4:44pm Wednesday 5th September 2007
By Nicola Davies
A CREWE woman whose husband is dying from asbestos-related cancer is setting up a support group in South Cheshire.
When Jill Willcocks's 61-year-old husband Dave was diagnosed with Mesotheliomia in January they were shocked to discover the closest support group was based in Runcorn.
Spurred by wanting to share their experiences with other sufferers and their families, 58-year-old Jill has decided to establish the South Cheshire Asbestos Support Group.
A housekeeper at Leighton Hospital, she said: "Dave seems to be a lot younger than other people with Mesothelioma.
"He needs a lot of care and I've not been able to work since December because of looking after him and it would be nice to talk to other people going through the same thing.
"There's not enough information out there. It needs broadcasting as there's a lot of help that can be given and solicitors to deal with compensation claims."
Mesothelioma is a little understood cancer with a latency period that can take up to sixty years to develop.
Extremely aggressive, it attacks the lungs and abdomen and is brought about from exposure to the toxic dust asbestos.
A father-of-four, Dave was formerly a process worker at ICI in Northwich and was exposed to asbestos for a couple of years from the age of 23 whilst his work involved stripping lagging off pipes.
Dave and Jill are now angry that they have been denied their retirement together with their children and six grandchildren.
"It has deprived us of our old age together because there is no cure," Jill added.
"When Dave was diagnosed with it in January at Wythenshawe Hospital he was told he could only have a few weeks but he has had nine months and has been able to have chemotherapy which a lot of people don't have chance to receive.
"He copes well but it's like having a death sentence hanging over our heads."
Dave, who is a member of Cheshire Asbestos Victims Support Group in Runcorn and full of praise for the help he receives from St Luke's Hospice in Wilmslow, is eager to see his wife start the South Cheshire group.
"I won't be able to do a great deal but I will be able to tell people what it's really like," he said.
"My type of cancer, it's a killer, and you usually get given three months but as luck would have it, I've been given a little longer."
To contact the South Cheshire Asbestos Support Group call 01270 254449.
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