Mesothelioma survivorHeather Von St. Jamesrecently spoke with Mesothelioma.com about her annualLung Leavin’ Day庆典。希瑟（Heather）家中的年度活动标志着她的肺切除手术周年纪念日。她将庆祝活动解释为那些有希望的人万博专业版和其他形式的癌症。
今年，由于COVID-19 pandemic，肺Leavin日庆祝活动将首次虚拟。请继续阅读有关参与和智慧幸存者的更多信息。
The following is an interview of Heather Von St. James by Mesothelioma.com. The content has been lightly edited for clarity and reviewed by Heather prior to publication.
Mesothelioma.com (M): Can you explain the history and significance of Lung Leavin’ Day?
Heather Von St. James (Heather):My sister thought of the name. She jokingly said, ‘we’re Swedish and now that you’re having your lung removed on Groundhog’s Day we have to name it something different,’ because February 2 is the anniversary. So she’s like, ‘instead of Groundhog’s Day, now it’s called Lung Leavin’ Day, because it’s the day your lung left.’
希瑟·冯·圣詹姆斯和她的丈夫卡梅伦在海滩上。
And then we’re Swedish, so she said ‘you have to say it with a Swedish accent, Lung Leavin’ Day.’ And being Minnesotan makes it even more funny, Lung Leavin’ Day. That’s how the name came about.
她和我的丈夫开始谈论我们如何有限公司uld really celebrate. My sister is a yogi master and firewalker – she and her husband have done firewalking. She suggested, ‘you should do firewalking.’ And in firewalking, you write your fears on a piece of wood, you throw it in the fire and walk over it. And then my husband [Cameron Von St. James] said we should be like the Greeks and throw plates. My husband said we should write our fears on plates and then break the plates in a bonfire. So that’s where the whole plate idea came from.
M: What was the first Lung Leavin’ Day celebration like?
Heather:February 2, 2007, my husband comes home from work with two plates and two sharpies. I was like, ‘oh my God, I forgot completely about that.’ And he said, ‘yea, I didn’t.’
So he went out to the backyard and started a fire, and it was 17 below. It was super cold. We were out there with our little fire, and we wrote our fears on the plates and smashed them in the fire. It just felt amazing, we were like, we have to share this with people. We started thinking about how to make it a [bigger] celebration.
The next year, we just invited friends and family. We had about 40 people show up, and I was shocked at how big it got. The most we ever had was the ninth anniversary, and we had more than 150 people [at the house].
在第六年，我们开始作为筹款活动。从那以后，我们一直回馈Meso [Thelioma]社区。这是关于克服恐惧，胜利，并将某些悲惨的东西变成积极的事物。
Now we’ve raised over $45,000 for mesothelioma research since we started. It’s just a small house party, so I’m pretty impressed with how well we do with a small little fundraiser.
M: Can you talk a bit about the change to the virtual format?
Heather:This year, because of COVID, we’re obviously not having the party for everybody. But my husband said, ‘well, we’re still going to celebrate.’ So we’re going to do it virtually. I’m going to broadcast live onFacebookandInstagram在我的帐户上。
我要设置三脚架，并用戒指灯照亮。我有一个戒指。我将设置我的Meso Foundation捐赠页面，以便人们可以直接捐款。
M: Is there anything that the virtual event affords you that you’re really excited about?
Heather:I’m sad because I’m a very social person, and getting together with the people is what really makes the party special to me. We always dedicate the party to a friend we’ve lost in the last year, and this year [the event is] for Annamarie Kearns.
因此，有一部分，我很难过，因为这里不会有人。但是我也很兴奋，因为我能够捐出更多的钱，因为我不会有聚会的费用，这让我很高兴。并且没有投入所有工作，这太可怕了，但是为此做准备需要数周的时间。这就像每年举行婚礼。
我有点期待更简单的庆祝活动，并只是与来自各地的人们与人们建立联系。从字面上看的人可以参加并加入我们。这对我来说很令人兴奋。
M: Why would you encourage someone to attend this year’s virtual event?
Heather:Facing your fears and giving a voice to them is incredibly empowering because so many people shove their fears down. So facing your fears, writing them down, seeing them smashed, helps you move forward, helps you let loose of those things that may be holding you back. I know people who’ve told me it’s been life-changing for them for that.
