Action Mesothelioma Day

Fight back against asbestos cancer with Action Mesothelioma Day

The 1^st July 2016 is Mesothelioma action day. Mesothelioma day is about raising awareness and funding for research to allow us to start fighting back.

See our Action Mesothelioma Day 2017 blog instead?

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancer that grows in the pleural membrane between the lungs and the chest wall. This type of cancer is deadly and there is no cure. The average life expectancy from discovering the disease is 3 years.

Mesothelioma is caused by breathing in asbestos dusts, a product which was widely used up until the late 1990s, when it was banned in the UK.

Asbestos had many uses such as insulation to pipes and boilers and as a means of fire proofing.

Industries that still may be exposed to asbestos include:

Plumbers.
Pipe fitters.
Carpenters.
Electricians.
Painters and decorators to name a few.

Exposure to Asbestos

Exposure to the asbestos fibres and the development of the mesothelioma takes time so even though people may no longer be exposed to the fibres, they may already be in their systems and causing damage from exposures years ago. It is more likely that those more at risk will be older men exposed before the dangers were known.

There have been some cases of women exposed to the fibres when washing their husbands/partners dirty work clothes which is why hygiene guidelines were introduced as an exposure control measure.

New guidelines and regulations have been imposed since the 1999 UK Asbestos ban but for those who were exposed before this, there is still the realisation that they too could be affected by this deadly cancer. Asbestos also remains a very real danger during construction and removal in older buildings where it’s still present while despite international condemnation much of the world continues to use it even now.