Carole Orton lost her 67-year-old father and 45-year-old brother to mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Now Carole, from Clavering, in Hartlepool, is to speak about her losses at an event being held on National Action Mesothelioma Day.

She hopes to raise awareness of the disease which kills scores of people every year and left her 16-month-old niece, Katie, and nephew, Harry, 4, without a dad. The mother-of-two will tell the hundreds congregating in Gateshead how she and her surviving relatives, brothers Billy, 51, Kenneth, 50, and Alan Gray, 47, and mother Margaret Gray live in fear of the disease which can lay dormant for decades.

Carole, 40, said: "My dad used to come home covered in white dust and we used to hug him and be around him. My mum used to shake the dust out so we all must have been exposed.

"We just have to keep our fingers crossed that we don't contract it."
The auxiliary nurse for Hartlepool Primary Care Trust lost her father Harry Gray five years ago after he breathed in asbestos while working as a lagger in the shipping industry.

Her brother, Stephen Gray, a father of two, followed in his dad's footsteps as a lagger in power stations across the country, where he came into contact with the dangerous asbestos and died one month ago.

The Harry and Stephen Gray Mesothelioma Snowdrop Memorial Fund has been set up by Carole with her mum and Stephen's fiancee Diane Hurst.

It has raised thousands to tackle the problem, which experts estimate could kill 250,000 people by 2029.

Carole said: "We set it up after we found out research into the disease is not Government-funded and we want to do our part to help fight it.

"This disease can lay dormant for 40 years then just appear and destroy lives without ever being detected, so work has to be done to find out more."

Carole will be speaking at the Action Mesothelioma Information Day in Gateshead Civic Centre on Wednesday, February 27.

"This is the first time I have done anything like this but I'm really looking forward to it," added Carole.

The 10am to 4pm free event is the largest of its kind ever held on Tyneside and will provide information, possible treatments and advice on living with the disease.

For more information or to book a place call Chris Knighton on (0191) 2637386.