Helen Wickings from Wallington, UK has died from mesothelioma in the midst of her suit against Inland Revenue tax offices. Mrs. Wickings, who was 65 when she died, had filed against offices in Croydon and Epsom believing her work at these locations exposed her to asbestos fibers.
Mrs. Wickings said the dusty archives at the Croydon location and the exposed pipes of the boiler room in Epsom were the sources of asbestos fibers that led to her case of mesothelioma. Her jobs required her to spend time in both places, filing in the archives of Croydon and reading meters in the Epsom boiler room.
Mrs. Wickings’s case had been postponed while her solicitors gathered additional evidence. It was Mrs. Wickings’s hope that compensation won in the case would provide for her disabled husband, Ernie, after she was gone.
Asbestos is thought to be the sole cause of rare cancer mesothelioma. Although safe if contained, airborne asbestos fibers pose a health threat if inhaled. Mesothelioma development can begin in the lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities if asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs. This development takes twenty to fifty years to demonstrate symptoms often going unnoticed until then. When symptoms do begin they mimic those of bronchitis and pneumonia making diagnosis difficult.
Following diagnosis of mesothelioma, patient life expectancy is short, averaging eighteen months. Mesothelioma treatments are available and include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or palliative care. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.
Mrs. Wickings said of her condition, “I thought it might be bronchitis or pneumonia at first, it just started as a bad cough.” She became aware of the need for heightened asbestos and mesothelioma awareness. “This needs publicity, because other people need to realise they might have been in danger,” she said.
Mrs. Wickings’s health deteriorated quickly in her last few months. Once active and exercising regularly, she began to struggle with walking.
Her sister, Janet Martin said, “It was not until after Christmas that she began to go downhill very rapidly. She was struggling at Christmas but got through it and was able to spend it with her family.” She continued, “She was a wonderful woman, she was always taking the initiative. She was very active and loved growing vegetables in her allotment.”
An estimated fifteen to twenty thousand people die of mesothelioma annually around the world. The World Health Organization expects that number to quickly increase to ninety thousand if asbestos use is not drastically minimized.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 at 6:54 AM and is filed under General, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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