Old Man’s Disease

So cycle 3 was just the worst! Every symptom was an unwelcome surprise and I spent another week donning some snazzy pyjamas. I lost a lot more hair and had a full on bawl in the shower, but was hugged and loved and supported by the best husband a girl could ask for. Anyway, I dragged myself to the end of week one with all the grace of an ice skating hippo!!

In the time I spent in my jamas I was reflecting on the previous weeks. A question I am asked a lot by people is ‘where do you think you got it from?’ You see, Mesothelioma is an asbestos related cancer and although a very small percentage have a genetic link the majority of cases have inhaled or ingested asbestos in their lifetime. If inhaled it results in pleural mesothelioma, if ingested it results in peritoneal mesothelioma. A small number of cases have mesothelioma in their reproductive organs and in their pericardium (heart lining). Asbestos has always been linked to industry and takes around 30-50 years to present itself (called a latency period). Because of all of this people often refer to it as an ‘old man’s disease’ as it has been generally diagnosed in men over the age of 70. This is not always the case, being a 39 year old woman, I’m almost the opposite to that description! But most importantly than any of this, it’s preventable.

When I think back over my life, there is countless times I think I could have been exposed, my opinion on this is, it really doesn’t matter. Finding a cause could lead me on various goose chases with no goose to show for it. It doesn’t change anything.

What I have found out, is these few facts that I would like to share with you to spread awareness of the risks that this material still poses today:

A small amount can cause a lot of damage, (See photo to appreciate how small asbestos fibres really are, one breath is all it takes)

>Manufacture and supply of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, but it exists in so many places in now, in 2021

>It still exists in 85% of UK schools today

>It exists in 94% of NHS hospitals, generally in work corridors and service areas

>Asbestos could be in your home - see photo

>It is likely to be in buildings built before 1999

>Regulation is poor, more needs to be done

A question to ask yourself is this, is my environment safe? My home? My workplace? Who monitors the asbestos that exists? Is it maintained? Asbestos can exist and pose no threat whilst intact, it is when it is broken or disturbed that it poses a threat.

This post is not to scare anyone, but I would not wish this disease on anyone. If one person is protected because of more awareness then job done. More information is available on the government website (just search ‘asbestos’) and via the link to the #actionmeso campaign at https://actionmeso.org