View Single Post
  #8  
Old Sun Aug 28, 2016, 02:00 PM
rar rar is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: colorado
Posts: 215
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the reply. I served 1958 to 1962 which the VA does not consider Vietnam era, other government agencies do. I was never in country. That is why I am trying to claim for MDS based on benzene. I realize it may be a bit of a stretch. Benzene exposure is among the more likely causes of MDS so I figure it is worth a try and the VA denial is not factual. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am fortunate to have not seen service in Vietnam.

Hi Niel,
Attached is a summary of my Army service and my experience with MDS. I will attach as an foot note to the letter to Dr. Steensma. I would appreciate any further comments. Yes they are lengthy but I think it is relevant,


My military service:

I enlisted in he Army November 1958. I did basic training Fort Dix NJ. I was offered OCS and declined. I was sent to Army Security Agency School, Fort Devens MA. I completed Morse Intercept operator school and Radio Direction Finding School and finished Number 1 in my class. I was sent to Frankfurt Germany as a Radio Teletype Operator. I served that duty for about a year. I was then given the job as company armorer and served about a year. It was my duty to issue and retrieve arms for regular use, do minor repairs on all weapons, clean company issued weapons, and prepare for use replacement weapons. Minor repairs frequently involved cleaning replacement parts of their cosmoline. Cleaning was done on a regular basis and required various solvents. When the company switched from M1/2 Carbines and MI Garrand rifles to M14 rifles there were over 100 that had to be cleaned of hardened cosmoline. All this activity was done in the basement arms room whose only ventilation was the door that opened to the basement. Routine cleaning was done with gasoline and various petroleum based gun oils. For hardened cosmoline I was issued a sweet smelling solvent that I was told contained benzene. Safety precautions were different in the early 1960’s and I was issued no gloves or respiratory safety equipment. I was honorable discharged Feb 1962. As is frequently the case with cancer I did not show any symptoms of my MDS for many years.

A brief history of my illness:

Feb. 2014 a routine blood test was diagnosed as MDS so mild it would never need treatment. Apr. 2014 I was told I had MSD RAEB II. I volunteered for a phase 1 clinical trial of AG221. In 2 months blasts went from 14% to 2%. July 2014 received a stem cell transplant from my sister. Blood counts inproved and I was almost recovered. Oct 2014 ran a fever. I was admitted to hospital with C.diff, CMV, and GVHD of the gut grade III/IIII. After 2 month stay I was discharged with TPN in much worse condition than when I was admitted. I went for 3 months without being able to eat. I recovered slowly and by July 2015 my prednisone had been tapered to 5 mg. every 3 days. My doctors decided to remove me all my transplant drugs. A week later I came down with GVHD affecting my teeth, mouth, throat, eyes, and itchy rash from head to toe. I was put back on transplant drugs with 120 mg. prednisone. Pred was tapered slowly to 3.75 mg. in Jun. 2016. Sep. 2016 after feeling fatigued, dizzy, low blood pressure, etc. I was found to have adrenal failure attributed to pred over the past 2 years. I was put back on 7.5 mg. pred which had little or no improvement. Rash did heal in a couple weeks, other problems still exist with adrenal failure along with a number of skin cancers.
Reply With Quote