This time last year, Tim Davies had never heard of Mesothelioma – a rare and incurable form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs.
That is until March, when he received the terrible news that his wife Jane had been diagnosed with the disease and had around 18 months to live.
As an ‘incredibly fit and healthy’ 66-year-old who regularly keeps fit and has never smoked, Jane was told she was an ‘anomaly’.
Nonetheless, the couple were baffled as to how she could have possibly developed any type of lung cancer, let alone one that is so aggressive.
They later learnt that mesothelioma was mainly caused by exposure to asbestos, a naturally-occurring mineral that was used in the construction of buildings up until the 1990s.
Once again, Jane and Tim were left with more questions than answers – Where did she unknowingly become exposed to asbestos? Why was she never warned about it? And were there any other people at risk?
Jane Davies was diagnosed with Mesothelioma – a rare and uncurable form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs – earlier this year
Jane (pictured) was given around 18 months to live. The news came as shock to her and her husband Tim, who described her an an ‘incredibly fit and healthy’ 66-year-old
Jane and Tim pictured after her diagnosis in May of this year
‘We moved to Stamford in Lincolnshire in November 2022, to our forever home, and couldn’t have been happier,’ Tim told MailOnline.
‘Then at the beginning of 2024 Jane, my wife of 37 years, developed a dry cough and was feeling tired.
‘Jane said that on occasions her heart missed a beat, and so I managed to secure her a consultation with a cardiologist who arranged for Jane to have an ECG, blood tests and an x-ray.
‘As soon as the radiographer saw Jane’s x-ray she was sent straight to Accident and Emergency. Three hours later, we were told that Jane had in all probability cancer of the lung.
‘We were numb. We didn’t cry. We were in a state of shock. We drew comfort that lung cancer was treatable.
‘We thought that Jane has been misdiagnosed – she was fit, young, she exercised regularly and had never smoked.
‘The NHS acted very quickly, arranging follow up tests and biopsies. A few days later, we were given the terrible news that Jane had had mesothelioma which was totally incurable and that she had around 18 months to live.
‘We were told that Jane was an anomaly. That was interesting but not of any great comfort.
‘Jane was comparatively young, fit, at her perfect weight and the mesothelioma was caught at Stage 1 so had not passed to other parts of her body.’
Mesothelioma is responsible for around 2,400 deaths each year, according to Cancer Research UK.
Most cases are diagnosed among people aged 75 or over, with men more often affected than women.
Symptoms of the disease build up over time and usually appear a number of decades after someone is exposed to asbestos.
Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral used extensively between the 1950s and 1990s as a cheap insulator in the construction of most new buildings.
Inhaling its microscopic fibres can cause lung cancers (including mesothelioma), as well as asbestosis, an excruciating inflammation and scarring of the lungs.
The use of brown asbestos was banned in Britain in 1985 with a similar ban for the less dangerous white derivative 14 years later. However, there has been no co-ordinated national effort to remove asbestos already in situ.
Jane (pictured) regularly keeps fit by rowing and cycling and has never smoked in her life
Jane has refused to give into her cancer and has not let it stop her spending time with family. Jane and Tim pictured at their son’s wedding in May
There is currently no cure for mesothelioma, with around 2 in 100 sufferers in England expected to survive for ten years after their diagnosis.
Despite this fact, Jane has refused to give into the disease and has not let it stop her spending time with family – having attended her son Harry’s wedding shortly after being diagnosed in May.
‘She didn’t change her routine and every month I bought her a t-shirt with a motivational slogan that I had printed on it,’ Tim said.
‘She’s incredibly stoic, and she said: “I’ve got this terrible disease, but I’m strong and positive the best I can and carry on”.
‘But for me and for my kids, it’s horrendous, because she can at some stage have this terrible death.
‘We’ve been together 38 years, nearly 40 years, through thick and thin. We’ve had so many ups and downs in our lives.
‘I’m 66 now, and I go to bed and in the middle of the night I wake up cry my eyes out. So it’s so unfair Jane’s got this
‘She doesn’t deserve it. We don’t know where she’s got it from, and there’s nothing we can do about it, absolutely nothing we might be able to extend it along.’
Jane and her family were dealt another terrible blow shortly after Harry’s funeral when her 93-year-old mother was admitted to hospital and passed away the following day.
In another cruel turn, Jane was suddenly taken ill with a lung infection and was forced to attend an emergency appointment at hospital on the afternoon of her mother’s funeral.
Jane and Tim pictured at their son Harry’s wedding in May this year
Jane pictured at her son’s wedding in May, Shortly after the event, Jane’s 93-year-old mother was admitted to hospital and passed away the following day
She was able to watch the ceremony remotely via a video link before attending the appointment. Jane was then admitted to hospital that night due to the severity of the infection.
‘I hadn’t realised just how ill Jane was. There were concerns that Jane may get Sepsis and I had the chat “we will do everything we can but there are no promises that she will recover.”
Luckily after 11 days Jane was discharged from hospital and was treated as an outpatient, although last month she was told the cancer had started to progress and needed urgent treatment.
Jane grew up in Macclesfield, where she went to school before moving to Surrey to study at the West Surrey College of Art and Design.
After achieving a first-class honours in her Fine Art degree, she landed a job as a secretary at Lloyds Bank where she worked for ten years before becoming a house wife and mother.
The question of where Jane was exposed to asbestos has plagued Tim’s mind since her diagnosis earlier this year.
But so far – not for a lack of trying – Tim has been unable to get a definitive answer.
He continued: ‘For us, the annoying questions were where did Jane unknowingly become exposed to asbestos and who else may be in the same position as Jane?
‘These people may think that their annoying cough or fatigue was long Covid, or house dust or asthma or an allergy when it was something far, far worse.
‘There may be a new, younger, generation of mesothelioma sufferers who gained exposure to asbestos through simply being office workers.’
Tim said he is ‘very concerned’ that there is no national database of mesothelioma sufferers that details where and when they worked and at what age they were diagnosed.
He believes that such a scheme would make it much easier for the victims and families of those suffering with the disease to identify any places of work with a high risk of asbestos exposure.
For example, if there is a certain building where several people worked who have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, this would indicate it is high risk.
Works could then be done to remove the asbestos and prevent any further exposure to deadly asbestos fibres.
Jane (pictured) was told last month that the cancer had started to progress and needed urgent treatment
Tim has been buying her t-shirts each month with a motivational slogan printed on it. Jane is seen here wearing one with the slogan ‘looking like a survivor’
Tim is keen to shed more light on the prevalence of mesothelioma sufferers across the UK as many people are unaware of the severity of the disease and what causes it.
While it remains incurable, there have been positive developments in research into life-extending treatment for mesothelioma.
Earlier this year, scientists hailed a new drug that ‘quadrupled’ three-year survival rates for mesothelioma and increased average survival by 1.6 months.
There are also several studies looking into the treatment of mesothelioma and how it can be improved. Jane is shortly due to take part in one clinical trial at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge later this year.
She is determined to battle the disease head on, Tim said, although they are both unsure of what lies in the road ahead.
‘Jane is continuing to be positive and not to give into her condition, although she does get tired easily,’ Tim said.
‘I am still buying monthly t-shirts and customise them with what I consider to be motivational slogans.
‘We both realise that today is the best day we are going to have, since each day that passes sees Jane’s condition deteriorating.
‘For us the future is bleak, clear and known. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, only darkness.
‘What we don’t know is the length of the tunnel. What remains unknown is the timeline.’
