Our Patient is Home!

Wow, we had a ROUGH week!

Dom was hospitalized on Friday afternoon.  Slidell Memorial Hospital.  Christine flew in on Saturday afternoon.

We had one scare after another.

They thought that he had contracted C-Diff and had him in isolation for 2 days.  We later found that this can be deadly.  Thankfully, he dodged that bullet!

Dr. Michael Nguyen was the admitting physician.  Very NICE guy who put together a phenomenal "dream team" for our Dom.

(In the past, I've always chosen to be admitted to another Slidell hospital.  Ochsner.  I might have to change preferences!)

All-day, every day, there was a stream of doctors, nurses, and therapists in and out of his room.

Dom had 2 Kidney Specialists, An Infectious Diseases doctor, A Cardiologist, a Neurologist, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists.

Sadly, Dom is not producing his own blood, thus needing transfusions.  He had 2 units transfused during this hospitalization. The kidney doctors had him on Sodium, Potassium, and Electrolytes.

He was diagnosed with Samonella and was treated with 2 different antibiotics.

He was sent home yesterday afternoon with 8 more days of antibiotics, as well as sodium supplements.

We follow up with his Kidney Specialist, Dr. Kovachev in a couple of weeks.  He'll be keeping an eye on Dom's Creatine levels.

Heading to see Dr. Safah at Tulane on Wed.  Dr. Calabresi (Slidell oncologist) the following Tuesday, then Dr. Kovachev later in the week.

It's been a wild ride.  THANK GOD Dom is home.  I had my doubts last Friday.  He was incoherent.  What a scare.

GOD IS GOOD.  Thank you for all of the prayers and phone calls!

Dom is Slowly Improving! No C-Diff, but Salmonella.

When Christine and I arrived at 11 am, the Occupational Therapist had him out of bed and sitting in a chair.

He's no longer in ISOLATION.  He tested NEGATIVE for C-Diff!

The Physical Therapy guys were outside his room, ready to pounce on him.  I told them to "Give him Hell".  They were delighted. 

They WANTED to walk him, but after laying on his back for 5 days, his blood pressure was too low.  They'd test it sitting up.  LOW.  Test it standing up.  LOWER.  They're going to try to get him walking tomorrow.

Dom asked to go back to bed and we all said, "NO!".  He ended up sitting in that chair for more than 2 hours.

Our Slidell Oncologist came in.  Told us that he was SO HAPPY that Dom didn't have C-Diff.  He's lost TWO PATIENTS from that!  He said that he wants to get Dom STRONG before he gets out of the hospital.  His blood counts are dropping, so I'm guessing that he'll need another blood transfusion soon.

Then Dr. Koachev, partner of Dom's Kidney specialist, came in.  He spent almost 30 minutes with us.  Explained that Dom was limited to 2 liters of liquids per day.  Getting IVs of Sodium, Potassium and Electrolytes for his kidneys.  Also told us that his Creatine had jumped from 2.5 yesterday to 3.5 this morning.

Dom's collar bone started killing him, so they put him back in bed with a percocet.  When he started getting dopey, we left.

Did a little shopping, had a late lunch and came home.

Dom called.  The Infectious Diseases Dr. made an appearance.  She said, "You told me that you had Salmonella once.  Well, you've got it again!  No more runny egg yolks!".

She then went on to say that his Creatine number dropped from this morning's 3.5.

Feeling hopeful, gang!

We Had Quite the Morning

Hi there, gang.

We had quite the morning.  We saw Dr. Mannina the Radiology Oncologist at 8:30.

He informed us that Dom had broken ribs on the right, new lesions on the left, and a large lesion on his right hip.

A year or so ago was when Dom had a Plasmacytoma on his right hip.  That's when he fell out of an 8-year complete remission.

So, here's the plan:

We go in Tuesday afternoon to get measured for a contraption that will hold Dom's arms over his head.

He'll get about 30-minute sessions when they're ready to get started.  Dr. Mannina is going to blast the hip, and "graze" both sides of his ribcage so as not to affect any internal organs.

He sent us downstairs for Dom's 8th Darzalex infusion.

When we arrived at the infusion center, the gang had Dom all set up in his favorite "corner office".  A lot of room and not sitting on top of anybody.

The volunteer already had our Diet Cokes, candy bar, pillow and blanket waiting for him.  This guy, Richard is a DOLL.  His wife is currently getting treatment for Breast Cancer, so he knows all too much about the ups and downs of treatment.

Our nurse cleaned his port and started the steroid infusion.

Brian, our favorite nurse from Dr. Calabresi office next door came running in...  "STOP  STOP!".

After consulting each other, the 2 doctors didn't want any Darzalex in his system for next week.

Sooooo...  Fitting on Tuesday, then 10 Radiation Treatments, THEN back on the Darzalex.

As you guys all know, the Radiation works wonders for pain, so we're happy to get started.

ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER.  *groaning*

Dom's in a LOT of Pain

He had a full body bone-scan done a couple of weeks ago.  Images below are showing his "hot-spots".  Breaks, cracks or lesions.  It's showing the bones attempting to regenerate.

The first image below is untouched:

On this image I circled his "hot-spots":

We think that all of these broken ribs are a result of the 10 radiation blasts on his C-3 Disc.  They caused his throat to close up.  THEN the coughing began.

His ribs were already weak from lesions, and the coughing snapped them.

They did an MRI on his right hip after consulting an Orthopedic Surgeon.  The guy wasn't concerned that this would cause Dom to fall, as the hot-spot isn't in the socket of his hip.

