Nurse, Mesothelioma Patient to be Honored at Asbestos Disease Awareness Conference

A nurse diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2002 will be honored at the 6th Annual Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) Asbestos Disease Awareness Conference in 2010.

The conference will take place in Chicago, Illinois from April 9 – 11 and will present June Breit, RN, with the Alan Reinstein Memorial Award, an award created to honor former ADAO president Alan Reinstein, who passed away from mesothelioma in 2006.

Following her mesothelioma diagnosis, Breit became extremely active in the mesothelioma community, advocating for stronger awareness about the asbestos-related cancer and meeting with the governor of Pennsylvania to implement Mesothelioma Awareness Day in the state.

Breit worked for nearly 30 years as a registered nurse and was familiar with the poor prognosis typically associated with mesothelioma when she was diagnosed. When her mesothelioma symptoms first surfaced and she experienced difficulty breathing, Breit initially thought she had the flu.

Her doctor suspected pneumonia, but when an X-ray revealed the presence of fluid in her left lung, a biopsy was preformed and the presence of malignant mesothelioma was confirmed.

Breit turned to treatment to combat the cancer, undergoing an extrapleural pneumonectomy, a surgical procedure in which portions of the lung, the lining of the lung and the diaphragm are removed. She also received chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

One of the biggest surprises following treatment Breit, an avid swimmer, experienced came when she tried swimming again. “I sank like a stone instead!” she said. “Turns out you need two lungs to be able to be able to float, so now I use my granddaughter’s noodle when we go to the pool.”

Today, seven years after her mesothelioma diagnosis, Breit continues to devote her efforts towards banning asbestos and increasing funding for the creation of additional treatment options for mesothelioma patients.

“I hate this disease, and pretty much consider myself to have been murdered by a society that chose to let asbestos be used even though it was known to be toxic,” said Breit.


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