Workplace Injury Experts Support Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation This Lung Cancer Awareness Month

This November specialists from national law firm Irwin Mitchell are marking Lung Cancer Awareness Month by encouraging people who may have been heavily exposed to asbestos to recognise the signs of the disease.

The law firm are supporting the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation as they raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer and visit their GP, so it can be diagnosed at the earliest opportunity possible. 

The common signs of lung cancer can include a persistent cough, breathlessness, unexplained tiredness and weight-loss, coughing up blood, an ache or pain when breathing or coughing, or chest infections and anyone displaying those symptoms should speak to their GP without delay.

The work place injuries team at Irwin Mitchell, are the largest in the country, and are backing the campaign due to their first-hand experience of working with clients who have developed the disease after being heavily exposed to harmful asbestos fibres for prolonged periods while at work. 

Often the exposure to asbestos has been years, even decades in the past, but the disease and its symptoms don’t develop until later in life.  

The team see the devastating effects of industrial related lung cancer in hundreds of cases each year, when employers have failed in their duty of care to protect employees 

According to the foundation, lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world and in the UK, around 44,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. 

The charity, named after the famous musician and TV personality who died of lung cancer in 1994, says it is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK for both men and women, for which everyone is at risk of developing.

Expert Opinion

“Being told that you have lung cancer is a life-changing experience for sufferers and their families and, due to our work, we see the devastating effects a delay in treatment can have.

“Lung cancer is more treatable than it used to be but even so, the earlier it’s detected, the easier it is to treat and the better the chance of a successful outcome is.

“This Lung Cancer Awareness Month it is vital that everyone knows the signs to look out for and although speaking to your GP may feel daunting, if it is lung cancer, early diagnosis and treatment could save your life.

“We are also very concerned that many of those who develop lung cancer are never advised that their condition may have an occupational cause. Consequently, they never seek specialist legal advice and miss out on compensation and benefits which would have improved the quality of their life and provide financial security for them and their families.

“That lung cancer suffers may have smoked is not a bar to pursing a claim as heavy and prolonged exposure to asbestos dust and smoking have a multiplicative effect. Those who have been heavily exposed to asbestos dust and have also smoked are at a far greater risk of developing lung cancer than if they had only smoked and not been exposed.

“We urge health professionals to consider whether occupational exposure to asbestos may have caused or contributed to the development of the cancer and if so to sign post the patients for specialist advice.” Adrian Budgen - Partner