Thames Valley buildings turn blue for Action Meso Day

Buildings in the Thames Valley turned blue on Friday (July 1) joining buildings across the UK marking Action Meso Day.

Xafinity House at the Station Hill development in Reading, which is being lit up until 8 July, and Braywick Leisure Centre in Maidenhead were illuminated.

Action Meso Day is organised by the ActionMeso campaign, a group of patient support groups and charities that have joined forces to raise awareness of mesothelioma – a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Among the charities behind the campaign is HASAG, which is dedicated to supporting those affected by mesothelioma, asbestosis or any other asbestos-related disease throughout the South of England, South East, London and Home Counties.

Mesothelioma affects the lining of the lungs and abdomen. The time between asbestos exposure to development of mesothelioma can range between 10 and 70 years. There is no cure for mesothelioma, although research is ongoing into new treatments due to the severity of the diagnosis.

Asbestos is found in many private and public buildings, particularly buildings constructed before 1999. It is estimated that 86 per cent of school buildings have asbestos, and 94 per cent of hospitals.

One of the Thames Valley businesses backing the Action Meso Day campaign is law firm Boyes Turner, which is a member of HASAG’s legal panel.

Laura Magson, partner and head of Boyes Turner’s mesothelioma and asbestos disease claims team said: “Through our work representing asbestos disease sufferers and their families, we see first-hand the devastating impact of mesothelioma. We are supporting ActionMeso Day to help raise awareness of this disease and highlight the dangers of asbestos.”

Evan Reynolds, senior development manager at Lincoln Property Company, the developer behind the transformative Station Hill scheme, said: “We’re supporting this year’s Go Blue for Meso at Station Hill by illuminating Xafinity House for a full week between 1 to 8 July.

"By getting involved, we’re helping to raise awareness for mesothelioma not just in Reading but also beyond, due to the building’s visibility from Reading station and passing trains.

“To help us further raise awareness online, we’re encouraging the local community to get involved by taking a photo of Xafinity House while it’s illuminated blue and share it online together with the hashtags #ActionMeso and #GoBlueForMeso. In doing so, we can help raise awareness of this disease together.”