Desperate Need For Research Funding Into Mesothelioma

130 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma in Greater Manchester in 2013, a fatal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is a fatal cancer of the pleura, the membrane surrounding the lung. The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. It is one of the 20 top causes of cancer death but attracts the least funding of all these cancers. The prognosis for mesothelioma sufferers is no better today than 10 years ago – there is no cure.

The facts surrounding this disease are shocking:

• Approximately 50,000 people have died from mesothelioma to date and it is expected that another 40,000 will have died from mesothelioma by 2050 when the mesothelioma epidemic is expected to end.
  
  
• Last year Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group (GMAVSG) received nearly 300 referrals for people newly diagnosed with asbestos diseases, including 140 cases of mesothelioma.

On Action Mesothelioma Day - Friday 4 July - doves will be released in Albert Square, Manchester, in memory of all those who have died from mesothelioma. Families bereaved by mesothelioma will call on the Government to increase funding for research. The following MPs will speak to sufferers and their families: Mike Kane MP; Andy Burnham MP; Debbie Abrahams MP; Simon Danczuk MP; Lucy Powell MP; Lisa Nandy MP; Jim Dobbin MP.

At a public meeting in the Town Hall after the dove release Lord Alton, who worked so hard alongside the late Paul Goggins MP on behalf of mesothelioma victims, will talk about the campaign to commit the Government to increase research funding for mesothelioma.

Graham Dring, GMAVSG co-ordinator said:

“New cases of mesothelioma in Greater Manchester are increasing year on year. It is vital that the Government commits research funding to give some hope to sufferers, most of whom contracted this disease simply by going to work.”

Information and support for victims and their loved ones can be sought via the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group website.

Click the pic above to go directly to their website.

Source: Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group

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