A devoted wife and mother shares how a mesothelioma diagnosis upended her life — and how she’s worked to rebuild it with hope and determination over the last 20 years.
Julie Gundlach was just 35, a wife to Dan and new mother to Madeline, when she was given 6-12 months to live after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.
“They told me to get my affairs in order,” she recalls, noting that her medical team didn’t expect the treatment to work.
That was in 2006. Now, Julie is marking 20 years since her diagnosis, a milestone that once felt like too much to hope for. She’s deeply grateful for the medical care that allowed her to keep fighting and the legal compensation that made paying for treatment possible.
Julie has built a life that is colored but not consumed by her cancer. Part of that life includes being a passionate advocate for others who were blindsided by a mesothelioma diagnosis after being unknowingly exposed to asbestos.
“Never give up hope — and remember that your life is yours, not the disease’s.”
– Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
A Young Mother’s Whirlwind Diagnosis
Julie was in her early 30s when she started experiencing digestive issues. Having recently given birth, she initially chalked these up to postpartum changes in her body. But in August 2006, as she was trying on dresses for a wedding she planned to attend, it hit Julie all at once that these changes felt very off — severe bloating and other symptoms concerning enough that she booked an appointment with her doctor.
At 35 years old, the last thing she expected was cancer. She made the appointment, anticipating a routine office visit and maybe a prescription or two before getting back to enjoying the summer with her 3-year-old daughter, Madeline.
Instead, imaging scans revealed a mass in Julie’s pelvis. She described going from the Saturday before her appointment feeling totally fine to the following Saturday preparing for surgery. At that moment, it was assumed to be ovarian cancer.
But her surgeon discovered something unexpected: peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare asbestos-related cancer that forms in the abdominal lining.
“I didn’t know what mesothelioma meant. I thought this couldn’t even be possible.”
– Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
Many patients, like Julie, are blindsided by their diagnosis. Read more stories of navigating life with mesothelioma in our Free Survivors Guide.
Building a Care Team and Navigating Treatment
On August 23, 2006, Julie was told that she had mesothelioma. Roughly 6 weeks later, she was attending a mesothelioma conference to learn everything she could about what she was up against and what treatments were available.
Although her primary care doctor was supportive and helped her get the tests needed to be diagnosed, Julie quickly realized she had to travel outside of St. Louis in order to get the treatment she needed to fight this rare cancer.
Recognizing the importance of seeing a mesothelioma specialist, Julie began researching options. At the time, the procedure she needed was offered in Washington, D.C., Nebraska, and New York City. Although she’d never been before, she chose New York — setting off a grueling path of travel and treatment.
Julie faced countless rounds of chemotherapy and over 20 trips to New York for cytoreductive surgery. Each procedure lasted 8-12 hours and was followed by lengthy hospital stays. One particularly life-threatening complication left her in a medically induced coma for a month.
Julie is grateful to be alive, but she mourns how much time she lost — for herself, with her husband, and with her daughter — to all the surgeries, recovery time, and brain fog from chemotherapy.
“There’s a public perception that a cancer patient has walked through fire and been purified by the experience. But that’s inaccurate.”
– Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
Dan shared how hard they worked to keep life at home as normal as possible for Madeline, despite the very abnormal situation they were in. They tried to provide as much age-appropriate honesty and transparency as possible, while leaning into moments of joy whenever they could.
The Importance of Community
As Julie and Dan focused on navigating their new normal, they were overwhelmed by the amount of support they received. Julie notes how modern society pushes self-reliance, but a diagnosis like this forces you to accept help. In addition to Dan always being there for her, Julie’s friends offered to accompany her to treatment in New York, ensuring she never felt like she was going through this experience alone.
Dan referenced the old adage about it taking a village to raise a child, adding that it takes a village to live a good life — especially with a diagnosis like mesothelioma. He said having that community was “paramount” to their success during those initial grueling years.
In addition to her loved ones, Julie found another layer of support in fellow patients who had also been diagnosed with mesothelioma and were going through treatment. The rarity of the disease makes it hard for most people to know what it’s like, but Julie found a community that knew exactly what she was going through.
If you’re looking to expand your own community, join our mesothelioma support group to connect with other patients, families, and caregivers. We meet monthly on a virtual platform so you can join from anywhere.