M: Do you think celebrations like Lung Leavin’ Day mean a little something more this year in light of the pandemic?
Heather:Yea, there’s a lot of fear going on in the world right now. I think there is a lot of fear and there’s a lot of people that don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s hope on the horizon, but there’s still a lot of unknown. So yea, I think the number one fear is going to be COVID.
I think this year there are going to be a lot of people who are like, we’ve been through so much individually and as a country in the last year. There’s a lot to conquer and move forward, and hopefully, [we] have hope coming up and light at the end of the long, dark tunnel.
M: Do you have any specific memories of Lung Leavin’ Day celebrations of years past you’d like to share?
Heather:你知道，我知道[这很特别]，那是我和丈夫的第一年。我们就像，我们必须与人分享。然后，每年的每年，我都会收到人们的来信或笔记，以了解这个聚会的启发。因此，您知道，人们与我分享它对他们的影响一直在改变人生，然后让人们来自各地参加聚会。
Heather’s Lung Leavin’ Day backyard set up.
But what really made it special was the first year that somebody else that had meso or lost a loved one to meso came and it wasn’t just me. Then we started sharing it with other cancer survivors and other meso patients and the loved ones of meso patients, and that’s when I knew we had something really special.
那时不只是我。这是关于它如何帮助他人在旅途中，即使是损失，进一步前进。被社区中的人们包围是令人难以置信的谦卑。
M: How much preparation goes into the day?
Heather:这就像每年计划婚礼。但是我很幸运，因为我有很多帮助。我有一个扮演女主人的朋友，我不必担心让别人的外套或填满食物。我的朋友每年都会自愿成为女主人，她很惊讶。我还有另一个出售商品的朋友，所以我可能会想念社交蝴蝶。
So I get to be the bride, and I don’t have to worry about any of the details because I have my little planners.
M: Can you give some examples of the kinds of things people write on their plates?
Heather:I laugh when I see little kids’ plates because the things they’re afraid of are so funny, like broccoli.
破碎的盘子希瑟的英航ckyard from a past Lung Leavin’ Day celebration.
Everybody goes about it differently. Some people will sit down and really think on it, close their eyes and be in a quiet spot. They’ll fill the plate with spirals of fears. The whole plate will be covered, front and back. And then there are other people that write one or two things and their name on it, and that’s all they do. So, it’s very personal.
我的恐惧每年都会改变。主要的人保持不变。对复发的恐惧，离开了我的家人。Covid是一个很大的。无法获取疫苗，被困在屋子里. I fear for my daughter for not having a normal high school career. My health is definitely my main fear.
M：换齿轮，您能谈谈15年的生存吗？
Heather:我有15个月的时间。使它15年令人难以置信。我真的没有深思熟虑。我或多或少只是去，我还在这里。尽管有很多赔率。我仍然在这里，我认为这就是为什么我热衷于回馈，因为我是人们的榜样，而且我确实提供了希望。我有点震惊。这是无数的情绪。显然，我在这里。
M：多年来，您对癌症诊断的前景是否发生了变化？
Heather:I’m much more cynical now. I’ve seen so much, and I’ve been around it longer than most people. I’m excited when I see new treatments because I know that they’re working on it, but I’m cynical when I hear doctors pushing the same narrative over and over again. ‘You’re different and you’re younger.’ I’ve seen [this cancer] do horrible things to people.
我的另一部分，我对患者体验充满了全新的热情，并给患者发表了声音。我想很多次caregivers不允许患者按照他们的意愿进行。因此，这改变了很多，我如何看待事物。
I’m also cynical aboutbanning asbestos. I used to be really hopeful about that, but now I’m like if it hasn’t happened yet, it isn’t happening now.
随着年龄的增长，我肯定会变得更加愤世嫉俗。对于在癌症界周围和看到不平等的情况下，这是一个平等的愤世嫉俗者。人们处理的医疗保健和癌症类型的不平等。
But also hopeful, very hopeful because ofimmunotherapy, [which] has given people a new lease on life.手术is not as barbaric as it used to be and there’s hope for non-surgical patients. So there’s a lot to be excited about, too.
Join Heather on Saturday, February 6, 2021, for her Lung Leavin’ Day celebration.
