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VETERAN BLAMES INCURABLE CANCER ON WATER
AT CAMP LEJEUNE -- "We had no clue what was
going on. When you're in the military you do
what's
asked of you and don't ask questions."
Former Marine Allen Menard has a rare
form of skin cancer he links with contaminated water discovered at
the North Carolina military base where he was stationed. (photo: H.
Marc Larson / Gannett Wisconsin Media) |
For more about the water contamination problems
at Camp Lejeune, click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=lejeune&op=and
Story here...
http://www.htrnews.com/ar
ticle/20090220/MAN0101/902200467/1358/MAN01
Story below:
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-------------------------
Incurable cancer blamed on water at Marine base
By Patti Zarling
Gannett Wisconsin Media
Allen Menard is proud to be a U.S. Marine.
"Love of country comes first," said the Green Bay man, holding a picture
of his younger self, standing tall in military fatigues.
But the 45-year-old thinks the military downplayed the presence of toxins
in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where Menard was stationed from
1981-84. He believes the contaminated water contributed to his rare,
noncurable skin cancer.
"We had no clue what was going on," he said. "When you're in the military
you do what's asked of you and don't ask questions."
A few years after his return to civilian life in the late 1980s, Menard
said he noticed a rash on his back. When a doctor told him it likely was
psoriasis, Menard didn't treat it. A few years later, another doctor
reaffirmed the psoriasis diagnosis, this time on his leg, and gave him a
cream but it didn't help.
Eventually, Menard developed a significant rash on his knee, and his wife
Debbie asked her doctor to look at it. He was referred to a dermatologist
and was diagnosed in 2001 with a rare form of skin cancer known as mycosis
fungoides.
He said he never made a connection between his cancer and the tainted
water until he received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service in
October 2008 indicating the Marines wanted him to be aware of water
contamination at Camp Lejeune .
"That's when it all clicked," Allen Menard said. "We started to put two
and two together."
Military contact
A solvent used to clean metal and a chemical used in dry cleaning were
first found in Camp Lejeune's drinking water in the early 1980s, according
to the Center for Disease Control's Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry.
Polluted wells were shut down in 1985 and the camp was officially named a
federal cleanup site in 1989.
The military learned of the contamination when it began testing the water
under new Environmental Protection Agency standards in the early 1980s.
The water at the base "had an odor to it," Menard said. "I didn't think
anything of it. You figure you're in a new place. It's different."
Contamination came from ABC One-Hour Cleaners, a nearby dry-cleaning
facility, and a combination of industrial operations, waste-water disposal
practices as well as leaking underground storage
tanks, according to the toxic substances registery.
"The first thing I want to stress is that the water is safe today," said
Capt. Amy Malugani, of the Marine Corps Public Affairs Office.
The federal government is asking veterans stationed at the camp up to and
including 1987 to join a registry because officials are studying possible
health effects from the tainted water. About 115,000 have signed up so
far, Malugani said.
 Allen
Menard and some other veterans worry the military waited too long to
contact them about the contamination. But Malugani said the military has
tried to find people who served at the base.
"There were a lot of steps to be taken," Malugani responded. "First they
found the contamination and did further studies. Then the process began
with all the government agencies. We did conduct mass public awareness
efforts, but unfortunately they didn't have the (housing) records we have
now."
"We completely understand people's concerns and that's why we're doing
everything we can to try to make them aware and to join the registry."
Menard continues to look for answers. He recently visited the VA Medical
Center in Milwaukee and has been in touch with U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold,
D-Middleton.
He wants disability compensation, but he said his main concern is finding
other veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune who might not know about
the toxic water or the registry.
The results of the studies may be released in 2009, Malugani said, but
it's too early to tell how the government will respond.
"People can go to our Web site to file a claim," she said. "But with the
study not being done and the link not being made to certain illnesses,
they may be waiting a while … we want to do this right, we really do."
A lifelong diagnosis
Menard's cancer went into remission after he had a form of
photochemotherapy that used ultraviolet light. He sees a dermatologist and
oncologist every six months, but there is no known cure, and the disease
could eventually kill him.
Menard doesn't have evidence his cancer can be linked to the toxic water
at Camp Lejeune, but he and his wife say the connection makes sense.
"This is a very rare cancer, only about one person in (a) million get it,
and it's usually in men over 50. He was in his 30s," Debbie Menard said.
Allen Menard said his family doesn't have a history of cancer and doesn't
know of a known genetic link for this type of cancer.
He had not kept in touch with people who were at the base when he was
there, but is now learning of other veterans who spent time there who were
diagnosed with different types of cancers, had liver problems and had
children with birth defects.
Even with his cancer, Allen Menard cherishes memories of his time in the
service.
"Am I upset? Sure," he said. "I think they hid a lot of things. I think
they might be trying to pass the blame now, saying it was the standards of
that time.
"But I'm still proud to be a Marine."
---------------
Skin lymphoma
Mycosis fungoides is a rare form of T-cell lymphoma of the skin; the
disease is typically slowly progressive and chronic. In individuals with
mycosis fungoides, the skin becomes infiltrated with plaques and nodules
that are composed of lymphocytes. In advanced cases, ulcerated tumors and
infiltration of lymph nodes by diseased cells may occur. The disorder may
spread to other parts of the body including the gastrointestinal system,
liver, spleen or brain, according to the National Organization for Rare
Disorders.
On the Net
If you were stationed at Camp Lejeune or have questions, visit
www.Marines.mil .
According to a link from the Web site, the
Department of the Navy is funding two independent research initiatives.
The Center for Disease Control's Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease
Registry is conducting a study to determine if there is an association
between exposure to the water and certain adverse health effects. The
National Academy of Sciences is reviewing scientific evidence on
associations between adverse health effects and historical data.
The Marine Corps is asking all those who lived or
worked at Camp Lejeune in 1987 or earlier to register to receive
notifications regarding the drinking water issue.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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