Klaus Brauch is not the type of person who looks for a fight. He is a man of peace, honor, humor and strength. But when threatened, whether physically or philosophically, he will defend himself, and his principles. He will fight back and he will not retreat. Klaus was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in June of this year. Since then, he has devoted his energy to finding a cure for himself and mesothelioma patients everywhere.  He realizes that it takes a community to find a cure. It takes research. And research takes money. He wonders, as we all do, how our government can so glibly throw millions at the creation of a Swine Research Center but invest only a few dollars in finding a cure for mesothelioma, a tumor that robs our nation of over 3,000 citizens every year.

In Part 2, Klaus retells his experience at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. He met with Dr. Jaklitsch who filled him with both optimism (about his own eligibility for Dr. Sugarbaker’s tri modal therapy) and despair (regarding the disproportionate funding of mesothelioma by the government compared to other forms of cancer). He ends his note with a message to his "Fellow Travelers" that he looks forward to joining them on the road to recovery.

In Part 3, "A Morality Play", Klaus doesn’t mince words. He argues that the asbestos industry executives who sent workers into the zone of danger without any protections or warnings should be prosecuted as criminals. He laments the callous disregard of countless workers who died "in the line of duty" but who have never been properly honored for their sacrifice. This is a must read.

In Part 4, Klaus writes a compelling letter to the Executive Director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. He compliments MARF for advocating on behalf of patients and for putting theory into practice by funding two(2) and soon to be four (4) research grants at $100,000 each. He makes the point that we spend more money on preserving the shelf life of tomatoes than we do on researching ways to extend the survival of meso patients. Klaus vows to help MARF achieve it’s mission through fund raising, advocacy and example.

In Part 5, Thinking About What Cancer Isn't, Klaus ponders the point of cancer from an evolutionary perspective. What good is it in the propagation of viable offspring? What role does it play in promoting the gene pool? Klaus observes that cancer cells, which arise as a result of mutations on the DNA chain, seem to be unique to each host and therefore very difficult to target and treat. Logically, since the cells are "part of" the host's body, and not necessarily a "foreign invader", the host -- that is, the patient -- may find it useful to attempt to use the powers of the mind to assert control over these "out of whack" cells.

Roger G. Worthington
July 25, 2001

I was born in post war Germany, (1949) and moved to Toronto Canada with my parents and four brothers (all older) in 1956. I grew up in the east end, went to high school at East York Collegiate where I met Susan, my future wife, while she was still in grade 10. We have never been apart since, a streak I am determined not to interrupt anytime soon.

PART 2 - Klaus Vows To Beat The Odds

On June 15th, the Mayo clinic confirmed the diagnosis of Hoag Presbyterian pathologists indicating that I have malignant mesothelioma of the epithelial variety. At this point I don't appear to have lymph node involvement and am undergoing a battery of MRI and CAT scan tests. They don't really do that to cats do they? I am then travelling to consult with Dr. Sugarbaker on July 10th in Boston and Dr. Cameron on July 16th at UCLA. Then I will make a decision what course of treatment to pursue.

I have researched this as much as anyone can in the few weeks since the diagnosis. I have studied every word in my post operative and biopsy reports and have stared at the pictures of the enemy taken during my Thorascopy and biopsy. I am telling myself that this is an early diagnosis, that I am lucky, strong and still youthful at 51 and that with the right surgeon and the right therapy, I WILL BEAT THIS CANCER just as I have overcome everything else in my life.

I love to laugh. I haven't stopped and I suppose I never will. Mark Twain provided me with the words that say it best. "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated." You bet they are. I have too much living to do to allow this thing to get in the way.

I am not looking for comfort or for someone to tell me that I MIGHT get better. Tough surgery won't stop me. I have already had four serious operations in my life and had the surgeons tell me afterward what a great patient I was. I am on the hunt for a CURE, not just a few extra years, so I am ready to fight form my life.

By the way I am no longer a candidate for gene or other chemotherapies because of a procedure that was performed on me during my biopsy called mechanical pleurodesis. Thoracic surgeons routinely do this to eliminate the fluid buildup, which is a symptom of the illness. They honestly believe there is no harm in it and they don't realize that by scraping the tumor mechanically they are closing treatment doors for their patients. That's something I need to help educate them about . They are all good doctors who are only trying to help but they are lacking knowledge about what to do and what not to do.

Klaus Travels To Boston; Dr. Jaklitsch Advises "Attitude Is Everything."

I met the Sugarbaker surgical team in Boston on the July 10, 2001. Dr. Sugarbaker was in emergency surgery so I got passed along to his partner Michael Jaklitsch who is a very nice fellow and a good surgeon.

1. Dr. Jaklitsch told me that I am very early. I am "the best candidate he has seen" since he as been there. He has been on this team for three years now.
   
   
2. He told me that he felt I had "favorable biology" which means that I appear to be fighting this cancer and slowing it down. Very few people have this ability and he indicated that this appeared to be a physical trait of mine. He reached this conclusion by reviewing fiber optic photos taken in June and taking into account the fact that I already had symptoms last fall. He feels I may have had the tumor now for two to three years.
   
   
3. I am on the list for surgery in September and will be in the third group of people in the new trial with heated chemo followed by radiation treatment. I will be in Boston for three to four weeks during this time and will get the radiation treatment at Hoag in CA upon my return.
   
   
4. Some people, that Susan and I talked to, have received less than empathetic treatment from the doctors and staff of the clinics they have visited. That seems cruel and harsh but the reason for this is that all treatments for this disease are still "experimental" and therefore must be offered as clinical trials under government supervision and approval. This means that a strict protocol has to be followed and only certain candidates who qualify can be offered the program. Everyone else is then offered stuff that most of us already know won't help much. I am certainly lucky to have been accepted.
   