An Unwanted Education in Asbestos Exposure
Although Julie was shocked to learn that she had this cancer, it wasn’t the first time she’d been impacted by asbestos. Shortly before her diagnosis, her father passed away from asbestos lung cancer.
Julie’s father was exposed to asbestos every day during his job installing electrical systems. Not knowing the dangers, he would come home from work and throw his asbestos-covered clothes in the laundry room, which also served as a playroom when Julie was a child. This secondhand exposure is what eventually led her to develop mesothelioma.
Through this experience, Julie came to understand just how commonly asbestos was used in tiles, insulation, brakes, and so many other household items. She said trying to learn everything felt like being dropped into a graduate program, a crash course in new terms and concepts.
Although her father was likely a case of “low levels of exposure,” it didn’t stop either of them from being hurt by this incredibly toxic mineral. Even a one-time exposure to asbestos can cause cancer.
Confronting the Injustice Behind the Diagnosis
Understanding asbestos also meant recognizing the corporate greed that led to her and her father both being diagnosed with cancer.
Julie said “rage” was the perfect word to describe how she felt about what she saw behind the curtain: How so many asbestos companies knew exactly what they were doing and continued to let families be harmed by their products.
“I was overwhelmed with the unfairness of it all,” she shared.
Julie Gundlach shares her powerful story of living with peritoneal mesothelioma after being diagnosed when her daughter was just three years old. She reflects on the disbelief, gratitude, anger, and grief that come with long-term survival. View Transcript.
Duration: 3 min 35 sec
When I reflect on almost 20 years of survival, it is with a sense of disbelief and gratitude, still tinged with sadness and anger. I often wonder what the last two decades would have looked like if so much of it hadn’t been stolen by mesothelioma. But the journey has also led me somewhere meaningful—sharing my story, my hope, and my experience with others.
My name is Julie Gundlach, and I was diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in August 2006. At the time, my daughter was only three years old. I was terrified she wouldn’t remember me. That was my biggest fear. Because of that, I decided early on that I would go to any length to save my life—whatever it took.
A diagnosis like mesothelioma or cancer can easily consume and steal your life. You have to intentionally search for laughter and joy. You have to find places where you can just be yourself, separate from the cancer. There are always chronic health issues. There is anxiety and depression. There is constant fear—especially around scans and follow-up appointments. There is also the lasting impact on your family, the moments you miss while your child is growing up, and the times you simply cannot be there. It’s something you carry with you. I try not to let it make me bitter. I think that’s all you can do.
Doctors have never used the words “cancer-free” or “remission” with me. They still see tumor spots on my scans. However, they have remained stable and have not shown growth for over ten years. For that, I am incredibly grateful.
Looking back, I believe there were many decisions that contributed to my long-term survival. The first was finding the very best doctors I could to treat my specific diagnosis. I made a conscious decision to trust them fully. Early on, a physician told me I would want to seek legal representation. At first, I resisted. I didn’t see myself as someone who would file a lawsuit. That wasn’t who I thought I was.
But then I had to confront the reality that this disease—this cancer—was 100% preventable. The only reason I have it is because corporations repeatedly chose profits over people. Those choices caused real harm, and those responsible should be held accountable.
I ultimately filed a mesothelioma lawsuit because people should be held responsible for putting profits over lives—and because I needed help.
How a Lawsuit Opened New Doors for Life and Treatment
Understanding that this cancer was preventable, and that corporate greed was the reason she was sick, made Julie open to the possibility of a lawsuit. Pursuing treatment in New York came with a significant financial burden. She and Dan agreed they’d do anything they could to keep her alive — even if it meant losing their home or struggling for the rest of their lives.
Julie shared that even if her health insurance covered every single medical expense, there were still many other costs: transportation, flights, cars, hotels, and food. Julie called these cumulative costs “astronomical.”
At the mesothelioma conference Julie attended, she met Simmons Hanly Conroy, a national law firm that specializes in asbestos litigation. She was immediately impressed by their commitment to families harmed by asbestos and their extensive experience and success in handling these cases.