We're guessing that it's a new lesion.

This goes on and on and on!  My guy is a "Hurtin' Little Cowboy", I'm afraid!

MILITARY UPDATE: Shulkin says he would, if he could, add Agent Orange vets and illnesses

VA Secretary David Shulkin suggests he favors expansion of Agent Orange-related health care and disability compensation to new categories of ailing veterans but that factors like cost, medical science and politics still stand in the way.

Shulkin told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he made recommendations to White House budget officials last year on whether to add up to four more conditions — bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, Parkinson-like tremors and hypertension (high blood pressure) — to the VA list of 14 illnesses presumed caused by exposure to herbicides used during the Vietnam War.

“I have transmitted my recommendations to the (White House’s) Office of Management and Budget. I did that by Nov. 1st,” Shulkin said. “And we are in the process right now of going through this data. In fact, we met with (OMB officials) on Monday. They asked for some additional data to be able to work through the process and be able to get financial estimates for this. So, we are committed to working with OMB to get this resolved in the very near future.”

Shulkin didn’t say which of the four conditions, if any, he wants added to the presumptive list if and when cleared by the White House.

At the same hearing, the VA chief was asked his position on Blue Water Navy veterans of the Vietnam War who also suffer from illnesses on the VA presumptive list but aren’t eligible to use it to facilitate claims for care and compensation.

They “have waited too long for this,” Shulkin agreed, but then suggested the solution for those veterans is blocked by medical evidence or swings on the will of the Congress.

“I would like to try to find a way where we can resolve that issue for them rather than make them continue to wait,” Shulkin said. “I do not believe there will be scientific data (to) give us a clear answer like we do have on the Agent Orange presumptive” list for veterans who had served in-country. “For the Blue Water Navy ... epidemiologic studies just aren’t available from everything I can see. So, we’re going to have sit down and do what we think is right for these veterans.”

Vietnam veterans who served even a day in country who have illnesses on the presumptive list can quality for VA medical care and disability compensation without having to show other evidence that their ailments are service connected.

Shulkin said VA “recently” received the last report of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), which found a stronger scientific association than earlier studies between certain ailments and herbicide exposure. In fact, however, VA has had the that report, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2014, for two years.

It was written by a committee of medical experts that reviewed medical and scientific literature on select ailments and herbicide exposure published from Oct. 1, 2012, through Sept. 30, 2014. Released in March 2016, the report found evidence to support raising the strength of association between herbicide exposure and bladder cancer and hypothyroidism. The report upgrades the link from “inadequate or insufficient” evidence to “limited or suggestive” evidence of an association.

In years past VA decided that for some ailments, such as Parkinson’s and ischemic heart disease, “limited or suggestive evidence” was enough to add these illnesses to the Agent Orange presumptive list. For others, including hypertension, a more common disease of aging, VA deemed it wasn’t enough.

This last NAM report, however, looked again at cardiovascular conditions and herbicide exposure. It didn’t upgrade the link to heart ailments but it did affirm limited or suggestive evidence that hypertension is linked to herbicide exposure.

It also studied whether Parkinson’s-like symptoms should fall into the same limited or suggestive category as Parkinson’s disease itself. The 2016 report found “no rational basis” to continue to exclude Parkinson-like symptoms from the same risk category. Parkinson’s disease itself was added to presumptive list in 2010.

VA secretaries under both the Obama and Trump administration reacted more slowly on the last NAM perhaps, by law, they could. Congress in 2015 let a portion of the Agent Orange law expire, language that required the VA Secretary to decide on new presumptive conditions within 180 days of accepting a NAM report.

The impact was immediate. Although a senior VA official tasked with reviewing this last NAM report said then-VA Secretary Bob McDonald would make his decisions within three months, it didn’t happen. McDonald left it to his successor. Shulkin waited more months and, in July 2017, vowed to decide by Nov. 1. OMB blocked an announcement, however, presumably over projected costs.

Cost also has been a factor in Congress not passing legislation to extend VA benefits to Blue Water Navy veterans diagnosed with illnesses on the presumptive list. Budget analysts a few years ago estimated a cost of $1.1 billion over 10 years.

Also, NAM did conduct a review of medical and scientific evidence regarding Blue Water Veterans’ possible exposure to herbicides and concluded in a May 2011 report that “there was not enough information ... to determine whether Blue Water Navy personnel were or were not exposed to Agent Orange.”

Blue Water Veterans remain ineligible to use the Agent Orange presumptive list. A lone exception is granted for veterans with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In every session of Congress going back years, Blue Water Navy bills have been introduced. They would, if passed, “include as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure (to) herbicide agents while in Vietnam.”

The current House version of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act (HR 299), introduced in January 2017 by Rep. David Valado, R-Georgia, has 327 co-sponsors. Yet prospects of passage remain dim. Valado reminded Shulkin at a mid-March hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee that six months ago Shulkin said he was seeking more recommendations from “subject matter experts” on the issue and would be ready to update Congress in the coming months.

“Have you come to a decision on Blue Water Navy veterans?”

“I am aligned with you that these veterans have waited too long,” Shulkin said, “and this is a responsibility that this country has. And, as our veterans get older, it’s unfair. ... I believe it is imperative upon us to resolve this issue.

“I also believe,” Shulkin continued, “that there will not be strong scientific data to help resolve this,” in other words to justify benefit expansion. “This is going to be an obligation that we feel as a country, that these veterans shouldn’t be waiting any longer. And I am on the side of trying to find a way to resolve this for the Blue Water Navy veterans.”

