Vietnam Vet and exposure to Benzene

Posted by rbhawk48 @rbhawk48, Oct 24 5:21am

NOTE: Forum Monitors. New to this site.
Please advise if I am incorrectly posting in this forum and please provide site info I should be addressing.

76 years of age. Daily Benzene exposure via JP4 refueling, cleaning Aircraft, cleaning weapons during the Vietnam conflict.
Presently, Platelet count runs between 50 to 65K. Red and White cells are low as well . Present Hematologist has not declared Thrombocytopenia. (Believe I need a new Doctor.)
Additionally, any Vets/Civilians (not just Vietnam Vets) involved in fueling, handling, transporting of JP4 that has low blood numbers or anyone in the petro-chem industry that may have been exposed via JP4,
may have been exposed to Benzene, Toulene, Naptha and a host of chems added to this fuel,
May now possibly have a clue to add to the mix for your condition. FDA, NIH, OSHA and others have declared Benzene as a factor in Cancers and blood disorders. Benzene can be absorbed thru the skin in direct contact. Benzene fumes thru the lungs.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Blood Cancers & Disorders Support Group.

kayabbott | @kayabbott | Oct 25 8:27am

Getting second opinion is good. There are a number of papers on exposure to various organic chemicals in ResearchGate. Agent Orange was a nasty chemical as well. There are a lot of folk on this forum so hopefully you can get some more direct answers.

nohrt4me | @nohrt4me | Oct 25 9:27am

MPN Advocacy and Education International has been trying, on behalf of Vietnam era vets, to get the VA to include MPNs on the presumptive list for years. The link to their advocacy page is here:
https://mpnadvocacy.com/blood-cancer-advocacy/
This may be of interest depending on your eventual diagnosis. Hope your doc gets on the stick with that.

Dad worked in the plant where they made Agent Orange and napalm. We both ended up with ET. Finding environmental causes for these cancers, however, is not high priority.

Best to you.

janetlen | @janetlen | Oct 25 10:05am

rbhawk48
A 2nd opinion would be helpful. Can you file for benefits under the Pact Act? I have MDS. The chromosome changes I have suggest exposure, which I know happened. I now have an attorney helping me with a benefits claim. I am not hopeful. Since Vet's, all eras, have a higher incidence of exposure and blood cancers the blood cancers should be on the presumptive list for all eras, but it probably won't happen in my lifetime.

rbhawk48 | @rbhawk48 | Oct 25 12:54pm

In reply to @nohrt4me "MPN Advocacy and Education International has been trying, on behalf of Vietnam era vets, to get..." + (show)

Our one possible saving grace may the Camp LeJune fiasco.
The published list of toxic chems has Benzene in it.
May be a point I can run with.

bluegrasspv2018 | @bluegrasspv2018 | Oct 25 1:25pm

Hello, my fellow veteran, I too was exposed to many dangerous chemicals, pollutants, and contaminants. I was stationed at Fort McClellan, AL which was a total biohazard dump, along with Iraq and Afghanistan burn pits. From your posting, I gather you too were exposed to many hazardous, dangerous chemicals. The new buzzword for veterans is, "Toxic Exposure Risk Activity" (TERA). I am 65 years young. I retired from the army in 2013. In 2018 I became a member of the Polycythemia Vera (PV) club which I believe to be caused by my exposure to the dirty places our government sent me to. The Patient-Centered Care and Treatment Act (PACT) signed in 2022 recognizes many conditions as "Service-Connected." I applied to the Veterans Affairs (VA) for compensation for my PV. I fought the VA for 3 years, and 4 months before I got my PV service-connected. The VA compensation pay is not bad but the big benefit is this gives me free medical treatment at the VA for my PV condition. I wish you the best of luck, from the pollution-free state of Kentucky. J.

Please sign in or register to post a reply.