My name is Helen and I have mesothelioma.
One thing I have found out is that there were 2,544 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2020 but only 1,910 new cases of mesothelioma were assessed for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Of these 280 were female. This means that a lot of people must be missing out on the benefits they should receive.
We are grateful for the support of Mesothelioma UK, which provides medical services such as expert nurses. But we also need to remember that Asbestos Support Central England (ASCE) provides welfare benefit advice and general support for everyone with an asbestos related disease. ASCE is funded exclusively from grants and donations.
You can read more of my reflections about mesothelioma and asbestos related cancers at https://asbestossupportce.org/2023/10/30/my-journey-with-mesothelioma-and-what-i-am-learning-from-it/
Please remember that in the end it is down to everyone to campaign for asbestos to be removed everywhere, completely.