LINK

Dom is a Hurtin' Little Cowboy

Well, gang-  This Velcade/Revlimid treatment has really clobbered him.

Over the course of 8 days, he was admitted to 2 separate hospitals overnight.

His neuropathy started traveling up his legs, just below the knees.

He gets extremely dizzy and almost falls down.

Blood Pressure is either very low or slightly elevated.

He's seeing flashes of light.

He's now walking with a walker.

His hands are starting to go numb.

You get the idea-  he's a MESS.

So, his Slidell Oncologist took him off of Chemo.

We'll be heading to Tulane Cancer Center soon.  We have an appointment for the 31st, but they'll probably want him in there sooner.

(Thalidomide was like a walk in the park compared to this treatment!)

Many vets unaware of compensation for Agent Orange-related disabilities

By Tammy Walters
Oneida County Veterans Service Officer

Agent Orange is the name given to a blend of herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1961 to 1971 to remove plants and leaves from foliage in Vietnam that provided enemy cover. Agent Orange itself is not a disability and cannot be claimed as one but it can cause disabilities.

Veterans may be eligible for service-connected disability compensation for diseases the VA has recognized as associated with exposure to Agent Orange if they served in Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962–May 7, 1975; veterans who served in certain areas in Thailand between Feb. 28, 1961–May 7, 1975; veterans who served in or near the DMZ in Korea between 1968-1969, and “brown water” Navy veterans may also be eligible.

The presumed disabilities are:

•Acute and Sub-acute Peripheral Neuropathy
•B-Cell Leukemia
•Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
•Hodgkin’s disease
•Multiple Myeloma
•Parkinson’s disease
•Prostate cancer
•Soft-tissue sarcoma
•AL Amyloidosis
•Chloracne
•Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
•Ischemic heart disease
•Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
•Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
•Respiratory cancers

Additionally, any secondary conditions that are caused by one of the aforementioned conditions can also be claimed as service-connected disabilities. For example, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 is a condition that has many other conditions attributed to it such as strokes, kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and erectile dysfunction. In order to claim these secondary conditions, they must be noted in your medical record and they must be diagnosed at the same time as diabetes or after that diagnosis.

There are still many Vietnam veterans who do not know this information. If you are a Vietnam veteran or know one who might have any of the above conditions, please share this information. It’s never too late to file a claim for a presumed disability.

If you are a widow of a Vietnam veteran who died of any of the conditions listed above, there may be survivor benefits for you even if the veteran wasn’t service connected at the time of his death. If in doubt, please call our office.

Tammy Walters can be reached at (715) 369-6127 or twalters@co.oneida.wi.us. Jason Dailey, Assistant CVSO, can be reached at the same number or jdailey@co.oneida.wi.us. Or you can contact us via Facebook at www.facebook.com/oneidacvso.

LINK

Editorial: Agent Orange still poisons many Vietnam War veterans

For many Americans, the enduring memory of the Vietnam War is of the protests that defined a generation and shattered the illusion of America’s purity on the world stage. But for the 3 million men and women who served in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and early 1970s, the memories are more visceral: the fog of combat, the stench of death, the sting of returning to a seemingly ungrateful nation.

For some veterans, there’s something else, and it’s no memory. Exposed to the toxin-laced Agent Orange a half-century ago, they are now suffering long-term effects including heart disease, Parkinson’s, type II diabetes, immune system disruption, and a variety of potentially lethal cancers. The time has come for them to get the moral and financial support that are our nation’s debt.

Robert Schmid of Leverett is one of those Vietnam vets. Schmid was a soldier on the ground when planes overhead showered down herbicide to kill jungle foliage and reveal enemy troops. Amid the gunfire, he paid it little heed. “There is so much activity,” he told reporter Lisa Spear, “that it is just another thing happening.”

Now 72, Schmid has suffered a heart attack and attributes his coronary heart disease to his time in-country. Donald F. Moulton, another Vietnam veteran, suffers from an aggressive form of leukemia. He told fellow veteran John Paradis that he was exposed to Agent Orange while a Navy Seabee clearing vegetation to build bases, hospitals and schools.

“We weren’t even using the words Agent Orange then and we just took it for granted,” Moulton said. “I can tell you this, we weren’t pulling any weeds over there — that stuff pretty much took care of everything.”

And no wonder. Agent Orange contained toxins including the now-infamous dioxin, and the U.S. military sprayed close to 11 million gallons of it in Vietnam. In the decades since, scientists have concluded beyond a doubt that the herbicide is to blame for health problems including the ones suffered by Schmid and Moulton — and the government has begun paying benefits to veterans who grapple with those issues.

Veterans collect monthly benefits ranging from modest to more substantial; veterans interviewed by Spear reported payments between $300 and $3,000 a month, depending on their debilitation. But many of those afflicted don’t know that they and their spouses are entitled to the help, despite the pain and expense associated with long-term ailments.

Too many veterans remain unaware of the benefits they might collect, says Timothy Niejadlik, director of the Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services office in Greenfield. To help spread the word, his organization recently held a town hall meeting at Greenfield Community College to provide information, health screenings and help in filing claims.

“A lot of these diseases are equated to age, so (veterans) are just thinking that it’s part of their natural aging process,” said Niejadlik.

Says Schmid: “There are a lot of vets who don’t take advantage; either they don’t know about it or they are shy about asking for it — and I was like that, too.”

Happily, Schmid did ask and now receives a $300 monthly benefit that not only helps with his health-related expenses but also signals a recognition — long overdue — of the sacrifices he made in that distant land. Other vets deserve that same recognition and our nation’s thanks.

