Mesothelioma UK has launched a specialist, UK-wide service for armed forces personnel and veterans. This new service is called ‘Mesothelioma UK – Supporting our Armed Forces’.
Development of the service is supported by Government funding from fines levied on the banking industry for manipulating the LIBOR rate (the London inter-bank lending rate). Mesothelioma UK – Supporting our Armed Forces aim to raise awareness of the disease and establish a comprehensive shared approach to providing mesothelioma information and support for armed forces personnel and veterans.
Key facts and figures:
- The UK has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world with around 2,700 cases per year
- 84% of those diagnosed are male
- The average age for someone diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma is 75 years
- Currently eight veterans per month are claiming war pension due to a diagnosis of mesothelioma
- It is estimated that there could be eight successful claims per month from veterans for the condition mesothelioma, totalling 480 over the next five years.*
*Statistics from TheyWorkForYou open data from UK Parliament
The ‘Mesothelioma UK – Supporting Our Armed Forces’ project:
- Provides a specialist mesothelioma nurse, based in Southampton.
- Provides a finance and benefits advisor who can deal specifically with Armed Forces personnel and veterans.
- Will work with multiple organisations and healthcare professionals, responsible for meeting the healthcare needs of Armed Forces personnel and veterans, to raise awareness about mesothelioma and available support.
- Will develop and deliver a range of information resources to raise awareness of the disease within the Armed Forces and military personnel community.
- Includes the launch of a Facebook group Armed Forces patients, their family and friends and anyone interested in finding out more – www.facebook.com/groups/mesoukarmedforces.
- Has a comprehensive research programme that will collate all available data to quantify and describe the mesothelioma burden among the Armed Forces and also explore the experience of Armed Forces personnel in relation to mesothelioma.
If you’re a serving member of the Armed Forces, a veteran, mesothelioma patient, family member or carer, a member of an Armed Forces partner organisation or other party interested about finding out more about how Mesothelioma UK is supporting our Armed Forces, the treatments and care available, or for advice on benefits/compensation claims, please contact Mesothelioma UK