Simmons Hanly Conroy helped Julie and Dan get compensation from a lawsuit, money that allowed Julie to pay for expensive life-saving treatments. Without that financial support, Julie said she wouldn’t have been able to get the same level of care and keep fighting mesothelioma for the past 20 years.
If you or someone you care about was diagnosed with mesothelioma, you deserve to fight back. Get a Free Case Review with our legal partners at Simmons Hanly Conroy and see if they can help you, just as they did for Julie and her family.
Get a Free Mesothelioma Case Review
Milestone Markers: Two Decades of Living
In those early days of diagnosis, Julie was full of uncertainty. “My biggest fear was that my daughter would grow up and not remember her mother,” she said.
As months and then years passed, Julie found deep gratitude in the moments she shared with Madeline. She cheered her on at soccer games, taught her how to drive, watched her go to prom and graduate from high school, and saw her off to college.
“That is, without a doubt, a miracle. Getting to see a life I never thought I’d see.”
– Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
Julie’s cancer has remained stable since 2014, meaning it hasn’t grown or spread, allowing her to focus on living her life instead of fighting for it.
To mark two significant anniversaries since her diagnosis, Julie got tattoos symbolizing her fight for survival.
At her 5-year mark, she chose a peacock feather, moved by a story of a gray bird that ate poisonous fruit and transformed into the brilliantly colored creature we know today.
Julie sees herself in that bird — after breathing in a toxic substance and enduring a series of grueling treatments, she’s turned her struggles into a full and vibrant life.
10 Years: At Ease in Muddy Waters
Approaching her 10-year survivor anniversary, Julie finally felt confident enough to move forward and imagine a world beyond mesothelioma.
She and a friend visited several East Asian countries on a quest for discovery. During this trip, she was again inspired by nature and found the vision for what would become her next milestone tattoo.
At a Hindu temple, Julie saw pink lotuses growing along the muddy banks of some rice paddies. The spiritual significance of the flower sparked a sense of recognition in finding the beauty in the mud of her own experience and watching her life take root and blossom one petal at a time. She resonated with a Buddhist quote: “May I live like the lotus, at ease in muddy waters.”
20 Years: Finding That Spark of Joy
Every year, Julie embarks on a quest to learn something new. She’s currently learning the art of beekeeping. In previous years, she’s signed up for guitar lessons and taken up pottery and other crafts.
She shared that her experience has made her deeply aware of how precious and tenuous life is, and how close she was to being gone. She’s now quick to say “yes” to new experiences and make the most of the life she has.
Reflecting on the past 20 years, she shared how she can’t imagine who she would be today if she hadn’t been diagnosed, as mesothelioma changed every aspect of who she was. But through it all, she looks for the moments of happiness.
“You have to find the hope and the spark of joy.”
— Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
Finding Beauty in the Fight
Since her diagnosis, Julie has found meaning in raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos and the companies that profited from this cancer-causing material for decades.
She’s shared her story with news outlets, other patients and their families, and political leaders. She has visited Capitol Hill, rented booths at Earth Day festivals, and collected signatures demanding a comprehensive asbestos ban.
She can also be found at the annual Miles for Meso race organized by Simmons Hanly Conroy to raise money for mesothelioma research. Julie finished her local 5K event in St. Louis less than a year after major surgery.
“Miles for Meso means that somebody has my back…and somebody is amplifying my voice against the use of asbestos and the industry of corporate greed.”
– Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
One Step at a Time
Julie’s life continues to be marked by medical appointments and follow-up scans to ensure her cancer remains stable.
However, she’s grateful that her life is so much more than her cancer, as she prioritizes the people and experiences that bring her joy and meaning.
Her advice to newly diagnosed patients and their families is to take it one step at a time.
“Keep the faith and keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
– Julie Gundlach, peritoneal mesothelioma survivor
Find Help and Hope After a Mesothelioma Diagnosis
If you or someone you love is fighting mesothelioma, remember you are not alone. Mesothelioma Hope provides free resources and compassionate support to help make your journey easier.
Reach out to our team to:
- Connect with top mesothelioma doctors
- Learn how to pursue compensation for medical expenses
- Speak with nurses who can help you understand your diagnosis
- Find support groups where you can talk to other patients
Call (866) 608-8933 today or reach out to us online to find the support you and your family deserve.
