mavis spoke publicly about her story and about the disease was at the 2010 Mesothelioma UK Conference in London. There, she was able to tell her story of her diagnosis and treatment.
“I was nervous in case I made a mistake,” said Mavis, “but I got through it and I was surprised by the clapping.”
Once Mavis got started there was no slowing her down. She has been interviewed by national magazines, including Yours, a UK women’s magazine, and by local newspapers, local radio and TV stations, national papers, and international organizations. She has spoken at many more conferences, and starred in a safety video by the British Lung Foundation. She has even taken her fight to the British Parliament.
Mavis has also been awarded for her efforts. Among her honors is the 2013 Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s Alan Reinstein Award for her commitment to education, advocacy, and support to countless patients and families.

Forwarding Treatment
 Her proudest moment was when she was awarded the 2013 Independent Asbestos Training Providers’ Meso Warrior award. Mavis spoke for just a few minutes when she accepted the award, but her heartfelt words about her journey earned her a standing ovation, and left the room in tears. It was having Ray, her son, Terry and his wife, Nicky, in the audience that moved Mavis the most.
Now, one of Mavis’s favorite and most rewarding advocacy efforts is that of a patient representative at the Cancer Network in East Kent. As a multi-year survivor, Mavis has been called on to discuss mesothelioma treatments available, or soon to be available to the community. Others in the group include doctors, nurses, and pharmaceutical representatives.
“I have to fight for mesothelioma to be heard, as they discuss other cancers,” said Mavis. “At the Lung Disease Orientated Group (Lung Dog) I have to keep asking about clinical trials as there are so many for lung cancer, but our cancer is not really lung cancer as such it is the cancer of the pleura that cover the lung.”
Mavis knows there is no cure for mesothelioma, and she believes there may never be, but through her effort to support and promote the implementation of improvements in cancer care at Kent, she hopes to make a difference for other patients.
“We all hope there will be a wonder drug come out and save us like a knight on a white stallion,” Mavis wrote in a recent blog entry.

(Tratto da: https://www.mesotheliomahelp.org/2013/12/mavis-nye-fights-mesothelioma-laughter-love/)
OneStop Mesothelioma – Contains information and resources about mesothelioma and asbestos
Living with Mesothelioma – Mavis’s Diary
Ray’s Blog
Meso Warrior – Mavis’s book available on Amazon.com