Serafina Salucci was just seven when she helped her dad build a garage in their Sydney backyard using the common building material of bonded asbestos sheeting.

But in 2007, at the age of 37, a persistent cough sent her to the doctors where a scan of her lung confirmed the deadly cancer mesothelioma.

Asbestos victim Serafina Salucci has been living with mesothelioma for nine years. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

Given her lack of exposure to any other form of asbestos, the most likely explanation is a tiny fibre entered her young lung during the backyard renovation, where it lay dormant for 30 years.

But Ms Salucci considers herself one of the lucky ones. The average time between diagnosis of mesothelioma and death is just two years. She has survived nine. And she has watched her four children – the youngest was three when she was diagnosed - reach milestones she never thought possible.