Posts by Neil Bishop
Sometimes people do beat the odds
In a recent post we explained how doctors work out their patients’ life expectancy after they have been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease. There is no crystal ball. An estimate of someone’s life expectancy is based on the average time that people survive with a particular disease. It’s also affected by any other health…
Read MoreThe Health and Safety Executive says it’s cracking down hard on hazardous dust
Construction sites are closely associated with all kinds of dust. More than 3,500 construction workers die each year before the age of 75 because they have a cancer caused by hazardous dust. Many more die from these cancers after age 75. The HSE is cracking down The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has decided to…
Read MoreCovid-19 Precautions: Why we are still cautious about making home visits
Researchers are only now burrowing down into the statistics to find out how Covid-19 affects different patients. New studies in Spain and the United States of America have added weight to what many people already suspected. Underlying health conditions such as asbestos related diseases do seem to increase the risks from catching Covid-19. How things…
Read MoreOur Face-to-Face Support Resumes After the Pandemic
The Butterfly Group is our support group for people who have been left bereaved by an asbestos related disease. Some of its members met for lunch together yesterday. This was the first time the Group had met face-to-face indoors for more than 18 months. The Group is pictured renewing old acquaintances at Marco Pierre White’s…
Read MoreThe impact of 9/11 is still growing and asbestos is part of the story
Everyone who is old enough remembers where they were when the news first broke about the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and other targets. 2,996 people died on 9/11 itself, but the death toll from the attack is still rising. In the 20 years since, at least 4,343 survivors have died from the after…
Read MoreAsbestos is all around us!
Residents, motorists and business owners in Stoke-on-Trent have had a sharp reminder that asbestos is all around us. Following the closure of a shop called The Art Department in Brunswick Street, Hanley, a firm of developers applied for permission to redevelop it. Unfortunately, the building turned out to contain asbestos. This is a highly hazardous…
Read More70k in May in Memory of Gary Redfern
In December 2020 my Dad, Gary, was diagnosed with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. We had never heard of thistype of cancer until the day he was diagnosed. It takes many years to develop following the inhalation of asbestos fibres. There is no known cure and the main treatments are to manage pain and hopefully prolong life. …
Read MoreCoping with a life-changing diagnosis and setting your own goals
Writing on mesotheliomahelp.org, nurse specialist Lisa Hyde-Barrett reminds us that being diagnosed with an asbestos related disease is life changing. Patients handle this differently. Everyone is unique and so there is no right or wrong way. She says, ‘We must allow ourselves or our family members to feel their fear, or anger, or whatever emotion…
Read MoreCoping with the stress caused by asbestos
A recurrent theme when we first speak to new service users is stress. The diagnosis often comes as a shock. People are frequently stunned to realise that they have been exposed to asbestos or that it has caused them harm, often many years afterwards. Once the news has sunk in, there is then the everyday…
Read MoreYou can’t rely on the internet to tell you the facts about mesothelioma
It may seem strange for a website to tell its readers that you can’t rely on the internet to tell you the facts about mesothelioma. However, a recent survey in the USA found that one third of the websites and blogs which talk about mesothelioma are providing misleading advice. Another third are providing advice that…
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