Mesothelioma News

A UK coroner ruled recently that a woman died recently after she was reportedly exposed to asbestos through washing her husband's work clothes years earlier.

The Reading Post reports Phyllis Millson, who was able to overcome a bout with bowel cancer earlier this year, was diagnosed with the rare cancer malignant mesothelioma in the spring, and died in October as a result of the illness.

While coroner Peter Bedford ruled Millson never directly handled asbestos, her husband reportedly spent more than 60 years working with and around the carcinogenic substance. Bedford noted that while it was unusual for a person to develop mesothelioma indirectly like this, similar cases have occurred.

Speaking to Millson's former husband during the hearing, Bedford said the line of work the man was in at the time made it impossible to avoid becoming covered with asbestos dust.

In addition to malignant mesothelioma, asbestos exposure can cause lung cancer and asbestosis. All told, such illnesses kill approximately 107,000 people around the world each year, according to the World Health Organization.