TAKING ACTION OVER CANCER

A man dying from asbestos-related cancer was due to visit Downing Street today (MON) to raise awareness of the killer disease.Michael Wells, from Market Harborough, suffers from mesothelioma, a chest cancer which develops up to 40 years after exposure to asbestos. He was exposed to asbestos while working in the plumbing industry in the 1960s.The 54-year-old is among more than 13,000 people who have signed a petition organised by the British Lung Foundation to mark Action Mesothelioma Day today.Michael's wife, Christine, is travelling to London with him to present the petition.She said: "If you tell people about it, they don't know what it is and they have never heard of it."There is compensation, but you have to fight for it and you have to fight for everything that you get."If you mention breast cancer to people, it is something everybody knows about, but when you mention mesothelioma, nobody knows."The most annoying thing is, all this could have been avoided."Last week, the Leicester Mercury told how the disease was set to claim hundreds of lives in Leicestershire. Doctors at Glenfield Hospital, the national centre for treatment of the disease, treated seven Leicestershire people for mesothelioma in 1993.This year, they expect to treat more than 60.The British Lung Foundation campaign is being backed by asbestos support groups, individuals with mesothelioma, doctors and solicitors.The aim is to get better care and treatment, improved protection for employees and more funding for research.Donna Castle from the British Lung Foundation said: "Nobody can say it, nobody has ever heard of it and they don't know it is caused by asbestos."She said: "If you live in a house built before 1980, you could be exposed to asbestos."What we are concerned about is that if people who are not aware of the potential danger start doing DIY in their houses, they could expose themselves and get mesothelioma in 50 years. It is generally a poor prognosis once the diagnosis comes through."Jan Orton's husband Eric installed insulation throughout the 1960s, but only became ill more than 30 years later.He died, aged 71, in 2003.Mrs Orton, who lives off Aylestone Road, Leicester, said: "There must be no end of people affected by this disease."People were ignorant about how dangerous asbestos was."