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Campaigners call for Government research into mesothelioma

Today marks a day devoted to raising awareness of the fatal disease mesothelioma, which is caused by exposure to asbestos. With Derbyshire's heavy industrial past, the county is a hotspot for the deadly cancer. Reporter Aly Walsh speaks to some of its victims and campaigners who are calling for more research into the disease.

IT was while watching her usually fit and energetic husband lethargically leaning on his garden spade when Jan Sheppard first had a sinking feeling.

The couple, who had been married for only six years, had been in the final stages of renovating their retirement cottage when Derek first showed signs of becoming ill.

He was diagnosed with the deadly asbestos disease mesothelioma and nine months later, at the age of 59, he died – shattering Jan's life.

"This was our dream," said the 55-year-old, who first met her husband at Trent Lock, when she was cycling alongside the canal one day in June 2001.

"We were hoping to have many years here together," said Jan, of Ambergate.

But instead, the couple had to "cram" the rest of their life together into a few months.

"It was horrible. We just felt we were on countdown," she said.

Derek was just one of the hundreds in the county whose life has been cut short by the disease. With Derbyshire's industrial history, including British Rail and the Trent Valley power stations, many of the county's workers were exposed to the deadly material.

Derby Coroner's Court, which covers Derby and South Derbyshire, has dealt with 168 deaths caused by mesothelioma over the past 10 years. And there have been more than 400 deaths in Derbyshire in the past 30 years.

Nationally, deaths from mesothelioma are predicted to rise by about 20 per cent within the next decade – with a peak in numbers between 2011 and 2015.

This is because of the period of time taken for the disease to develop in a person – 20 to 50 years – and the fact that regulations to stop widespread exposure to asbestos were not introduced until the late 1970s.

Derek, who has left a son and daughter, was exposed to the deadly fibres when he trained as an electrician in Derby in the 1960s. Increasingly, mesothelioma deaths are being seen in people who have worked in construction and building maintenance.

But the deadly fibres have also caused the early deaths of nurses and teachers, such as Alan Anthony, of Quarndon.

People in these occupations can develop the disease if they have worked in buildings, which contain asbestos that is not properly sealed off.

Once sufferers start to show symptoms, they usually die within a year without medical intervention.

Jan said: "It's a cruel and dreadful disease – seeing the one you love fighting away. He said he felt like a man of 90."

She said the worst thing about the cancer, which attacks the lining of the chest or abdomen, was that sufferers were not given "even a 1% chance of a cure".

"You have nothing to hang on to," she said.

The major topic for discussion at Derbyshire's Action Mesothelioma Day today is a call for the Government to fund research into the disease.

Jan will be among the many attending the event at Quad, in Derby's Market Place, which starts at 10am.

The event has been organised by Derbyshire Asbestos Team, which has given emotional and practical support to 121 people diagnosed with mesothelioma in the county in the past five years.

Joanne Carlin, the team's co-ordinator, said: "People are diagnosed with a terminal illness through no fault of their own, merely as a result of going to work, and are left without hope of a cure."

She said that the Government spent virtually nothing on mesothelioma research.

She said: "To date, almost every penny spent on its research comes from donations.

"It is unacceptable for the UK to condemn thousands to unnecessary suffering from an occupational disease for want of relatively modest investment in medical research, which could save many lives."

The team has joined up with medical experts in lobbying the Government to pour millions of pounds into the cause.

They want to set up a national research programme for asbestos-related diseases. The estimated cost is £10m – of which they are asking the Government to provide half. The rest they envisage would come from other sources, including the insurance industry, trade unions and research funds.

Mr John Edwards, consultant thoracic surgeon at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, is heading the campaign.

"Researchers are desperate for funds to develop life-saving treatments – mesothelioma is far and away the least researched of the top 20 cancers in the UK," said Mr Edwards, chairman of the British Mesothelioma Interest Group.

The research would focus on extending and improving the quality of sufferers' lives.

Ian Tolley, of Derby, said he was "devastated" when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2006.

In the past two years, the 63-year-old father-of-two has had two operations and two courses of chemotherapy. During that time he has had many periods of feeling very ill.

Ian, who was exposed to asbestos when he worked as a joiner in the 1960s, passionately believes the Government should be providing funds to help the 60,000 people in the country that are predicted to develop mesothelioma in the next 40 years.

"At the moment the funds for research into this disease are from families and relatives of the victims of mesothelioma, like mine," he said.

Raymond Lawrence, whose wife Gloria died in November after being diagnosed with mesothelioma in September 2007, said the Government needed to understand the urgency of this appeal.

Raymond said: "People need to realise how bad this might get. At the inquest into Gloria's death, the coroner said they had so many cases of this coming up.

"What people and their families have to go through is so traumatic.

"I had to nurse Gloria for the last two months helping her in and out of bed.

"The Government need to understand the urgency of the need for research. It's been going on for too long."

MPs from the area are backing the proposal.

Mark Todd, South Derbyshire MP, said: "I very much welcome this. It would be very good news for people in my area, where the main legacy of mesothelioma relates to the power industry."

Bob Laxton said mesothelioma was "a scourge in Derbyshire".

"It is a timebomb in the county, with the number of cases continuing to increase. It's a major problem and I support the campaign for more research," he said.

Patrick McLoughlin, MP for West Derbyshire, said: "The lack of a cure for these diseases means that many people who unwittingly exposed themselves to asbestos now find themselves with a condition which cannot be treated but only managed.