The story of Paul Kraus a mesothelioma survivor

Paul Kraus, a mesothelioma survivor, explain how he managed to outlive his prognosis by helping his body fight the disease. He says that “The underlying assumption with all that I have done, and continue to do, is a strong belief that our bodies are designed with amazing self-healing capacities.”

Paul Kraus was diagnosed with mesothelioma back in 1997, when he went to the hospital for a pretty common umbilical hernia repair. During the operation the surgeon discovered metastases that he believed were made by a pancreatic cancer that evolved freely. After pathology tests the doctors discovered that it was in fact mesothelioma.

This diagnosis was later set as an abdominal or peritoneal, instead of pleural. The diagnosis was confirmed by two leading teams of surgeons from Australia. The type of mesothelioma that Paul Kraus was suffering from is a rare subtype, only affecting a tiny fraction of mesothelioma patients each year. Paul believed that this type of mesothelioma is less dangerous than pleural, when in fact it is even more difficult.

Strange is that Paul Kraus was a healthy middle aged man, other than the daily stress everyone has to face. After facing some family trauma, Paul decided to radically change his lifestyle, considering those events as warnings.

It took Mr. Kraus around a year and a half to remember when he got exposed to asbestos and in what circumstance. He says that the exposure took place some 35 years before the diagnosis, when he worked for a factory producing asbestos materials. He remembers that he was exposed to the blue dust for a couple of weeks, but that proved enough to develop the dangerous cancer type.

Paul Kraus, encouraged by his son after deciding not to file a claim, managed to receive rightful compensation for his disease and suffering. He said that he filed suit after his son helped open his eyes about how the mesothelioma disease changed his life to the worse, leaving him almost broke and with a very large medical bill.

After all the suffering, and overcoming this cancer, Mr. Kraus wrote a book about his story, allowing us to get a glimpse of what cancer actually means. Paul Kraus has been living with mesothelioma for over 12 years, and the latest check says that he will survive much longer. Doctors believe that the patient’s reacted very strongly against the disease, and with a little help, the immune system of Mr. Kraus was able to keep the cancer from developing. Some experts say that he might be cured from mesothelioma at one point if he manages to remain active and to lead a normal life.