When my father was diagnosed with asbestosis, no one in my family had even heard of the disease. What was it? How did he get it? And what did the prognosis mean for my father and our family? The answers to these questions unfolded in a series of blurred events that eventually lead to my father’s death in 1996. I still long for the relationship I lost to this disease.What are asbestosis and mesothelioma?

Both asbestosis and mesothelioma are lung diseases caused by asbestos. Asbestos fibers scar the lung tissue making them more susceptible to lung diseases such as pneumonia. They also decrease the lungs’ ability to supply oxygen to the heart increasing the risk of developing heart problems.

How are asbestosis and mesothelioma contracted?

Asbestos is a flame retardant, pliable yet strong mineral used in products such as vinyl floor tiles, caulk, adhesives, stage curtains, fire blankets, and insulation. Although once considered a miracle mineral, it is now known to be highly toxic. Inhaling asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma and asbestosis. These fibers may exist at work, in your environment, or on the clothes of a loved one who works with asbestos.

What does a prognosis of asbestos related diseases mean for you and your family?

My dad was always active, which helped slow the progression of the disease. Even when he had to use oxygen, he strapped the tank to his back and went for a bike ride several times a week.

Unfortunately, he worked for the steel plants, where he contracted the disease, along with all of his friends. He and my mom watched as each of their friends struggled with the insidious nature of this disease. He watched them struggle for breath. He watched them suffer from heart failure. He watched them die slow, agonizing deaths knowing this was his fate too.

* My dad loved the snow, but he could no longer shovel or clean off the car.
* My dad loved racquet ball, but he could no longer run.
* My dad loved to swim, but he could no longer dive.
* My dad loved to laugh and had one of the hardiest laughs on the planet, but he could no longer laugh.
* All of these things require the breath only healthy lungs can deliver. My dad no longer had healthy lungs.

When he died, not only was my mom distraught, devastated, and exhausted from caring for him, she was also in a financial dilemma. How would she support herself when my dad had been the provider?

Many law suits have developed as a result of asbestos related diseases. I am so grateful for the wonderful attorneys that helped my mom sort through the legalities of this national injustice.

Asbestos is something very dangerous and a lot of people are still unaware of that. Asbestos surveys need to be carried into buildings if it has not be done yet in order to identify if asbestos was used or not in the building.A recent survey carried out actually indicates that the highest risk of asbestos related lung illness in fact arises from insulation work in the United Kingdom. Epidemiologic work done by a professor called Peto has shown that in the first few years of the twenty first century we can keep on expecting a rise in the number of new cases of mesothelioma in Great Britain mainly due to asbestos. Mesotheliome really is a horrible cancer with a very long latency period.

In the United Kingdom, it presently causes more deaths than road traffic accidents and epidemiologists predict that a further one hundred thousand individuals would die from one type of asbestos cancer called mesothelioma in the coming years. When all types of asbestos-related diseases are gathered, the final death toll could be even higher than that previous number which is shocking.

Research into the treatment and care of this aggressive cancer in the United Kingdom is apparently in bad shape due to a lack of government help over the last years. In 2007 there was just one project dedicated to mesothelioma research funded by Cancer Research UK, but nothing by the Medical Research Council, despite the fact that between 1995 and 2004 the incidence rate of this disease in United Kingdom grew faster than any other cancer. Improvement have been made though with the availability of support for people suffering from mesothelioma by cancer charities throughout the United Kingdom. Any delay in diagnosing mesothelioma can impact negatively on treatment options, since an early diagnosis is a key to achieving a better cure for the patient. With the fact that patients are now getting older and are often diagnosed at a late stage of the disease. It becomes more and more urgent to use asbestos surveyors to carry out asbestos surveys. It seems that other countries like Australia have done things differently when it comes to deal with asbestos related diseases. The Australian government actually committed millions of pounds for a research program which would help people suffering from those diseases.

It is very easy to find a company specializing in asbestos management. They would usually also do legionella risk assessment and asbestos awareness training.