Mesothelioma Patient and Caregiver Couple Honored. Asbestos Information, Research ...

Long-Term Mesothelioma Patient and Caregiver Couple Honored as Volunteer of the Year

One of the longest-term survivors of the vicious asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma, and his wife were honored today by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation with the Foundation's annual Volunteer of the Year Award.

In July of 1998, in St. Charles, Missouri, then-42 year-old Craig walked into his doctor's office with concern over a few digestive symptoms. Nine days later, he walked out of the doctor's office, having been told to get his affairs in order because he had only a few months left to live.

But instead of going home and preparing to die, Craig - with his wife Shelly - found their way to one of the few cancer centers at the time attempting to treat the disease. Over the next eleven years, Craig pushed the boundaries of mesothelioma treatment through experimental surgeries, chemotherapy cocktails and radiation. Contrary to the hopeless prognosis he was given, he was able to continue working, be a life partner to Shelly, and see his daughter grow up. Last December, Craig walked Emily - who was just 12 when he was diagnosed and is now 23, down the aisle.

Craig and Shelly also became pioneering advocates for other mesothelioma patients. They joined the Meso Foundation and used Craig's story as a long term survivor effectively treated by multi-modal therapy to inspire countless other patients to keep hope and pursue the latest treatments.

While Craig was fighting his battle through existing, albeit experimental, medical treatments, Shelly devoted herself to the desperate need for research funding to develop new, more effective treatments. She began to knock on her legislators' doors, urging the federal government to meet its responsibility toward the tragedy of asbestos cancer and partner in the effort to cure it.

But Shelly is not just waiting around for the government to act. She has become the Meso Foundation's most effective volunteer fundraiser. The first $100,000 she raised has in fact funded a federal government researcher, Dr. Mitchell Ho at the National Cancer Institute, NIH. Through the 2007 "Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation Grant in Honor of Craig Kozicki" Dr. Ho is developing special antibodies to block a recently discovered protein that plays a central role in mesothelioma. He has already published exciting early results, and so Craig's name is now permanently included in the annals of medical literature in connection with this important step forward. Shelly is already planning to raise another $100,000 to fund a second grant.

"Craig and Shelly have been a beacon of hope, and of direct action," says the Meso Foundation Executive Director, Chris Hahn. "They have inspired countless patients and caregivers. They have inspired me personally and all of the Meso Foundation staff and volunteers as we work every day to find a cure for this cruel disease."

Source: Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation 03 09

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