Calls For More Funding and Resources To Help Speed Up Progress Of Research Into The Terminal Cancer

Specialist asbestos-related disease lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are speaking out on Action Mesothelioma Day to raise awareness of the terminal cancer that continues to affect over 2,300 people each year.

Action Mesothelioma Day, which takes place on Friday 4 July 2014, is an annual event to remember the victims of the asbestos-related cancer as well as call for better research and treatment to prevent future exposure to the deadly dust across the world.

Adrian Budgen, national head of the asbestos-related disease team at law firm Irwin Mitchell, says that with the number of victims suffering annually yet to peak, and the disease affecting people outside the usual industries associated with the illness, there is still much that could be done to research further treatments.

Around 2,300 people die every year from mesothelioma which is caused by exposure to asbestos decades ago. The latest evidence suggests that the number of annual deaths from the disease will peak in the UK around the year 2020.

Expert Opinion

Mesothelioma is long known to be associated with industrial jobs such as ship-building, railway carriage building as well as the building trades, plumbing, electricians and joiners.

“But in recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of people affected who have suffered from indirect exposure, such as washing the clothes of asbestos workers or by inhaling the dust and fibres while working in or visiting public buildings such as hospitals, schools and universities.

“Expert doctors and researchers are carrying out some fantastic work across the country in trying to better understand mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, but they need more resources.

“Mesothelioma is a horrible and aggressive illness and most of its victims suffer simply because they breathed the air at work every day decades ago. This is heart-breaking for the families involved and we support the British Lung Foundation’s campaign to seek further funding for research from the Government into the conditions associated with asbestos.” Adrian Budgen - National Head of Asbestos and Occupational Disease

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in Asbestos-Related Disease Claims.