It is Woman’s Day in today and we all know a woman who is our heroine in our lives. Our Mothers, Sisters, cousin, Auntie and Dear friends but since Mesothelioma hit me I have some lovely new women in my life.
Liz being my top one as we are such firm friends and then all the lovely Nurses.
Liz trained at Charles Frears School of Nursing in Leicester qualifying in 1986. Since 1992 she has been based within the cardio-respiratory directorate of the University Hospitals of Leicester at the Glenfield Hospital site.
Liz was a ward sister/manager in respiratory for several years and in June 2000 she took up the post of Respiratory Nurse Specialist (Lung Cancer). Liz’s interests within lung cancer have always focused on developing the nursing contribution, within the multidisciplinary team, to improve patient and carer experience across the whole cancer pathway.
To meet demand locally and nationally Liz developed an interest in Mesothelioma which resulted in the establishment of Mesothelioma UK, the National Macmillan Mesothelioma Resource Centre. Liz is now a Consultant Nurse leading the development of Mesothelioma UK. In 2007 Liz was awarded the Nursing Times Cancer Nurse Leader of the Year Award sponsored by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
Liz is a member of the National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses committee and represents nursing on a variety of national and professional committees. Liz is a co-founder and current committee member of the International Thoracic Oncology Nursing Forum. Liz is a module leader and regularly lectures within the Royal Marsden School of Nursing and Rehabilitation and is an Honorary Lecturer at DeMontfort University, Leicester.
Lorraine Creech who covers the North of England and Scotland
Anne Moylan who covers the South of England and Wales.
My CNS Nurse Toni Fleming who even with a small family is always there for us and all her colleagues throughout the country.
Mary Hesdorffer is a unique figure in the mesothelioma community. As a nurse practitioner, she is in a position where she can treat individual mesothelioma patients. She’s also a dedicated advocate for those mesothelioma patients, serving as Executive Director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. Mary’s dual roles have earned her respect from oncologists, researchers and patients alike.
http://www.belluckfox.com/about-us/media-center/interview-mary-hesdorffer-meso-foundation/
Thats the official line but in real life she has always been then to correct me when I go wrong with my advice in the groups or to offer her advice as we seek answers and Debbie Brewer and I right back at the beginning had many Skype’s and messages with Mary as we worked together on Mesothelioma.
I meet up with Mary many times at Conferences and Mesothelioma UK Patient and Carers Day.
Laurie Kazan-Allen Coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat and publisher/editor of the British Asbestos Newsletter who has been with me in the House of Commons so many times as she is and Asbestos Activist and sometimes I feel we are James Bond Women as the Asbestos World is a very frightening world at times.
The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), established in 2000, provides a conduit for the exchange of information between groups and individuals working to achieve a global asbestos ban and seeking to alleviate the damage caused by widespread asbestos use. Such use may be largely historical in the established economies of the West but is continuing in developing nations.
Since its inception, IBAS has been involved in co-sponsoring and supporting national and international conferences furthering the above aims. In so doing, we have sought to counter the asbestos industry’s control of the information stream and to provide a platform for victims to speak out against the injustices they have suffered.
Through its coordinator, Laurie Kazan-Allen, IBAS channels the views of a network of victims’ groups, medical and legal professionals and concerned individuals. IBAS has a continuing role in raising public awareness of asbestos hazards and providing informed comment on current developments.
Yvonne Waterman Legal eagle with a love of liability law and dogs and a profound interest in asbestos.
Yvonne Formed the European Asbestos Forum and I had a wonderful time in Holland when I was a speaker and I received their award.
The European Asbestos Forum
The European Asbestos Forum strives to improve professional networks and the exchange of the best and newest of knowledge regarding all matters related to asbestos. Remediation, innovations, best practices, limit values, raising awareness and improving safety in the workplace, national and European policy, enforcement of and comparing regulations and legislation, treatments, epidemiology, environmental pollution etc. All of it.
Why? Because sharing makes us stronger. Every country in the world has asbestos problems. Many have solutions of different kinds to these problems. But which solutions are the best? Instead of every country and sector reinventing the wheel, thereby costing untold many lives, precious time and wasted funds, the EAF encourages networking and sharing across borders and sectors. Sharing the best innovations, the newest insights, the best practices. Learning from each other’s mistakes and successes.
Linda Reinstein became an activist after her husband, Alan, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2003. Her search for answers led her to the realization that she and Alan were far from being alone. In 2004, she co-founded the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) to reach out to those who have been affected by asbestos-related disease. Now serving as President and CEO, Reinstein has focused the power of the social networks to instantly unite those affected by asbestos-related disease, and those fighting for a ban on asbestos in the U.S. and elsewhere. Since 2004, Reinstein has been a strong political voice for justice in every major asbestos-related issue. She has frequently served as a U.S. Congressional witness and has also presented persuasive testimony, presentations, and keynote speeches.
I met Linda through Facebook and Our fight against Asbestos as Linda Lost her Alan through this terrible disease But Linda led the way for me into how to speak up and fight for an asbestos-free world. A Global Ban. I do play a small part when ADAO have a conference through Live Streaming although I wave to them all as if they can see me.
So many women that I can’t really talk about everyone I so admire. I will load photos but if you’re not there its only because I havenot got a photo stored on my computer.
To all the Mesowarriors around the world
Thank you for being in my world Sad that we have been brought together but thank goodness we are together.
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