Man, 79, died of rare cancer which was the result of exposure to asbestos

A 79-year-old man died in a Fylde care home from a rare cancer which was the result of him being exposed to asbestos at some time in his life, an inquest heard.

Keith Davenport was on end-of-life care at Alistre Lodge care and nursing home in St Annes following treatment at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for mesothelioma, which was confirmed as his cause of death at a post mortem carried out by Dr Darek Golka.

It is a rare, aggressive cancer which affects the mesothelium, the protective lining covering internal organs, and is primarily caused by asbestos exposure, with symptoms said to often take 10 to 50 years to appear.

The inquest at Blackpool Town Hall heard that Mr Davenport, who was originally from Yorkshire, had had several jobs throughout his working life which might have exposed him to asbestos.

But it was not possible to specify when or where the exposure might have taken place, said Blackpool and Fylde assistant coroner Andrew Cousins.

Mr Cousins returned a conclusion of industrial disease and passed on his condolences to Mr Davenport’s family.