June 21st, 2007

A leading UK consultant has been diagnosed with the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma. The forty-eight year-old doctor was diagnosed with the deadly cancer just weeks ago, and experts state that this form of cancer among hospital workers seems to be getting more and more common.

Dr. Andrew Lawson wrote: 'I was diagnosed with pulmonary mesothelioma three weeks ago. Having a phobia of lung cancer, well placed, as it now seems, and the presence of flu-like symptoms I consulted a colleague and he organized a chest x-ray. Just two weeks before this I had been skiing in the French Alps.'

He added: 'It seems that there may have been a lot of asbestos in the tunnels at Guy’s hospital where I spent six years training. One wonders how many of my contemporaries will get the same disease? Everybody – students, nurses doctors and porters – used the tunnels. Anyway, diagnosis made, biopsy done and I am into treatment.'

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that stems from long term or higher level exposure to airborne asbestos dust and fibers. The cancer can take decades to develop from the time of exposure, but can reduce the lifespan of the victim to a matter of months following development.