HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Prior Militairy Under 50

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/5/2013 3:03 AM (GMT 0)
I am trying to find those of us who have or have had PC and are NON-Vietnam era Veterans. What kind of luck have you had getting "service connected"?
Posted 2/5/2013 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Michael is retired military. He retired 2011, and his PCa is service connected
Posted 2/5/2013 3:23 AM (GMT 0)
Not sure how it can be service connected....unless you can tie it to being exposed to some chemical in desert storm.

Not sure that can cause prostate cancer though....maybe lung or throat cancer.

Posted 2/5/2013 5:55 AM (GMT 0)
TCE or trichloroethane, also known as trich, or trike is known to cause the same effects as agent orange, but isn't published extensively. Those of us in the service in the 80's used it without concern to clean aircraft parts and do hydraulic samples without question. I do know of one that has proved his serviced connected. There are more of us that need to prove ours. We need to prove a precedence. We need to stick together and prove our case.
Posted 2/5/2013 6:15 AM (GMT 0)
i used to soak my hand in that crap when cleaning wheel bearings and other parts.

ed

 

Posted 2/5/2013 6:26 AM (GMT 0)
I was forced to make the decision by myself. My other half at the time of diagnosis decided to leave soon after. I chose radiation due to what other VETs that had gone through the procedure of radical prostate removal told me what they had gone through as well as their recovery times. I have since found someone that will stand beside me no matter what comes along, and have married her for better or worse. I am a lucky man for finding her. Knew her for 35 yrs before we got married, and our first night together was after my first day of treatment. I informed her, and she informed herself of what may be to come. She hasn't faltered and has stayed by my side ever since. I do have some side effects of ED and inability to climax without pumps and pills. However, life is good and getting better. Wish me luck everyone. Because of this, I did find my other half. God does work in mysterious ways.
Posted 2/5/2013 8:34 AM (GMT 0)
RW

Thanks for posting. I am ex Air Force, when I first went in I worked F15 Eagles (where Eaglekeeper came from), I remember being told that a green can that I would use as an antiseize compound was a cancer causing agent. I always thought it was MIL-L-7808 but now am not sure, used Trich also. My dad is ex Air Force also but was radar operator, he is a prostate cancer survivor also (15+ years). I wondered if it would be worth trying to research. I don't know if I'll be told that I inherited PC.

Posted 2/5/2013 1:58 PM (GMT 0)
I spent 20 years in the Air Force, 1981 to 2001.  My first 6 years was spent in aircraft maintenance and we used  trichloroethylene as a degreaser to clean parts.

Although it is clearly a carcinogen, I think I'd be hard pressed to prove that trichloroethylene caused my PCa twenty-five years after my last exposure to it.  But I suppose it could have.

Susan - How was your husband's PCa proven to be service-connected?

Posted 2/5/2013 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
You have up to one year after discharge to file a claim for VA disability.   There are a few exceptions, one being Vietnam and agent orange.   Outside of the one year window it’s difficult, but not impossible, to succeed in a claim.   Within that one year window if you had/have PCa, a claim can be easily approved, regardless of what was thought to be the cause.   Awarded service connected disability will be back dated to the date of discharge within the one year window.  Outside the one year window, it's back dated to the date of the claim.  If you have a copy of your military medical records, and PSA, FPSA shows signs that PCa was lurking, you would have a shot outside of the one year window.
Posted 2/5/2013 2:34 PM (GMT 0)
He was diagnosed while still active duty
Posted 2/5/2013 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting discussion.   It is relevant to note that prostate cancer is a ubiquitous disease , affecting as many as two-thirds of men in their 60s (by age 60 most men have PC and don’t even know that they have it, and most never will know they have it and don’t necessarily need to know because it will not affect their lives).   Similarly, at 40, about 40% of men have PC—not diagnosed, but present.   Many men (not all) here are a product of our times—the “PSA-era”—where increased screening, increased rates of prostate biopsy, and increased sampling of the prostate during biopsy have created new levels of cancer victims.   Pre-PSA-era, the indolent prostate cancers were largely ignored as harmless (and they were); today, those same cancers are often aggressively cut, burned or poisoned.  
Posted 2/5/2013 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
VA definition,

Service Connected Disability: Veterans who are disabled by an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active military service. These disabilities are considered to be service-connected.

I bolded and underlined the words above.

 

Posted 2/6/2013 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
Interesting topic. I am 40 Years old. Currently active duty (21 years) I looked into it a little bit. I don't know if I would call is service connected. I do know if your are diagnosed and have Cancer you are considered 100% disabled by the VA. At least that is until you are 'cured' then you are 0%. Because it has been fixed. ED that is always a bit of a side-effect of the 'cure' is a % of some sort. That is difficult to read and figure out. That incontinence has to be with the number of pads per day you go through.

I don't really care much. I just know that two people in my command (We only have 18 people) were diagnosed with PCa within 2 months. Mine was T3, the other guy was T2b.

We also have one other guy that has a high PSA right now. So that would be three out of 18. That is really high not to be something we have been exposed too not having something to do with it. We just don't know what it could be though.

I work on on alot of RF producing stuff. One is an Office *****, LOL. I hope he ain't on here, and the other has also worked on RF stuff.
Posted 2/13/2013 6:09 AM (GMT 0)
Susan, sorry to hear about your husband. It must have been a hard decision for him to chose Di Vinci at such a young age. I know it must be hard for you too. Prayers to you both.

I have no family history of PC other than one 3rd cousin. Both of my grandfathers died cancer free, both as far as I know were tested for PC, One was 82, the other 89. My father is 73, had the "roto rooter" performed on his prostate just last year due to enlargement. All material was tested, and no cancer found. While there is a potential predisposition for PC, I have been told that I am not a likely candidate for it.

I have worked on aircraft predominantly since 1985. While at Cecil from 86 to 88, we used trichloroethane daily. I understand it was outlawed on base in 1989. On the civilian side, I have not seen a repair or manufacturing facility use it. After much research, it is the only connection to PC I have been able to find.
Posted 2/14/2013 5:42 AM (GMT 0)
Eagle keeper, Mil 7808 was the turbine engine oil use on most jet engines the Green can suppose to wear protective gloves to service oil. The red can was hydraulic oil Mil 5606, most of the anti-sieze compounds were graphite based called molybendium or molly be damed. Used a lot of tricloh (trike) until MSDS labled it as a hazmat. We also used a lot of MEK (keytone) and acetone for cleaners. In the early days of the military we were not giving much on safety instructions, to include hearing protection...Macho, take it like a man that what they use to say!!!Look at us now, trying to talk to the VA, like talking to the wall...Good luck brother...
Posted 2/25/2013 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
what about chernobyl? I was in Germany when that happened.
Posted 2/25/2013 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
Navy Chief ,
I have worked with high energy RF for years but I'm not military. Does that count?
Jeff
Posted 2/25/2013 4:17 AM (GMT 0)
Non-Viet Nam era vet here, but I doubt my service had anything to do with it. My genetic markers, on the other hand, were screaming "General Quarters--all hands to battle stations--set Material Condition Zebra throughout the ship!" but I didn't know it at the time.

I was on a carrier, but didn't touch aircraft, parts, solvents, as far as I know. I worked in a very clean environment. Now the bad food, Navy coffee, eight on/eight off 7 days a week shifts, and San Miguel beer might have accelerated things...who knows.

G.
Posted 2/25/2013 7:54 PM (GMT 0)
8 on/8 off. Never did any of that before 12on/12off 7 days a week. Now thats the way its supposed to be right there.

I am not trying to say I got anything from my miltary time. I am just keeping my ears open.

 

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply