Megan Kasmar Of Akron, Ohio, Needs Double Lung Transplant And Your Help (VIDEO)

Most teens love proving adults wrong, and 15-year-old Megan Kasmar is no exception.

She's survived cancer twice before -- once when doctors gave her only a 35 percent chance of survival. Now Fox News reports that Kasmar needs a double lung transplant after radiation has scarred her lungs.

When the Huffington Post spoke to Nadine Kasmar, Megan's mother, the family was preparing to brave an ice storm Tuesday evening to bring Megan home from the Akron Hospital. She'd been placed on a ventilator in the pediatric intensive care unit since last month after she caught a cold.

Kasmar, who was voted onto Homecoming court this year, says she's been buoyed by the support of her friends and family.

"It is hard, but I'm getting through it. I have a lot of support from my friends and people around me," Megan said. "I tell 'em not to take life for granted. Live every moment to the fullest. Help other people and love. I love love!"

WATCH:

Megan's waiting for a lung donor, but the family is in need of other donations as well. Click below to help out the Kasmars.

Comments

[DinNM]

05:02 PM on 02/03/2011

T4...I also had "a dose (actually 6) of poison" put into me two years ago, along with having a total hysterectomy, for ovarian and uterine cancers. Thanks in part to that "poison" (two of them) I have been cancer free for two years now.

I think YOU need a heart transplant...to GET ONE!!

[Widespread Panic]

05:10 PM on 02/02/2011

So sad. The treatment used to cure her cancer, caused another life threatening condition. I admire her positive nature, I'm not sure I could be that positive. I hope she's able to have the transplant.

[T4]

05:24 PM on 02/02/2011

the key is to understand that she did not receive treatment - she received a dose of poison and it had side effects as all drugs have side effects. The moral question is how long and how much does society "owe" this person? A tough question when your heart goes out to this individual but there are thousands of people with similar conditions. the challenegs of balancing moral obligation with a beneficial societal outcome is one none of us like to talk about. It extends to many arguments - poverty, education, etc. there are so many balances that must be struck. There are no easy answers and there is no bottomlesss well of money.

[bernikitty]

10:42 AM on 02/03/2011

let us know when you've actually figured out the exact dollar value of this girl's life. i guess that would be what society owes her, and not a penny more ( we must be fiscally responsible above all else!!).

BTW i think that we all benefit as a society when we do the right thing (help, treat) the poor and sick. there is no down side to helping others except when at the end you are hoping to make $$$$.

[Sam1USA]

10:48 AM on 02/03/2011

We owe each other the opportunity to survive and flourish to the greatest extent possible. We are not currently providing that opportunity nor have we even come close to touching the bottom of the well when it comes to the health care that we have the funding and ability to provide for one another in this nation.

[moosetacos]

02:09 PM on 02/02/2011

Why isn't this story on the first page of Huffington Post or viewed more than Kim Kardashian's whining? This is a life that needs help, but HP plays the media game like every other news source.

[RedWhiteandBlueState]

01:36 PM on 02/02/2011

"Live every moment to the fullest. Help other people and love. I love love!"

There is nothing more to be said is there?

[Halsey]

12:52 PM on 02/02/2011

Megan deserves every shot at life that is possible. I see her as symbolic of our nation's health care tiered system. IF her family was rich, she'd be pretty high on the transplant list (I think, don't know; maybe the cancer puts her lower). Her story takes me to those in AZ who were days from transplants only to have the state pull the rug out from under them. YES, it is expensive. So What. Universal care would help so many others like Megan who have this DRIVE to live.
Me? I'd through in the towel which makes her strength that much more worthy of admiration AND a needed transplant.
I hope all out there are DONORS on their driver's licenses. I know I'd feel okay, if at my time of death, I thought my lungs, corneas, heart, skin..all of it, could be used to help someone live.

[Hellooo]

08:33 PM on 02/01/2011

i hope she doesn't live in copely

[ShockedSHOCKED]

12:33 PM on 02/03/2011

Fortunately, she does not live in Arizona!