Josh & Luke ‘WE'LL MAKE DAD PROUD'

The reality stars open up to Woman’s Day about their father’s killer disease

- Olivia O’Brien

Uncovering asbestos on any build is terrifying, but for identical twins Luke and Josh Packham, discovering it while renovating their home on The Block Australia was downright devastating as their dad Kevin is fighting for his life thanks to the deadly substance.

“I know the dangers of it first-hand and I wanted to stay well clear of it,” Josh tells Woman’s Day. “If you breathe in those particles, they’re in your body for life.”

“It was a bit of a shock when we found it and it reminded us of the ordeal our dad is going through,” adds Luke of Kevin, 61, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the tissues that line the chest and abdomen, the space around the heart and other organs.

The former real estate agent developed the illness after coming in contact with asbestos while inspecting houses during his career.

“I ingested it at some stage and it sits in the lining of your stomach for 20 to 40 years before anyone knows,” Kevin says. “It’s a very nasty form of cancer, sadly.”