My husband, a Vietnam
Vet died on Dec.2002.
He had a rather rare
form of cancer,
cholangiocarcinoma. It
is not rare in Southeast
Asia, in fact it is at
endemic levels. It can
be caused by a fluke
(parasite) in the water
which can attach itself
to the biliary duct and
remain dormant for 20-30
years then cause the
development of this type
of cancer. I tried to
discuss the possibility
that this might be a
service-related cancer.
Of course, as with Agent
Orange, no one was too
terribly interested in
finding out that there
is another possible
service-related cancer
for which families would
be eligible for
benefits.
It seems that
acknowledging the havoc
of Agent Orange and the
other dioxins that
caused several types of
cancers has been
enough. I am hopeful
that there are others
out there that have gone
through the agony of
watching their
loved-one ravaged by
this type of cancer. My
husband was a former
Marine in the late 50's
and was briefly
stationed in
Thailand, and then a
Green Beret medic when
he was in Vietnam. He
was diagnosed with PTSD
but that gave him only
50% disability
benefits. Nine tortuous
months later, my tall
beautiful, healthy war
veteran was laid to
rest, a skeleton with a
swollen belly.
Please, please if there
is anyone out there who
knows anyone else going
through this trauma,
perhaps we can group
together and alert the
VNA to this
possibility. It is too
late for fme, but I
would feel an enormous
amount of comfort if
someone else is
diagnosed properly and
this cancer is
determined to be
service-related.
Thank you for your time,
Mellow-lady1 8-28-04
To MELLOLADY 1,
Hello, I'm sorry to hear
about your husband.
Cholangiocarcinoma is
devastating. My husband
also died from this at
56 yrs. old (3 months
after diagnosis). I
too, am searching for
answers and I'm sure
that the fact they were
also in VN is not a
coincidence and we have
to continue to
investigate. Liver
Flukes can be a "silent"
infection for decades
and not know you have
it. There are many
chemicals the VNV were
exposed to on a daily
basis and some of them
can also be the
culprit. I've been in
touch with a few family
members that have a VNV
with this or had it.
Hope to hear from you
and others. jajo4751
Jmar88
Pancreatic
cancer
-
Renal
cancer
-
Colon -
Liver
-
Kidney
-
squamous
cell Cancers
I
would
suspect
of
EGBE
poisoning
Why I suspect 2-butoxyethanol - NOT agent orange