Posts by Asbestos Support
The 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…
Read MoreIs this Good News?
The UK Forum of Asbestos Victims’ Support Groups has been informed that a special payment will now be made to claimants with asbestosis and pleural thickening who missed out on some of their government compensation. This happened because of the suspension of medical assessments after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of MPs…
Read MoreOne of our service users has been waiting more than14 months for his claim to be assessed
In May members of the All Party Parliament Group on Asbestos met Justin Tomlinson, the minister of state for disabled people, with some of his team. The Asbestos Group raised the issue of how Covid-19 affects patients with pleural thickening and asbestosis. Most have been waiting for many months before their claims for benefit and…
Read MoreIf you have asbestosis, did you work in the car industry?
People often wonder when they were exposed to asbestos at work. A diagnosis of asbestosis or pleural thickening is a sure sign that someone has worked hands-on with asbestos, but sometimes people are left puzzling about when this might have been. This is because there were a lot of products containing hidden asbestos. Worse still,…
Read MoreIf you missed Action Mesothelioma Day it’s never too late to get involved!
Our On-line ActionMeso Day meeting We held an informal meeting where people shared stories about how mesothelioma had affected their lives. Someone mentioned a link to the original World in Action investigation into the activities of Cape Asbestos in their Acre Mill at Hebden Bridge. This was a landmark in getting the damage caused by…
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