According to Mesothelioma UK, external:

In the UK about 2500 people a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma. It is also known as ‘diffuse’ or ‘malignant’ mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that affects the Mesothelium.

The mesothelium is a thin membrane that lines the inner surface of:1. The chest wall, where it is known as the pleura2. The abdomen where it is known as the peritoneum3. The testicles

Image source, Mesothelioma UK

The mesothelioma also surrounds organs within these cavities for example the heart, lungs and intestines.

It is far more  common to have mesothelioma in the chest than in the abdomen.  There is approximately 1 case of peritoneal mesothelioma to every 12 cases of pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is more common in men than in women and nearly half of the people diagnosed with the disease are over 75 years old.

According to the BBC website mesothelioma can take decades to develop, but when symptoms emerge it progresses rapidly.

Most die within three years of being diagnosed.

Last year families of workers affected by asbestos related cancers have called for better screening for the condition.

Illnesses associated with working in the construction industry are thought to kill more than 4,000 people across the UK, external every year.

Image source, Clydeside Action on Asbestos

In September campaigners called for greater support for victims of asbestos-related cancer who are fighting for civil compensation.

The charity Clydeside Action on Asbestos was set up in 1984 and initially dealt with shipyard workers.

However, senior welfare rights officer and director Phyllis Craig said the charity was now increasingly seeing people from other areas of employment, and also more women.

Image source, Thinkstock

Law changes in Scotland give sufferers and their families north of the border more rights than anywhere else in the UK.  

The use of asbestos was banned in 1999 and campaigners warn that the legacy of the material will continue for decades yet with case numbers unlikely to peak for another 20 years  

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar pays tribute to Julie Roberts and other families who have lost loved ones to this terrible disease and their campaigning efforts for others who may have to face it.

Mr Sarwar says Scotland has the highest global occurence of mesothelioma.

He says the Scottish government does not contribute any funds to mesothelioma research.

The health spokesman for the Scottish Labour says the situation in Scotland is unacceptable and worse than that in England.

Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron says Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has been persistent and consistent in raising healthcare issues that have been neglected.

Mr Cameron says it is with regret, that in the government's own cancer programme mesothelioma is not mentioned.

The Scottish Conservative health spokesman says there should be more publicity on the disease. 

Back in 2015 BBC Scotland reported families of workers affected by asbestos related cancers have called for better screening for the condition.

Illnesses associated with working in the construction industry are thought to kill more than 4,000 people across the UK, external every year.

The Clydeside Action on Asbestos, external charity said early detection would improve the life expectancy of patients.

Image source, bbc

Julie Roberts's sister Lynsey Innes, 40, told BBC Scotland how her father Gordon Roberts died of mesothelioma - a form of cancer most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos.

Mr Roberts had spent his working like as a joiner before retiring at the age of 62. He kept fit by swimming.

He had difficulty breathing last summer and eventually went to the doctor, where an X-ray examination found mesothelioma.

Mr Roberts was told he had only between nine and 12 months to live, and died at Easter of this year. He was 70.

Image source, bbc

Ms Innes said her uncle, who had been a plumber, also died of mesothelioma after discovering pains in his shoulder.

She said: "It was just a simple x-ray that picked up my dad's cancer. It doesn't cost a lot of money to give an X-ray to somebody. (Carrying out screening) within a certain generation, over a certain period of time, would be ample to try and catch it at an early stage.

"If you catch it at an earlier stage the chemotherapy may shrink the tumour, you may then not get nine to 12 months - you can get up to five years."

Image source, Julie Roberts

In 2009 legislation to allow people in Scotland to claim for past exposure to asbestos was passed by MSPs.

The law overturned a House of Lords ruling which said damages could not be claimed for pleural plaques, a benign scarring of the lungs.

Insurers and some health experts said the move was an expensive mistake.

Diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer have been diagnosed in hundreds of Scots - many of them former Clydeside shipyard workers.

The Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill was passed by 98 votes to 16.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan says this parliament has a strong history of dealing with asbestos related illness citing the pleural plaque legislation in 2009.

Mr McMillan says in the UK alone around 100 people die a week due to asbestos related illnesses.

He says there is a growing number of people who have been exposed to asbestos in public buildings like schools and hospitals, as well as in heavy industry and the trades.

Mr McMillan praises the work of Clydeside Action on Asbestos.

Ms Dugdale says surgical treatment for mesothelioma is currently being reviewed and this should be looked at nationally.

The Labour leader says the Scottish government should fund meso nurses who can specialise in care.

She says that, sadly, the disease will become much more prevalent in the coming years. 

In 2014 it emerged victims of mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, were to receive an average of £123,000 compensation from a new fund.

Thousands of patients, or their families, would be able to apply to the £380m pot from next month.

Those diagnosed after July 2012 and who cannot sue former employers as they have gone bust or insurance details have disappeared will be eligible.

Ministers said the move ended "years of injustice".

Image source, bbc

The Scottish Labour leader says Scotland should offer specific services to those with mesothelioma.

Ms Dugdale says mesothelioma is excluded from cancer waiting times targets.

Ms Dugdale says, it is not just males that suffer because of their trades, but women who have washed their husbands have also been exposed to the disease.

Image source, bbc

Ms Dugdale explains that Julie's father Gordon was a die hard Hibee.

The Scottish Labour leader explains how he contracted his mesothelioma and the devastating impact it has had.

She details how both Gordon and his brother were both killed by this devastatin diseast.

Ms Dugdale thanks Julie Gordon and her family and fellow campaigners.

Today's member's debate is inspired by a meeting Ms Dugdale had with a constituent who lost her father and uncle to Mesothelioma, Julie Roberts

You can watch her inspiring story here, courtesy of Your Life With Hibs., external

Image source, Your Life With Hibs

The Scottish Labour leader has been working with Julie and other campaigners and charities such as Mesothelioma UK, external, British Lung Foundation, external and Macmillan, external to come up with a plan to tackle it in Scotland. 

Ms Dugdale wants to raise public awareness of Mesothelioma and improve GP education.

She will call for a 'Hub and Spoke' model with the possibility to make the current Glasgow centre as the main base in Scotland and to increase the number of specialist mesothelioma nurses in Scotland.

The Scottish Labour leader will call for Scottish government support for research into mesothelioma.

Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale says mesothelioma is a cancerous disease heavily linked to asbestos exposure.

Ms Dugdale says that the effects can leave people in a lot of pain and discomfort.

The Scottish Labour leader praises Julie Roberts and other campaigners. 

Ms Dugdale uses her motion to explain what a mesothelioma is, a cancerous disease linked to heavy use of asbestos in industry between the 1940s and mid-1970s.

She welcomes the publication of Mesothelioma UK, external's five-year strategy, Dedicated to Making Mesothelioma Matter. 

Image source, bbc

Ms Dugdale praises the extraordinary work of support groups, campaigners, trade unions and charities in supporting those affected by mesothelioma in the Lothian region and across Scotland. 

She says, with Scottish government support, Scotland can be a world leader in improving research, care and access to support for those affected by mesothelioma.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale leads this evening's member’s debate entitled 'tackling mesothelioma in Scotland'.

The motion of condolence is agreed to unanimously as are the motion and amendment from the in care debate.

The LCM is also agreed unanimously.

Image source, bbc

Education Secretary John Swinney now calls on MSPs to back a Legislative Consent Motion for the UK government's Higher Education and Research Bill.