   
5. Jaklitsch told me that attitude is everything. So has everyone else I have spoken to. When I told him that I preferred to schedule the surgery after Susan has completed her lecturing assignment at University, he laughed. He told us that those people who want immediate surgery and are desperate for treatment rarely survive. They are not in charge of their disease and he could tell that I was. He added that a lot of people he sees have abdicated their care to a loved one or to their doctor. These people rarely make it. They quickly get overrun by the tumor. The long term survivors are usually the "take charge" people.
   
   
6. They tested my lungs and found that my pulmonary function is still almost near normal. This is most unusual since most of the people coming in for treatment are already at below 50%.
   
   
7. I also learned that due to the mechanical scraping of the tumor that Hoag hospital did, a procedure called mechanical pleurodesis, that I may no longer be a candidate for Dr. Cameron's procedure at UCLA. His type of surgery requires a pristine lung and the pleurodesis procedure may have introduced the cancer into the deeper layers of my pleura and lungs, compromising their integrity. Leaving my lung may no longer be an option but I will find out for sure on Monday.
   
   
8. While I prepare for surgery (notice I didn't say WAIT), I will be taking vitamins, immune boosting compounds and Essiac tea, a cancer reducing compound that has been around since 1922 (not a cure). Since I am a little anemic from the last surgery, I plan to continue eating lots of protein and iron rich foods and get lots of exercise. When I go on that table, I want my body to be as strong as possible so I can stomp on this cancer from all directions at once.

Special Note to "Fellow Travelers"

PART 4 - Klaus Rallies Patients, Lawyers and Politicians to Finance Long Overdue Medical Research

Hello Chris,

I'm sure you've heard of the American Cancer Society so I won't insult you by asking. Go to their web site and open the little window that lets you select the "cancer du jour" that you are investigating. Can't find Mesothelioma? Take the little tab that says "Other cancers". Now we have a list of 67 different cancers ending in "Wilm's tumor" and yet, surprise, surprise, no mention of malignant Mesothelioma. Only when you type the words into the search engine will you find any reference to this vicious cancer, a cancer with which I am afflicted.

I feel like the man who has fallen off the planet and no one knows or cares. I have a cancer so obscure that when I mentioned it to the nurses where I recovered from my biopsy, they didn't know what Mesothelioma was. Why is this happening Chris? Why doesn't this cancer have a higher profile with a group like the American Cancer Society? Have they written us off, as in "don't bother"? This is such brutal and merciless disease. How can a cancer, that afflicts over 2000 Americans a year, and has a death rate of 94% within five years of diagnosis, be unheard of?

I think my life is worth at least a penny a year of government research; isn't yours? With an incident rate of 14 cases per million annually, think of all the people around the world who get Mesothelioma every year. Yet I would bet the medical establishment and government health institutions aren't even spending $5 Million dollars a year on research. You probably know the figures better than I do, or have access to them, but I'm equally sure the total investment from private sources and government combined doesn't even double that figure.

The lack of funding for research into Mesothelioma is astounding when you compare it with the sums going to military spending and government programs like $188,000(1) for Entomology Acoustics Detection to improve our ability to listen to insects, or the planned allocation of $12,678,000(1) for a Swine Research Center. The level of apathy towards this cancer by our law makers and leaders is pathetic.

Those of us who have Mesothelioma have friends and family to spread the word, but that still can't compete with the sums raised for more visible cancers like breast, lymphatic and colon cancer, all of which have much lower mortality rates. Money spent by the private sector, like drug companies, for research into erectile dysfunction or on improving the shelf life of tomatoes runs into the billions but virtually nothing is spent on this in comparison.

Do I sound angry? You bet I am. How can the American health establishment allocate such insignificant sums for research into something this deadly and so overwhelmingly terminal? Mesothelioma isn't like getting a case of wrinkles or growing bald. It's not just uncomfortable or inconvenient. Those of us diagnosed with it aren't given the option of choosing from hopeful programs that may effect a cure. Mesothelioma is a virtual death sentence for most of us and very little is being done about it.

Thankfully, some new, private foundations are trying to change the landscape. I am grateful that The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) was founded because in the short time it has existed it has helped enormously to rally the victims, their advocates and their families and certain members of the medical community to the cause of raising funds for research and raising awareness through the dissemination of information. MARF has even begun funding studies out of donations provided by the families of victims and their lawyers. At the end of last year MARF funded two $100,000 research studies . MARF is in the process of reviewing applications for two more grants, also of $100,000 each, and expects to award two more $100,000 grants at the end of this year.

I am telling everyone I can that donations to this organization are gratefully accepted and less than 7% goes to administration. All the rest is used to fund mesothelioma research and create awareness of mesothelioma. The need for additional funding remains strong as MARF also aids in the education of doctors and patients on the available mesothelioma treatments.

Anyway, I'm not going to let this situation go on. As I recover from the new surgery and chemotherapy treatment that was paid for by the sacrifices of the past victims of the disease, I intend to give back, both in advocacy and in fund raising on behalf of MARF. Thanks so much for listening and being there for us.

Klaus A. Brauch

It's funny, but I got thinking about how we ascribe such personality and purpose to cancer, almost as if it had a motive for doing what it does. The odd thing is that nothing could be further from the truth OR MORE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER ILLNESSES. One thing that the study of evolution has taught us is that foreign organisms, particularly parasitic organisms like viruses and bacteria, require a living host to reproduce and survive. A pathogen that kills its victim before it can spread to another host is a dead ended pathogen without much of a future. That's why most viral and bacterial diseases are gradual in their effect and attempt to use their host for expanding their numbers without killing their host right away. This is to ensure that they have a survival advantage over those pathogens that kill their host right away. There are very few of these because they are rarely able to reproduce before they become extinct when the host dies.