LINK

VA Faces Tough Decisions About Agent Orange Benefits for Vietnam Veterans

Northville, MI (Law Firm Newswire) February 7, 2017 - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must tackle a long list of decisions about the effects of Agent Orange and veterans’ eligibility for benefits. A key issue is whether the department will add new conditions to its list of diseases and health problems presumed to be linked to the pesticide.

Agent Orange was sprayed to destroy vegetation used as cover by Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War. ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot have joined forces to investigate the toxic chemical’s effects on Vietnam veterans and their families, as well as their struggles to obtain VA benefits.

“Rather than waiting for the problem to simply disappear, the VA should pay close attention to the vast research that has been conducted about the devastating effects of Agent Orange,” said Jim Fausone, a Michigan veterans attorney. “It is likely that the exposure could have also impacted the descendants of service members. Seeking benefits from the VA should not be this difficult for affected veterans and their families.”

Many Vietnam veterans are fighting the VA for compensation for medical conditions believed to be linked to Agent Orange exposure. However, proving exposure and harm has been challenging for veterans and their widows. Many widows do not have access to their husbands’ full service histories or experience dealing with the VA.

Currently, a veteran can gain eligibility for VA disability payments by proving their service in Vietnam and showing they have one of the 14 ailments linked to Agent Orange exposure, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. In March 2016, a panel of federal researchers claimed there is enough evidence to connect Agent Orange exposure to several conditions not on the VA’s list. These include hypothyroidism, stroke, bladder cancer, hypertension and other Parkinson’s Disease-like neurological diseases.

However, the VA may be reluctant to include the additional illnesses to its list of Agent Orange exposure-related medical conditions due to the potential expenses involved. For example, the chances of hypertension increase with age, and anyone with the ailment who entered Vietnam could become eligible for VA benefits.

LEARN MORE:
http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC
41700 West Six Mile Road, Suite 101
Northville, MI 48168
Toll Free Phone: 800.693.4800

New data suggest Agent Orange causing horrific third generation birth defects Vietnam vets are passing to their grandkids

What’s the “Agent Orange curse?” 

True story: As veterans of the Vietnam war die off from cancer and other diseases and disorders they got from the incredibly toxic defoliant Agent Orange, the nightmare is not over, because research is revealing their children and grandchildren, who were never exposed to the pesticide, have birth defects that were passed on through their parents and grandparent’s affected genes. That’s the Agent Orange curse, and it can cause much more detriment than cancer, as if that weren’t enough, including heart disease, fibromyalgia, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, spinal problems, autism, and birth defects like missing limbs, extra limbs, malformed limbs, speech difficulties, cleft lip palate, crooked fingers and webbed toes. Sadly, the US government is trying to cover it all up, waiting for the vets to die off, thinking the whole chronic nightmare will fade away, but it’s not fading at all.

Vietnam vets believe billions of dollars lie at the heart of why their claims have gone unexamined by the US government and Veterans Affairs

First of all, compensating veterans for all their health problems inflicted by the haphazard spreading of and treading through toxic pesticides in Vietnam costs tens of billions of dollars a year, but now we’re talking about compensating the vets’ kids and grandkids, who are grown up or growing up with horrific medical conditions that aren’t going away or getting any better. If the link between Agent Orange and their children’s conditions is proven by science, we’re talking billions more.

How does the VA ignore all these legitimate claims? Answer: the nefarious “Dr. Orange”

For decades now, the VA and the military have relied on one chemical-industry shill’s assessment of whether Agent Orange caused health detriment to our veterans. A man by the name of Alvin L. Young headed up a government sanctioned plan to destroy evidence of any connection between aircrafts that spread agent orange and veteran’s sicknesses, and to ward off journalists that ask questions through their investigations.

Young functions as a “consultant” and an “expert” on herbicides who guides the stance of the military and U.S. Department of Veterans in their mass denial of benefits and compensation to the thousands of suffering soldiers, and now their children and grandchildren too. Agent Orange herbicides were so destructive they could burn down brush and foliage where the enemy was hiding, and the U.S. even dumped the poison into rivers, streams, and waterways to infect the food and drinking water, knowing good and well the toxic effects of the orange nightmare that contains the lethal chemical dioxin. Young, nicknamed by Vietnam veterans as “Dr. Orange,” even developed a plan to destroy Agent Orange a decade later.

Young’s claim for decades? Few veterans were exposed and the doses were too small to harm them. He has said on record that some vets are just “freeloaders” who are making up ailments to “cash in” on the VA’s compensation program. The VA repeatedly cites Young’s work as if it is the “be-all end-all” scientific conclusion to every case brought to them, saving the government millions, if not billions of dollars, while all these soldiers, their kids, and their grandkids suffer and go broke trying to pay their medical care bills.

Now, frustrated veterans, top government officials and respected scientists contend that Young’s self-labeled “investigations” are without merit, omit key facts, and worse yet, were funded by none other than Monsanto Co. and Dow Chemical Co.–the actual manufacturers of agent orange. Alvin Young is nothing more than a huckster and a shill who’s regurgitating research lies to save corporations from getting sued. Even prominent experts on dioxin from NIH say his talk about dioxin is “in no way accurate.” Young is not even qualified to make conclusions about human health effects.


