LONDON - A British woman who claims she contracted cancer from hugging her father, who worked with asbestos, is suing the Ministry of Defence for 75,000 pounds (US$146,000).
Debra Brewer, 47, was diagnosed last November with mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer that is almost always linked to asbestos exposure. Her condition is terminal. Mesothelioma develops when malignant cells form in the mesothelium, the protective lining covering most internal organs.
Brewer filed a compensation claim for pain and suffering. The Ministry of Defense would not comment on the case, but said that if they were liable, they would aim to pay compensation quickly.
Brewer's father worked at a dockyard in Plymouth for five years during the 1960s, and died from asbestos-related lung cancer last year. Brewer's only known exposure to asbestos was in childhood -- from playing with her father, who frequently came home coated in asbestos dust.
From the time of asbestos exposure to the onset of lung cancer symptoms, which include respiratory problems and chest pain, there is typically an interval of about three decades.
There is no known threshold for how much asbestos exposure is needed to cause mesothelioma. "Even a small amount, if it is intense exposure, can lead to mesothelioma," said Dr. Jan van Meerbeeck, a professor of thoracic oncology at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
While Van Meerbeeck said that Brewer's case is rare, it is not unprecedented. There have been several cases worldwide where people have developed cancer, with only limited exposure to asbestos dust on the clothes of a relative.
Brewer said that she felt "a lot of anger" at developing the disease. "Not towards my dad, because he didn't know," she said. "I have got three children and I expect to be there for them, and I don't know if I am going to be," Brewer said.
Prognosis for people with mesothelioma is not good. The average survival time after the appearance of symptoms is from six months to one year. Patients' symptoms can be treated, but there is no cure.
Since the 1960s, the medical community has warned of the connection between asbestos and cancer. The incidence of mestothelioma has dramatically increased in the last few decades, with the widespread commercial use of asbestos.
"This disease will boom in the next 20 years," said van Meerbeeck. "All those people exposed to it decades ago will soon start to get sick," he said.
