Short note 2021

I think this is a bum steer. To develop a disease after something that happened 32 years ago is certainly consistent with mesothelioma but the principal symptom of mesothelioma is lung damage and resultant breathing difficulties. It is not reported that she suffered such symptoms. But even if she did, it is not what she is dying from. She has an inoperable cancer on her spine. Linking that to mesothelioma is tendentious. Cancer can have many causes

To declare a personal interest: 35 years ago I bought a large old house that was completely clad in fibro (Fibrous cement sheeting, where the fibre is asbestos). I took every last bit of it off and replaced it with pine chamfer boards. Neither I nor the person who helped me have any symptoms of mesothelioma. We both breathe as freely as we ever did

A loving wife and accomplished professor dying from asbestos-related cancer has pleaded for Australians to 'wake up' to the dangers hidden in the home renovations craze which has taken off during the pandemic.

Gillian North, 61, is in the final days of a harrowing mesothelioma fight and being cared for at home at home at Thirroul south of Sydney by her twin sister Jocelyn and her husband Martin.

They do not expect her to live to see Christmas.

A leading academic who had a career in law, accounting and at Deakin University, Ms North has written an incredible 18 research papers about asbestos dangers and reforms.

Ms North is convinced she developed the fatal disease after being exposed to asbestos while during home renovations in the United Kingdom 32 years ago and in Australia 25 years ago.

While Ms North admits it's not '100 per cent' certain she developed the cancer from home renovations, she said 'nobody can be certain of their exposure'.

'But I know of no other possible cause,' she said. She was diagnosed by her local GP in 2019, at 58, after developing a nagging cough.

After undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery Ms North got a two-year reprieve until X-rays showed an inoperable tumour against her spine. She has been steadily deteriorating since mid-2021.

Any exposure to asbestos fibres or dust is widely regarded to be the main cause of mesothelioma, a cancer which attacks tissues around major organs.

The disease is regarded one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with 94 per cent of Australian sufferers dying within five years.

While asbestos was banned in 2003, it remains in place in public buildings, including schools, and houses and unit blocks.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10314705/Asbestos-Gillian-Norths-dying-message-final-days.html