An emeritus professor at Columbia University and an Agent Orange researcher says Young and the VA repeatedly clash with any concerted effort to study health effects from agent orange exposure and they even try to keep studies from being conducted, and have been doing so ever since the sick and dying soldiers returned from the Vietnam War. The “color orange” runs through the veins of Vietnam Vets like poison. Veterans now believe that the birth defects can even skip a generation, passing over their children but then affecting their grandchildren.

Now, here comes the rub: What pesticide ingredients do you think are in conventional food today?

GMO food delivers a small amount of Agent Orange ingredients into your blood and mutates your cells over time. How long that mutation of cells takes to overwhelm one of your vital organs, or strangulate your lungs or your brain is just a matter of how much of it you eat, how often, and for how long. Glyphosate is now regularly sprayed on conventional crops like wheat and sugar cane as a drying agent. Glyphosate, which makes up about 50% of the Roundup herbicide, has been proven through vigorous laboratory research to cause horrific tumors and other cancers in laboratory animals.

Most genetically engineered foods like corn, soy, and canola contain some of the same herbicide ingredients as agent orange, namely glyphosate and dioxin. Do you and your children eat “agent orange” corn and soy? These popular GM foods are made and sprayed by Monsanto and Dow Chemical, don’t you know?

 Plenty of LINKS here

VET TALKS ABOUT LINGERING EFFECTS OF AGENT ORANGE

COEUR d’ALENE — The effects of war are far and wide. For veterans, that includes PTSD, depression, unemployment, and homelessness to name a few.

But one lasting effect is not so well-known, because, according to Richard Phenneger, the government doesn’t want it to be known.

Agent Orange, a dioxin chemical used in the Vietnam War, has been linked to the deformation of the children and grandchildren of those exposed to it.

“Our government has refused to acknowledge studies by independent scientists that say this is a problem,” Phenneger said. “Once someone is exposed to Agent Orange, there’s a very good chance it attaches to the DNA, which is then passed on to future generations.”

During North Idaho College’s recent Veterans Appreciation Week, Phenneger gave a presentation about his nonprofit, Orange Heart, and how Agent Orange affects Vietnam veterans and their families.

Phenneger, the founder and president of Veteran Services Transparency, told how he stumbled upon a study about the adverse effects of Agent Orange while he was doing another study about veterans coming back from the Gulf War.

The study he found struck a nerve in him, so he decided to do more digging. He said he found evidence the U.S. government knew that Agent Orange was harmful to humans and decided to spray it in Vietnam anyway.

To get an idea of how many veterans and veteran families Agent Orange affected, he conducted a survey with the help of some researchers who found his cause worthwhile.

Of the 119 Vietnam War veterans in Kootenai County that took Phenneger’s survey, 20 percent had deformed children.

“You’d be surprised at the emotion that came out of that,” Phenneger said. “It took me a while to absorb it.”

During the presentation, Veteran Services Transparency board member Amina Fields spoke about her experiences regarding the issue.

The Vietnam refugee and American veteran echoed the idea that more studies need to be done regarding the effects of Agent Orange. She said the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs does give out compensation for certain disabilities and health issues suffered by veterans and their families because of Agent Orange, but only for certain types of disabilities.

“We believe there are more disabilities and health issues than identified by the VA,” she said. “UNICEF did a study in 2008 that found that out of the 30.5 million children under 18 in Vietnam, 1.2 million have disabilities, and that is considered a disproportionately large amount.”

Lori Adler, a student at the Lewis Clark State College satellite campus and volunteer with the NIC Veterans Resource Center, attended the presentation and was surprised at how big of an issue Agent Orange still is.

“I came to get more education and I have a friend who served in Vietnam who is affected by Agent Orange,” she said. “I’ve been planning on talking with a senator, and now that I have found this horrific information, I’m going to bring this to him and hopefully get a change.”

Moving forward, Orange Heart and Veteran Services Transparency’s goals are to continue to bring awareness to what has been happening and continue researching.

The group wants to raise money to conduct surveys in Vietnam to show the effects of Agent Orange there, where more people were exposed to it. Phenneger guesses the organization will need to raise about $10 million to do this.

“I am confident we will be able to fix the problem,” he said.

http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/state_news/20161203/vet_talks_about_lingering_effects_of_agent_orange

New study could pressure VA to expand Agent Orange benefits

Four-ship formation on a defoliation spray run.

                                        U.S. Air Force photo

A new study has found a close relationship between Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War and high blood pressure, a conclusion that could lead the Department of Veterans Affairs to dramatically expand the number of veterans eligible for compensation.

The study, published last week by VA researchers in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found a higher rate of hypertension among members of the Army Chemical Corps who handled Agent Orange during the war compared to those who didn’t. Corps members who served in Vietnam but did not spray the chemicals also had a higher rate of hypertension than their peers who served outside Vietnam.

Both results were statistically significant and add to a body of evidence linking Agent Orange exposure and hypertension.

The findings come 41 years after the close of the Vietnam War and decades since the last supplies of Agent Orange were incinerated. Since then, veterans have become increasingly distrustful of the VA. They maintain that their exposure to Agent Orange, which contained the toxic chemical dioxin, has harmed their health and has been passed on to their children.

A VA working group has been studying the latest scientific literature since March to determine whether any illnesses should be added to the agency’s list of diseases for which vets are automatically entitled to compensation if they served in Vietnam. Specifically, the group has been looking at new evidence linking bladder cancer, underactive thyroid, Parkinson’s-like symptoms and hypertension to Agent Orange exposure.

The VA had been expected to announce its decision this year, but officials now say that will be left to the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

“For this administration, the deadline for proposing new rules for potential new presumptions [of service connection to herbicide] has passed, and this will become work for the new administration to take to completion,” VA officials said in a written statement first reported last week in Stars and Stripes.

