Mom of 2 Died from Asbestos-Related Cancer After Hugging Her Dad as a Child Exposed Her to the Fibers

NEED TO KNOW

• Elaine Ellery died from cancer related to asbestos she was exposed to as a child, a court was told on Feb. 16

• Ellery was 67 when she died at a hospice in England in August 2025

• Throughout her childhood, she would hug her father in his work clothes and visited the factory where he worked

A woman in England died from an aggressive form of cancer decades after she was exposed to asbestos.

Elaine Ellery died at Priscilla Bacon Lodge hospice on Aug. 6, 2025, at the age of 67, local media outlet the Eastern Daily Press reported. The mother of two, who lived in the county of Norfolk in East England, had no known contact with asbestos in her adult life.

However, a hearing at Norfolk Coroner’s Court on Feb. 16 concluded that she died of “industrial disease of mesothelioma” caused by the dangerous fibers she was exposed to throughout her childhood, the court confirmed to PEOPLE.

According to the Mayo Clinic, mesothelioma “is a cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the mesothelium. The mesothelium is a thin layer of tissue that covers many internal organs.”

“It most often happens in the tissue around the lungs,” per the medical center. “Mesothelioma also can happen in the tissues in the belly, around the heart and around the testicles.”

“When I attended junior school [elementary school] in those days, we came home at lunchtime,” said Ellery in a statement given before her death, per the Eastern Daily Press. “My father also came home from work at lunchtime and we all had a meal together.”

Ellery’s father worked at a factory from 1949 until he was made redundant in 1974, according to the outlet. He would still be wearing his work clothes when he returned to their Bedfordshire home during the day.

“I did not pay much attention to his overalls, but I remember that he just wore his own clothes to work, which were suitable for laboring duties,” said Ellery, per the outlet. “I was very close to my dad and as soon as he came home, I would go up to him and hug him.”

“I was still very young and it was exciting when my father came home,” she added.

The clothing may have had asbestos fibers on it, which Ellery was then exposed to when she hugged him and when she helped her mother wash his clothes, per the court hearing.

From the age of 8, she also began visiting the factory for its annual Christmas party.

“I was always excited to go there because there was a substance which looked like snow on the ground,” she said, per the Eastern Daily Press. “It was not snow but had a similar appearance and in hindsight, I believe it must have been asbestos on the ground from the factory’s operations.”

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Her father’s death in 1983 was ruled an industrial disease resulting from asbestos exposure, following his cancer diagnosis a year before. He was 59, the Daily Mail reported.

Blue and brown asbestos were banned in the U.K. in 1985, while white asbestos remained in use until 1999. The dangerous material may still be present in any house or building built before 2000, according to the U.K. government website, GOV.UK.

Ellery was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2024 despite her work history showing no occupational exposure to asbestos. The mother of two retired as a personal assistant in April 2019.

“She died from exposure to asbestos as a child,” said area coroner Johanna Thompson at the hearing, per the Eastern Daily Press. 

Speaking to Ellery’s family, Thompson added, “I would like to offer my most sincere condolences. I am so sorry for your loss.”

Read the original article on People