Cancer triumph turns to heartbreak for former Wittenoom resident
![Helen Cheeseman with an album full of memories from her time in Wittenoom.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881135913Z/1552688792072_GO32453NE.1-2.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
“Wittenoom.”
That was the one word uttered in a shaken disbelief by Helen Cheeseman in January as her oncologist held an x-ray showing a shadow on her lung.
It had been 50 years since a young Ms Cheeseman left the condemned Pilbara asbestos town. She knew the risks but thought she was one of the lucky ones.
Then, in December, Wittenoom caught up with her.
![A young Helen Cheeseman, centre, places with two friends in asbestos tailings in Wittenoom.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881135913Z/1552688792072_GO32453NO.1-0.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
“By the time I got into my 60’s if I ever did occasionally think back on it I still did not consider it until the oncologist asked me the question, ‘have you had connection with asbestos’,” she said.
“It was totally unrelated to the breast cancer I had just beaten but I was getting slight palpitations and my GP, being the cautious old guy he is, said let’s just get this checked.
“I had a proper scan with dye in it and the same morning they came straight back to me and said they had found a lesion on my lung.”
![A young Helen Cheeseman dressed up for the Wittenoom Races. The racetrack was laden with asbestos tailings, which would be kicked up as horses raced by.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881135913Z/1552688792072_GO32453NK.1-0.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
Ms Cheeseman was diagnosed with mesothelioma. It is likely she has no more than two years to live.
“It is still hard for me to believe I am supposed to die soon and I refuse to believe that,” she said.
“I am kind of angry at the whole thing saying ‘f*** no, who tells me I am going to die’.
“Even having a sensible conversation with the doctor now I start crying which is pretty tough.
![Helen Cheeseman with her mother Ena Robertson in Wittenoom.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881135913Z/1552688792072_GO32453NM.1-0.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
“I am still young at heart, I still want to do stuff.”
Ms Cheeseman urged anyone considering a trip to Wittenoom to think about their friends and family before making such a “stupid” decision.
Ghosts of Wittenoom
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