Hypertension is the most common ailment among veterans seeking health care at the VA. It is one of the most common ailments among older adults generally.

The study released last week found the prevalence of hypertension among members of the Army Chemical Corps to be higher than among other aging veterans. Although most of the Agent Orange used in Vietnam was sprayed from Air Force planes, the Army Chemical Corps also sprayed the herbicide from hand sprayers and helicopters.

LINK

Vietnam veterans speak about effects of Agent Orange

KENILWORTH, NJ — The New Jersey State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America met on Sunday, Sept. 18 at Kenilworth Veterans Center to raise awareness about the long-lasting impact of toxic exposure. The focus was on the effects that chemicals have had on veterans’ offspring and the illnesses and defects that many have endured. This was the sixth meeting held concentrating on this topic.

This presentation was called “The Faces of Agent Orange and Our Toxicity Legacy.” Members of Vietnam Veterans of America spoke about their experiences during a panel discussion, which included a question and answer session. An introduction was given by past State Council President of Vietnam Veterans of America John LeGates.

“The VA stands for ‘Veteran’s Adversary,’” LeGates said. “They’re not your friend.”

Veterans have submitted claims reporting medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer, all which can be traced to exposure to dioxins, particularly Agent Orange. Many claims are completely dismissed. However, the effects of this chemical continue to affect generations even today.

“Herbicide orange is used by the United States military as part of the herbicidal warfare program,” Dioxin Committee Chairman Mike Eckstein told LocalSource. “The United States sprayed 20 million-plus gallons of herbicides and dioxins during Vietnam.”

A veteran from Pennsylvania spoke about his experience with cancer that resulted from exposure to the toxin. When his left leg swelled twice its normal size, his doctor discovered that he had a tumor in his abdomen. There was no genetic predisposition to cancer in his family, and the only cause found was exposure to Agent Orange. His daughter is afraid to marry and have a family due to the fear that this chemical will have an impact on her unborn fetus. The veteran’s grandson was born with attention deficit disorder and anger management issues. The VVA’s goal is to pass a bill that would ban the government from using this lethal chemical.

“The chemical was sprayed along mangroves to open the field of fire in order to discover where the enemy was hiding,” Eckstein told LocalSource.

Paul Sutton, of the Dioxin Committee, further explained the history of Agent Orange. It was invented in 1922 and sprayed on the ground and in the air from 1961 to1971. Three billion veterans in Vietnam were exposed to it, as well as the civilian population.

“The chemical was tested between 1940 to 1960,” Sutton said. “The government wanted a certain amount of it sprayed in San Francisco and heated up the process to meet the requirements. This was when the chemical became its most lethal. People could be exposed just by spending time in an area where it was once sprayed. Twelve to fourteen different dioxins can be found in industrial areas such as New Jersey. Years after being exposed, it can still be detected in the blood stream.”

Sutton conducted a question-and-answer session, which included questions about the Blue Water Navy and their exposure to the chemical. There was also information given about how to submit a claim regarding medical issues related to exposure.

“It’s important to make sure that anyone who sees a doctor for an illness related to exposure of this dioxin tell the doctor to make note of it,” said State Service Officer Margaret Wojciechowicz. “This note can then be submitted to the government by a state service officer such as myself,”

http://unionnewsdaily.com/news/kenilworth/26717

Just Got a Disturbing Phone Call regarding Dom

Dom has been feeling extremely lethargic for a few weeks.  Dizzy spells and very little energy.

We went to our Dr. C. last week.

He sent us to a Cardiologist for a Nuclear Stress Test on Tuesday.

Dr. C's office just called to say that Dom had to get back to the Cardiologist.  He has a blocked Left Ventricle.  We have an appointment for next Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, we're having a Carotid Artery Ultrasound tomorrow.

I immediately did some quick research.

ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE Veterans who develop ischemic heart disease and were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service do not have to prove a connection between their disease and service to be eligible to receive VA health care and disability compensation. -

See more at: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/ischemicheartdisease.asp#sthash.79cDOE5b.dpuf

So.... Agent Orange quite possibly raised it's ugly head yet AGAIN.

Three Agent Orange diseases under review for presumptive status

The Veterans Affairs Department is weighing whether to add several diseases to the list of health conditions presumed in Vietnam veterans to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

A VA working group is studying a report issued in March by the Institute of Medicine to determine whether bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson's-like symptoms illnesses the IOM said may be more strongly linked to exposure than previously thought should automatically make a Vietnam veteran eligible for VA disability benefits and health care.

According to Dr. Ralph Erickson, VA's chief consultant for post-deployment health services, the group will make  recommendations to VA Secretary Robert McDonald on whether the diseases should be added to a list of 15 already in place.

"We are in the midst of a deliberative process, carefully looking at all the IOM committee put in the report and additional information that has come out since," Erickson said. "We will be putting tougher a VA response that will be brought before senior leaders and ultimately brought before the secretary." The process could take up to two years, a VA spokeswoman added.

Roughly one million Vietnam veterans are enrolled in the VA health system, according to the department. Based on a review of data for one year, 5,484 of these veterans have been diagnosed with bladder cancer, 15,983 suffer from hypothyroidism and an estimated 1,833 have Parkinson's-like symptoms. The working group also is looking into the role, if any, Agent Orange exposure has played in the development of hypertension in Vietnam veterans. According to VA, 307,324 Vietnam veterans in the Veterans Health Administration have high blood pressure. "Hypertension has been a question that has been asked," Erickson said. "The cohort of men and women who heroically served their country in uniform and went to Vietnam are in their 60s, 70s and 80s, and these individuals, merely because of their age, are starting to accrue chronic diseases that come with aging. It's a delicate matter to tease out whether someone has hypertension because of their age or whether it would be related to an exposure to Agent Orange."

