Fund research into asbestos related diseases including mesothelioma
A petition with over 24,000 signatures will be handed into 10 Downing Street this week calling on the Government to fund a National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease (NCARD) in the UK.
Lobbyist will hand over the petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday, May 20. They are fighting for a virtual centre to help fund research into asbestos related diseases including mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs.
They are asking for the government to provide £7m for the centre to fund research into the disease.
Currently the Government provides no funding into asbestos related disease and instead charities like the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund rely on donations from the public to support research programmes.
Mesothelioma is the least researched of the top 20 cancers, a disease which has devastated millions of families worldwide and killing 2,000 each year in the UK.
Research funding for Mesothelioma has not been a priority of grant awarding bodies in the UK but there is a growing number of UK groups interested in this subject area that are beginning to make an impact on the world stage.
It is hoped with government funding these researchers can be provided with grants to allow them to bring about real change. It is also hoped it will help to attract more medical experts into the field.
The petition was launched on Action Mesothelioma Day
The petition was launched on Action Mesothelioma Day in February and will be handed over by Chris Knighton, of the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund, mesothelioma sufferer Jan Egerton, John Edwards of the British Mesothelioma Interest Group, Liz Darlinson of Mesothelioma UK and Paula Walker, Chair of the National Asbestos Support Group Forum.
They will argue that Government funding for a National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease in the UK for research into better treatment is long overdue and urgent. In Australia their government has provided A$6.2 million to fund a National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease.
Chris Knighton said: “Mesothelioma takes the lives of 2,000 people in the UK each year and the number of deaths is not expected to peak until 2015. We do not have the time to sit back and wait. We must take action against this devastating disease now and that means providing significant funding to the medical researchers who are desperate for funds to develop life saving treatments.
“Funding for a UK National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases is a priority. Such an institution would encourage collaboration and stimulate research to generate future treatments to prolong and save lives.”
Asbestos disease diagnosis? Talk to us for advice and support on how to secure compensation.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, we can support you with advice on how to make a claim.
The process will be explained in plain English and with no obligation – our priority is to provide you with the best, expert advice on whether you have a valid case for compensation, and to signpost you to further sources of support.
There are strict time limits applied to making a claim – usually three years from the date of diagnosis. It doesn’t matter if the exposure to asbestos took place – as it often does – decades ago, the three year time limit applies to the date of knowledge of diagnosis or date of death.
For further information, visit our How to Make A Compensation Claim page.