Posts by Asbestos Support
Coping 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…
Read MoreMy wife, Lyn, was exposed to asbestos in school
On Action Meso Day, Roy from Worcestershire shares the story of his wife Lyn, who worked in a school laboratory for 19 years, where she was exposed to asbestos. He makes a powerful plea for ZeroAsbestos in schools. A report published today by JUAC, the Join Union Asbestos Committee, suggests that asbestos in schools is…
Read MoreMesothelioma stopped my brother from caring for his wife and riding his beloved motorbikes
Rob Harper from Birmingham shares the story of his brother Chris, who was a plumberin Lichfield. The first effects of mesothelioma came from a shortness of breath. Although 79 years old Chris had been active all of his life. He played golf and cycled regularly as well as dismantling, repairing and riding his beloved veteran…
Read MoreBob was my rock and mesothelioma took him away
Maureen from Nuneaton lost her husband to mesothelioma in 2016. She is a member of our Butterfly Group, which supports bereaved relatives and campaigns for the removal of asbestos. Bob had worked for a metal fabrication company and for Birmingham City Council. My husband Bob was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2014, and I consider myself…
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