VA began recognizing diseases associated with herbicide exposure in Vietnam beginning in 1991, naming 15 diseases as presumed to be related, including Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, early-onset peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, soft-tissue sarcoma, chloracne, type-two diabetes mellitus, light chain amyloidosis, ischemic heart disease, chronic B-cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease and spina bifida in offspring of veterans. The most recent IOM report actually downgraded spina bifida in the children of Vietnam veterans, saying research does not support a previously held belief that the disease occurred in offspring of exposed veterans at higher rates. But the change of spina bifida from "limited or suggestive evidence" it is related to exposure to "inadequate or insufficient" evidence should not affect disability payments to the 1,153 descendants of Vietnam veterans who receive them, Veterans Benefits Administration senior adviser for compensation services Brad Flohr said.

VA recommends that veterans who have an illness they believe is related to Agent Orange exposure file a claim; they are considered on a case-by-case basis if the illness is not on the presumptive condition list. Should new diseases be added to the list, the regulation would go into effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. If a veteran dies of a condition determined to be a presumptive condition after the veteran's death, VA will provide dependency and indemnity compensation benefits to eligible spouses, children and parents of that veteran. [Military Times, Patricia Kime — April 8, 2016]

LINK

VA officials pledge new studies into effects of Agent Orange

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its efforts to determine how Vietnam veterans and their children have been affected by exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange.

The VA will conduct its first nationwide survey of Vietnam veterans in more than three decades and request an outside panel of experts to continue its work studying the health effects of Agent Orange on veterans, their children and their grandchildren. Both initiatives were discussed recently by ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot on the possible multi-generational impacts of Agent Orange.

Vietnam veterans have argued for years that their exposure to the toxic herbicide has damaged their health as well as their children’s. From 1965 to 1970, some 2.6 million U.S. service members were potentially exposed to Agent Orange, which contained a dangerous strand of the chemical dioxin. While the VA has linked Agent Orange exposure to a host of diseases in Vietnam vets, experts and veterans advocates have criticized the lack of research into the effects on future generations.

“I believe that these individuals deserve an answer,” Linda Spoonster Schwartz, the VA’s assistant secretary for policy and planning, said in response to a question about the lack of research. “I believe that we need to at least ask the question. … This is the right thing to do.”

ProPublica and The Pilot have been examining the effects of Agent Orange for the past year and have heard from more than 5,500 veterans and their families. Thursday’s forum – titled A Toxic Legacy: Has Agent Orange Hurt the Children of Vietnam Vets? – featured veterans advocates, researchers and policy makers. It also provided a rare opportunity for frustrated veterans to vent directly to high-ranking VA officials. Veterans came from as far away as Mississippi and Pennsylvania to share their stories. Pilot photographer Stephen M. Katz told of his own health problems, which he believes may be linked to his father’s exposure to Agent Orange.

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Agent Orange exposure linked to bladder cancer, hypothyroidism

A new review of Agent Orange research found evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are more strongly linked to exposure to the herbicide than previously thought, but the science does not support a previously held belief that spina bifida occurs in the offspring of exposed veterans at higher rates.

A report released Thursday by the Institute of Medicine on the health effects of Agent Orange also recommended the Veterans Affairs Department grant service-connected presumption to veterans with “Parkinson’s-like symptoms,” not just those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease related to Agent Orange exposure.

The 1,115-page review is the final in a series conducted by the IOM on health problems related to Agent Orange and other herbicide use during the Vietnam War.

“There is no rational basis for exclusion of individuals with Parkinson’s-like symptoms from the service-related category denoted as Parkinson’s disease," members of the IOM panel wrote in the report.The panel, chaired by Kenneth Ramos, professor of medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona, reviewed the scientific literature on Agent Orange released between October 2012 and September 2014 for its review.

The decision on bladder cancer and hypothyroidism was tied to results of a large study of Korean War veterans who served in the Vietnam War suggested an association while the choice to downgrade spina bifida was based on a lack of data, panel members said.

“[The inclusion of] spina bifida in the limited or suggestive category of association was based on preliminary findings from [an ongoing Air Force study]. However, to date, a complete analysis of the data from that study for neural tube defects has not been published … [and] no subsequent studies have found increases in spina bifida with exposure to components of the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam," they wrote.

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VA benefits available for those impacted by Agent Orange

When Bob Blower was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001, he underwent successful surgery and moved on.

A year later, when his friend Vince Kilmartin was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Blower helped guide him through the treatment. Kilmartin also underwent successful surgery to treat the disease.

Six years later, in 2008, Kilmartin happened to see in a newspaper article that a Veterans Administration study found a link between exposure to Agent Orange, the anti-defoliant used in Vietnam, and prostate cancer.

When he spoke to someone in the Oakland VA office, Kilmartin learned that not only was he eligible for benefits related to his treatment for prostate cancer, but also for the two heart procedures he'd had to put stents in because of blocked arteries.

Prostate cancer and blocked arteries are just two medical conditions the Veterans Administration links to exposure to Agent Orange. Although the VA doesn’t contact veterans about potential benefits they may be due, it does have a wealth of information on its website ( va.gov, under benefits, special groups, Vietnam veterans). Veterans have to take the initiative, though.

