Suffering from a disease often found in men over 75, Emily-Jane Scandrett went undiagnosed for asbestos-related cancer for all of 17 months, half of which she was pregnant.
The mother of two from Tamworth said she “has no idea” when she might have come into contact with the hazardous substance. Now, she is calling for a greater awareness of symptoms among potential sufferers and the medical professionals who treat them.
During the fifth week of her second pregnancy back in May 2022, Scandrett claims to have experienced an overwhelming pain in her chest. “I felt like I was being stabbed in my rib cage, it radiated up to my chest, shoulder and right arm,” she told the BBC.
She was admitted into hospital four times, but following a number of scans and blood tests that produced a normal result, she was left unaware of the severity of her condition. Scandrett was given her incurable asbestos-related cancer diagnosis nine months after the birth of her son, born 31 October of last year.
Despite the uncurable status of her pleural mesothelioma, she has been fighting symptoms of the disease and has currently undergone 6 cycles of immunotherapy thus far. “I’d heard of asbestos, but have never given it a second thought,” she said. “My body didn’t choose to inhale asbestos, it just happened, and more awareness needs to be made to the general public and health professionals about the risks.”
Source: For more information on this story, click here: ‘I’ve no idea how I developed asbestos-related cancer’
Asbestos Exposure Killing 20,000 People a Year
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), asbestos is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Initially, asbestos was used for the insulation of public buildings but was banned in 1999 due to the serious risks it poses to public health. According to independent campaigner and consultant Charles Pickles, “20,000 people die from asbestos exposure each year in the UK.
Source: To read his exclusive for the Daily Mail, click here.
Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma
Symptoms of the disease include:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pains
- Dry cough
- Fatigue
- Loss of weight
- Difficulty swallowing
- High temperature
After inhaling asbestos fibres, they can embed themselves in the pleura, which is the lining of the lung. This results in inflammation and scarring, which, over time, this leads to mesothelioma tumour development.
According to NHS data, more than 2,700 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the UK alone. In a bid to raise money for Mesothelioma UK and Asbestos Support Central England (ASCE), Ms Scandrett (with husband in tow) took part in a walking marathon across Worcestershire on Saturday 6 July.
“At the moment, the rebuilding programme in England will take more than 400 years to remove all the asbestos from schools and hospitals. That’s just not acceptable at all,” she said.
To read some of our previous articles on this topic, see below:
- Scientists Develop Breakthrough Treatment of Asbestos Linked Cancer
- Protecting Workers from Asbestos Exposure – EU Council Legislation
- Parliamentary Debate About Asbestos
Asbestos Disease Claim UK
At Asbestos Awareness, we are dedicated to informing, educating and supporting people in relation to asbestos-related diseases, and we are driven in our pursuit of making people’s lives better.
Our website is owned and run by Bridge McFarland LLP, a UK-based solicitors with a team of dedicated personal injury solicitors experienced in assisting clients to obtain compensation after being diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, such as Asbestosis and Mesothelioma.
If you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestos-related disease, we can assist you. Please call 0800 987 8809 or fill in this contact form.
