David Cutts – A Marine Corps veteran in New Jersey who served six months in Vietnam, Cutts was diagnosed in 2005 with pleural mesothelioma. Six years later he was dancing with his wife at his grandson’s wedding reception. Cutts, 70, opted for the radical extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) done by David Sugarbaker, M.D., at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and he’s still going strong. “I am, what most people would say, cancer free right now,” he said.

Ruth Phillips – Phillips, in Georgia, decided against conventional treatments that were recommended when she was first diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 1999. She took an alternative-therapy route. She found the Immune Augmentative Therapy Centre in Freeport, Bahamas, where there are no oncologists on staff. They focused on rebuilding and optimizing her own immune system instead of any toxic treatments, allowing her body to fight off the cancer. Twelve years later, Phillips returns annually to the Bahamas for checkups.

Larry Davis – Davis, from South Florida, has undergone five surgeries since his original diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma in 2006, yet he has rebounded each time from the same cancer that killed his father many years ago. Davis has thrived, running a Father’s Day Triathlon in 2011 and working tirelessly to raise awareness of the disease. Under the care of Richard Alexander, M.D., at Greenebaum Cancer Center in Maryland, Davis still jogs, swims and bikes, attributing his success to various alternative treatments.

Wayne Neal – He spent his career as a union electrician in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, where he was regularly exposed to asbestos. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 1991, pushing him into an early retirement. Now 83, he is alive and active. He attributed his longevity to antioxidants like melatonin that are found in red tart cherries, which he has eaten every night for the past 20 years. “There’s something magical in those cherries,” he said.

mesothelioma survivors

Christine Shippen – She never worked around asbestos, but Shippen believes she was exposed to it by her father, who mixed asbestos cement daily on his jobsite and then wore his work clothes home. Shippen, who lives in England, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October of 2007. That was many years after her father had died, likely of the same disease, she says, although it never was diagnosed. She discovered that repeated chemotherapy has shrunk the tumor and control her disease, allowing her to be active in various cancer awareness events in the UK.

James Rhio O’Connor – James Rhio O’Connor was originally diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2001. Despite being given less than a year to live, O’Connor managed to survive another seven years. O’Connor did not undergo surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy, but rather chose to combat his disease through a strict nutritional regimen and mind-body therapy.

Judy Glezinski – Judy Glezinski was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 1990 and lived with the disease until 2010. In addition to undergoing several extensive surgeries, Glezinski relied heavily upon alternative treatments such as meditation, massage therapy and nutritional remedies. Her story is chronicled in the book titled Surviving Mesothelioma: Making Your Own Miracle.