Mesothelioma News
Mayor of UK city contracts asbestos-related lung cancer
Rex Barnett, the mayor of Swindon, UK, recently revealed that he is suffering from asbestos-related lung cancer, likely stemming from his time working in British rail workshops, the Swindon Advertiser reports.According to the news source, the mayor, whose year-long term concludes next week, was told recently that he is suffering from malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.
"When I heard the news I felt shock and disbelief; it hadn’t entered my head at that time as I believed I was only being treated for a chest infection and asthma," Barnett told the news source. "We were having such a brilliant year and then this happened."
Barnett's wife, Sandra, told the news provider that her husband had initially been diagnosed with pleural plaques in 1994, the first sign that he had been exposed to asbestos. At the time, doctors told the mayor that there was an 11 percent chance of the condition becoming mesothelioma.
In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis and lung cancer. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 107,000 people die each year around the world as a result of asbestos-related illnesses.
5/12/11
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