Imagine there are two people who have terminal cancers – both caused by exposure to asbestos at work.

They are in their sixties and had been looking forward to retirement. Having worked hard all their lives they are yearning for when they can spend more time with loved ones, especially grandchildren. They also can’t wait to travel more - finally seeing some of those places on their bucket lists.

But the devastating news that they have cancer shatters their dreams for the future. They had no idea that all the time they were working hard, they had been exposed to deadly asbestos that would many years later claim their lives.

Both have very similar cancers too. One has asbestos-related mesothelioma (on the lining of the lung) – and the other has asbestos-related lung cancer (inside the lung). Both are proved by medical experts to be caused by past asbestos exposure.  Both are so alike that even doctors and pathologists sometimes mistake them for each other.

But that is where the similarities end. When it comes to claiming compensation for having had their lives cut short, one of the victims will face extra challenges.

Asbestos related diseases are usually diagnosed decades after the exposure to asbestos took place. In that time, the businesses which are responsible for exposing their employees to the deadly dust could have closed down, and records lost, making tracing the companies and relevant insurers an almost impossible task.

The law in the UK allows mesothelioma victims to receive full compensation even if they cannot trace all of their previous employers (or their insurers) who exposed them to asbestos.

But victims of asbestos-related lung cancer must trace all of their previous employers to receive full compensation. It means they risk missing out on thousands of pounds. If they can only trace one of their four previous employers, for example, then they receive only a fraction of the compensation to which they are entitled, and need.

If a mesothelioma sufferer tracks down just one former employer, despite having been exposed in several places, that one employer pays the compensation in full and the insurance company takes on the task of tracing the others to recoup the money. This system takes the burden away from the sufferer, who does not have the luxury of time – life expectancy in these cases is often counted in just months.

Both of our victims will need compensation to help them pay for their care and support, and medical treatment not available on the NHS.

It’s unfathomable that two victims of such similar cancers are treated so differently. APIL is campaigning for a law to be introduced to give asbestos-related lung cancer victims full compensation from any responsible employer – so they have parity with mesothelioma victims.

You might also be forgiven for thinking people dying from asbestos-related cancer is rare or a disease of the past, given this highly dangerous material was banned from construction 25 years ago. But the legacy of asbestos is still being felt today. Asbestos is the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Around 5,000 people die every year from asbestos-related diseases, which typically take decades to develop and cannot be cured.

Asbestos is still present in many older buildings that people use today, such as schools, hospitals and workplaces. The HSE is running a campaign raising awareness about asbestos in such buildings when they are a poor state. When this happens there is a risk that people will be exposed.

We can’t afford to be complacent about asbestos. The dangers have been known for a long time, and employers have a duty to protect their workers.

There is no justifiable reason why sufferers of asbestos-related lung cancer should not receive the same support from the law as those who have mesothelioma.

*Global Asbestos Awareness Week runs from 1 to 7 April.