Kilmartin received his benefits in 2008, but the veteran with 20 years of active duty — five in the U.S. Navy and 15 more in the U.S. Coast guard after a career in education — didn't give it much thought afterward.

But last fall when he and Blower were playing a round of golf, their having had prostate cancer came up in conversation.

“I said, ‘Bob, did you ever apply for VA benefits?’” Kilmartin remembered. “He said, ‘No, how would I know that?’”

Blower spent five years in the Navy, including a year aboard the USS Magoffin, a TAC Transport, which was docked in Danang in 1966. He left the military after five years in the naval reserves, and moved onto his civilian life, becoming a Realtor and raising a family.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, his past military service never entered his mind, but Kilmartin knew better.

“He mentored me,” Blower said. “He told me you have to get all your medical records, your military records and where your ship was.”

The two met with Jerry Jolly at the San Joaquin County Veterans Services office and provided Blower’s discharge papers, the name of his ship and the medical records that proved he'd had prostate cancer. Blower is now awaiting his benefits.

“We started thinking there are probably a lot of guys like me who didn’t know they were eligible,” Blower said.

Exposure to Agent Orange has been linked to a 52 percent overall increased risk of prostate cancer in Vietnam vets, according to an analysis published in the American Cancer Society journal Cancer. Spreading the word about the connection, and the benefits available, has become the mission of Kilmartin and Blower.

It’s been one of Tino Adame’s jobs for a long time as the American Legion’s state chairman of veteran affairs and rehabilitation.

“My job is to get the word out to veterans through the American Legion or any other veterans organization, any way I can,” Adame said. “I need to get veterans informed about Agent Orange, what’s covered. “

It’s important work for Adame, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam in 1966. He’s devoted to veterans and was long involved with Stockton’s Karl Ross American Legion post before working at the state level.

Adame was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and received VA benefits.

He is now undergoing chemotherapy for tumors on his kidneys, but that cancer is not linked to Agent Orange at this time.

The U.S. military sprayed nearly 20 million gallons of herbicides on South Vietnam and parts of Laos and Cambodia from 1962 to 1971 to defoliate the jungle cover of enemy soldiers and to destroy their food source. Veterans exposed to the chemicals, in particular dioxin, began experiencing illnesses as early as the 1970s. The U.S. government initially resisted an admission that Agent Orange had caused health problems, but has since expanded its list of illnesses “associated” with exposure. That list now includes numerous cancers (prostate, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s Disease among them), Parkinson’s disease and certain heart conditions. More studies are ongoing, Adame said.

“It stirs a lot of memories,” Adame said. “Talking to other vets, we could all see it (when it was sprayed). I was a squad leader and I’d radio the helicopter and tell them we were under them and they’d say, ‘sorry, we’re ordered to spray here. Get under a poncho.’”

Kilmartin, too, remembers the spraying.

“When we flew into Danang, you got off the plane and you could see the stuff,” Kilmartin said. “They’d be spraying in areas where the fighting was going on, where the Marines were out in the field. They’d start flying and the Agent Orange would be sprayed everywhere, and the wind would blow it back.”

Most veterans who served time in country during the Vietnam War were exposed to the toxic chemical.

If little consideration was given to troops at the time of the spraying, the U.S. government is now making amends. Veterans, though, need to ask for help.

LINK

Our War of Shame (a letter to the editor)

To the Editor

Since our elected U.S. Legislators, Congress and Senate do not to seem to care about our Vietnam War Veterans who are sick from the herbicide Agent Orange Dioxin, I can say I am not proud of our government in the manner in which our Veterans are treated. However, we did our job and did not question our orders. We believed the Vietnam War was to free a country from communistic oppression. This is what America is about, freedom.

Freedom is not free; it is costly in lives and dollars. There is no dollar amount I know of that can replace a life. The real cost are those who died on both sides. The dollars mean nothing. Where the dollars do come into play are the dollars to care for those who came home broken and sick and those who came home in a box.

How do we get these dollars from the American taxpayer? Congress sets dollar amounts to pay for war, to pay for those who come home in a box, plus the wounded. What about those who are sick and broken? Now we have a new set of rules for those who fought the war and lived. Legislative bills must be introduced and dollar amounts agreed on to pay for the needs of the sick and broken who came home alive. It can take years and more legislation. In the meantime, these sick and broken war veterans die off one by one with no resolve from our government who sent them to war. Many get little to no health care and no compensation. A perfect example is the Vietnam War, our War of Shame.

I have often wondered, what if our Legislators were sent to war and had to defend themselves just like our troops on land, sailors at sea and airmen in the sky? A novel thought indeed!

John Bury, U.S. Navy, retired, Vietnam War Veteran Media

http://www.southphillyreview.com/opinion/Our_war_of_shame-366855621.html

Agent Orange impacting descendants of Vietnam veterans?

The United States in 1991 established that Agent Orange was responsible for a number of medical conditions found in Vietnam veterans. These veterans now want the government to fund research on how their children and grandchildren have been affected.

Chairing a Vietnam veterans national Agent Orange committee is 68-year-old Montgomery, Minnesota, resident Maynard Kaderlik. His exposure to Agent Orange while stationed in the Mekong Delta led to him getting prostate cancer years later.

But Kaderlik also wants to tell the story of his son Josh, 37,  who was born with a dislocated hip and has a severe learning disability, and his 10-year-old granddaughter, Jada, who was diagnosed with autism seven years ago.

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