Mesothelioma victims, their families, and the families of asbestos disease sufferers who have already passed away gathered in Detroit yesterday for an annual brunch in remembrance of those who have died of asbestos-related diseases.

According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, those who gathered at the event, held at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, all had different stories about their experiences with the disease and how their loved ones had developed the aggressive form of cancer for which the only known cause is asbestos exposure.

“When I heard the diagnosis, I said, ‘Meso-what?’” said Latanyta Manuel, 45, whose husband Andrew died of the disease at age 42. “All I heard was ‘lung cancer,’ and I said, no, that’s not possible. My husband never smoked or drank, but they said this cancer is about asbestos.”

Latanyta believes Manuel suffered from secondhand exposure. His father worked on a pipeline and brought asbestos home on his clothes on a daily basis.

Eric Jonckheere, who flew all the way from Belgium to attend the luncheon, lost his father and mother to the disease. One brother is recovering from surgery, he said, while he and his remaining siblings show higher-than-normal levels of asbestos in their lungs.

The group also chatted about the fact that asbestos is still not banned in the U.S. despite the growing rate of diseases like mesothelioma and asbestosis. “Asbestos is still being imported. It’s still being put in products,” said Michelle Zigielbaum, whose husband, Paul, is diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, one of the deadliest forms of the disease.

Most of the participants agreed that asbestos lobbyists have stalled the banning of the toxic substance in the U.S.

“It’s disturbing to see how companies and politicians try to cover it up,” said Dwayne Manuel, Andrew Manuel’s 26-year-old son. “This is a preventable disease.”

The Zigielbaums also recently worked with the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) to test 250 consumer products for the presence of asbestos. More than 5 percent of the products under suspicion did indeed contain asbestos, Michelle Zigielbaum notes.

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