Helen Bone, a former nurse and advanced critical care practitioner who worked at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for 24 years, is trying to get the government to act by ridding Britain of asbestos in public buildings.
Aged 42 years old and mother to three young daughters, Helen was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an incurable lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, in August 2021. Asbestos is odourless, tasteless and toxic. It is used in construction work and is contained in ceilings, floor tiles, walls, floors, artex and pipework.
Helen said: “The government really needs to start taking some action now and come up with a plan to look at the UK’s older public buildings.”
Mesothelioma (and other asbestos-related illnesses) was previously thought to be an ‘old working man’s disease’ mainly contracted by ship workers, miners and builders. That is no longer the case. The trend is now seeing premature deaths of people who have worked in public buildings with asbestos. Helen said: “It’s now starting to affect people who you wouldn’t normally expect and that’s just not right.”
As part of raising awareness and educating staff, patients’ families and visitors, the trust joined the entire nation in celebrating action mesothelioma day on Friday 5 July. Macmillan lung cancer support nurses at The James Cook University Hospital were there to talk to anyone who wanted to learn more.
The lung condition is responsible for the deaths of 20,000 people in Britain every year. That’s six people every day. That makes it the nation’s number one occupational killer. 5.5 million buildings in the UK still contain asbestos.
After undergoing six cycles of chemotherapy, Helen joined the Hope clinical trial with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust looking at the effectiveness for patients whose illness has relapsed or have other conditions.
Helen said: “The lung cancer team at James Cook have been a fantastic source of support and comfort to me. The whole team have been amazing and so supportive. I can ring up anytime. The staff are happy to help and have even liaised between myself and Leicester with the clinical trial.”
Helen’s blog: https://helenbone82.wixsite.
