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A woman whose husband died from asbestos exposure is backing a call for the insurance industry to fund research into mesothelioma
Chris Knighton
Asbestos widow Chris Knighton is backing calls for the insurance industry to fund research into mesothelioma.
Leading lung experts say there is a "shameful" lack of funding into the fatal asbestos-related cancer, and have urged insurers to contribute to pioneering studies into the disease.
Mum-of-two Chris knows the devastation caused by mesothelioma as her husband Mick died from it in 2001, aged just 59, after being exposed to asbestos while serving in the Royal Navy.
Chris set up the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund with the aim of raising vital funds for research into the cancer. To date, she has raised more than £1.25m.
The 67-year-old, of Wallsend, said: "Mesothelioma is a cruel disease that takes innocent individuals, often with devastating speed.
"Although I, and organisations like the British Lung Foundation, are working so hard to improve the outlook for future mesothelioma patients, not enough is coming in from other sources, such as the government and private sector.
"This new scheme could potentially generate millions for more research to be done - money that could really give families like mine hope."
The UK has the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, with the North East one of the hot spots in the country for the aggressive cancer. Almost 1,100 people in the region have lost their lives over the past 30 years to the disease.
It can take 40 or 50 years to present symptoms but, once diagnosed, often leaves victims with just months to live.
Yet research into the illness receives a fraction of the funding invested in diseases that kill similar numbers of people, such as skin cancer.
With the UK insurance industry paying out millions of pounds in compensation every year to patients who developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos in the workplace, it is proposed by lung expert Dr Moore-Gillon that just a small percentage more should be donated to fund research into the disease. The consultant respiratory specialist and honorary medical adviser at the British Lung Foundation, said: "Well-funded medical research is the only way to improve this situation.
"Since the insurance industry would benefit in terms of reduced compensation payments, supporting research into mesothelioma is not just philanthropy, but enlightened self-interest."
A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: "The insurance industry is committed to helping people with mesothelioma and their families receive compensation as quickly as possible." Previous Articles
The Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund is urging people to grow or wear a moustache with pride for their new Moustaches for Mesothelioma in March 2014 Campaign See more stories you'll love
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