‘ASBESTOS IS KILLING ME: DON’T LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU’
HANDYWOMAN Paula Bollington was exposed to asbestos fibres for a few hours in the 1980s.
Forty years later, it has been her death sentence.
“I was in shocked disbelief when a PET scan revealed I had mesothelioma. Doctors traced it back to a few weekends when I helped our builder renovate an old house we owned in Brisbane,” the 65-year-old Currumbin Waters woman said.
“He (the builder) also got mesothelioma and has since passed away from it. I know some people who were heavily exposed to asbestos and are fine, but then I also know women who were just washing their husband’s clothes and got mesothelioma.”
Already a breast cancer survivor, Mrs Bollington is sharing her story during National Asbestos Awareness Week to warn young people about the deadly implications of asbestos.
“These days, I would not even use a drill to put a picture frame up without taking precautions,” the former nurse said. “But in the ’80s the common misconception was you had to be manufacturing the stuff or be in a room clogged full of it, ingesting the stuff, to be affected.
“Young people trying to save money or builders who want to cut costs for their clients to keep costs down must be aware that there’s no safe level of exposure.”
With husband Dennis at her side, who himself is in a terminal prostate cancer battle, Mrs Bollington keeps pretty good health after immunotherapy, chemotherapy and a procedure in which a camera is inserted into the lining of the lung and talcum powder is sprayed to prevent fluid from building up. The surgery has helped stop fluid build up, but another cancer grew along where the camera was inserted.
“Chemo was horrendous but it did shrink the tumours and I’m also on another anti-cancer drug,” said Mrs Bollington. “Dennis and I have our ups and downs, but we mostly try to keep busy and exercise as much as we can because with any illness staying healthy is key.
“I just want to warn others that they must think 40 years ahead, because that’s how long it can take for this to take hold. Take precautions, do more than you think you need to because it’s just not worth taking the risk for you or your family.”
Mudgeeraba’s Lynda Ryan lost her beloved Robbie (Robert) to mesothelioma in 2003. He was 58.
Doctors traced back his exposure to his days as a project manager working on the treasury building in Brisbane.
“He wasn’t on the tools, and could have been exposed at other places,
but that particular job was one where the roof had to be taken off,” she said.
“It’s a fallacy you must be covered in the stuff. It’s not the case.”
Her husband was initially given two-to-four months to live, but Mrs Ryan said he defied the odds and lived every day of his final 20 months like it was his last.
“We lived like it was business as usual, and kept on living. Robbie made every day count.
“It was wonderful, because the day before he died his sister phoned from Perth and asked if she should come for a visit before he died. Well, Robbie told her he was feeling
absolutely marvellous and the palliative care nurse said he had a few more months.
“The next day he passed.” The 77-year-old said Robbie was in dreadful pain towards the end.
“Seeing someone you love dearly suffering in so much pain is horrendous, I would not wish that upon anyone.
“I want everyone to realise how dangerous asbestos fibres and dust is, workers onsite must make sure their workplaces are safe and if they’re not, speak out.
“You think you’re immune to the stuff if you’re not covered in it, that’s not the case.”