I’VE LOST MY HUSBAND TO CORPORATE MURDER
Mum uses action day to speak out against asbestos ticking timebomb
The heartbroken wife of a former asbestos worker has described his death from cancer as “corporate murder”.
Jacqueline Cotter, 57, this week revealed how her family was left devastated after losing Derek, 60, to the ticking timebomb of mesothelioma, caused by asbestos inhalation.
The mum- of- two spoke out after attending an annual memorial service in Glasgow marking Action Mesothelioma Day, which calls for better treatment, research and care for people with the condition.
The wife of a former council worker who died from asbestosrelated cancer has described his death as “corporate murder”.
Jacqueline Cotter, 57, has revealed how her family was left devastated by the death of husband Derek to the ticking timebomb of Mesothelioma, caused by asbestos.
The aggressive cancer is usually caused by the inhalation of asbestos but it can be decades after exposure, in some cases up to 50 years, for symptoms to show.
The mum-of-two, from Shotts, spoke out after attending the annual memorial service in Glasgow marking Action Mesothelioma Day, which calls for better treatment, research and care for people with the condition.
Derek died last June, aged 60, first showing signs of illness just over a year earlier.
Employed by Mears as a gas compliance manager, Derek hadn’t wor worked with asbestos for over 20 years.
It was in his previous work as ap a pipe fitter- welder where he was regularly exposed to the substance. lot of people don’t realise ho how dangerous asbestos is. What is happening h is just corporate mu murder,” said Jacqueline.
“Derek used to mix asbestos with his bare hands in a bucket, they called it ‘monkey dung’.
“He would clad it round th the boilers and pipes, with no pr protection whatsoever.”
During 2017 Derek was o one of 19 people in the NHS L Lanarkshire area diagnosed w with Mesothelioma, another 2 22 died.
Jacqueline continued: “Derek thought he had a bit of a cold but couldn’t shake it and was given three or four courses of antibiotics.
“He told the doctor right away that he worked with asbestos. They x-rayed him and said there was a small pleural effusion.
“But he ended up in pain and said something wasn’t right.
“He went back to the doctor who sent him straight to Wishaw General.
“They kept him in, did some scans and drained litres of fluid from his lungs.
“But they said there was ‘nothing sinister’ and that he had pneumonia.
“It was the end of October before he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.”
Derek began working life as an apprentice with Lanarkshire County Council, later to become Strathclyde Regional Council.
He continued working for the local authority after serving his time and was due to retire at 60 from his job at Mears.
Jacqueline from Wishaw and Derek from Motherwell, moved to Bellshill in 1984 after they married.
They couple have two children, Steven, 28, and Lisa, 22, and a granddaughter Mila, three.
“He wanted to see his granddaughter grow up and walk Lisa down the aisle but he didn’t get to,” Jacqueline admitted.
The family suffered a devastating double blow just two weeks after Derek’s diagnosis when Jacqueline’s mum Jean died.
Jacqueline added: “My mum
had been diagnosed with lung cancer in March through a simple x-ray. Because of how simple it was to diagnose my mum we kept clinging on to the hope that Derek would be okay.
“But he never made the recovery that he should have if it was pneumonia.”
Derek was referred to the Golden Jubilee Hospital, and doctors there were the first to say he might have mesothelioma.
He went into theatre to undergo biopsies when it was discovered that 90 per cent of his lung had fused to his rib cage.
The results, which took six weeks, proved inconclusive.
“All he got during that time was pain killers. They discharged him and sent them back to Wishaw,” Jacqueline revealed.
Another CT scan finally confirmed he had the condition.
Four sessions of chemotherapy followed which with hindsight Jacqueline admits may not have been the right decision.
She said: “The chemo caused a massive DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in a main artery and Derek’s right leg ended up massive.
“Three clots broke away from that and ended up in his lungs.
“We watched him deteriorate before our very eyes. It was devastating.
“He was in constant pain, and the pain was unbelievable.”