Mesothelioma Sufferer Beats The Odds
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. It is generally a very rare form of cancer, but it is increasing in frequency as people exposed to the asbestos age mature in years. Although the risks of asbestos exposure and its relation to Mesothelioma were known from the late 1950s and 1960s, asbestos was still widely used in many industries until the late 1970s.
Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Most suffers who develop have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways. Asbestos is associated with a number of lung diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these may be defined as, asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath, coughing and pain in the chest but may not actually appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. The length of time it takes for the disease to appear combined with the recent increased media attention and public awareness has seen a sharp rise in the number of mesothelioma lawsuits, with twice the number of mesothelioma claims filed since 1994. The prognosis is so poor in fact that the longest any mesothelioma sufferer has survived after diagnosis was 25 months.
That didn't stop 58 year old Jon Matthews, from Woburn Sands, a mesothelioma sufferer make betting history by staking £100 on his own life at 50 to 1 that he would beat the survival odds. It also didn’t stop Jon collecting £5,000 upon winning the bet and even donating half his William Hill winnings to the Macmillan cancer charity. Speaking on the BBC Graham Sharpe, media relations director with William Hill, said he’d never, in 30 years in the business been so pleased to pay a winning client £5,000.
Former car dealer Jon and his charitable ways didn't stop there either. He's since raised even more money for the Macmillan cancer care charity by launching himself off the top of the Xscape building in Milton Keynes.
The 58 year old daredevil, clearly determined to enjoy every minute of his life not only survived (again!) but claimed to have loved every minute of the stunt, saying he had nothing to lose so might as well enjoy himself. Jon's now busy planning his next adventure; a full-blown bungee jump. This will be followed by a trip to Alton Towers for a two day spree on the white knuckle rides.
If you are thinking of making a claim for compensation it is advisable to seek legal advice quickly as a 3 year limit applies from when you knew you had an asbestos related disease. This 3 year limit also applies after the death of someone with mesothelioma.
As a mesothelioma sufferer's recollection of events can be essential to the success of a claim it is important that the mesothelioma sufferer's evidence is recorded in statement form as soon as possible. However, the 3 year limit is not always strictly enforced: contact a claims specialist like 1stClaims who will be able to advise you free of charge whether you can make a claim.
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