Posted on May 7, 2016
Vietnam Vets With Agent Orange-Linked Cancer Are Still Waiting For Justice
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Vietnam veterans describe the feeling of abandonment by the VA for not acknowledging their bladder cancer is linked to Agent Orange.
For decades, veterans of the Vietnam War have been pushing to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to acknowledge the link between exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange and certain long-term medical conditions, including cancer.
Alan Eller is one such Army veteran who has filed three VA claims, over more than a decade, to make the connection between Agent Orange and his diagnosis with bladder cancer.
Even though doctors outside the VA certified the link between his cancer and his service, the VA has rejected all of Eller’s claims.
“My doctors have been telling me Agent Orange probably caused the cancer dating back almost 20 years now,” Eller told ProPublica. “It’s been a fight at every turn with the VA.”
An ongoing research project by ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot has been documenting the stories of Vietnam veterans and family members who are coping with the lifelong health effects of Agent Orange. Of the 5,000 veterans they spoke to, they found more than 125 cases of bladder cancer.
In March 2016, the National Academies of Sciences released a report sponsored by the VA, called “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2014,” which moved bladder cancer and hyperthyroidism from “inadequate or insufficient” evidence to “limited or suggestive” evidence of connection to Agent Orange exposure. The report further recommended that the VA include bladder cancer on the list of conditions presumed to be linked to Agent Orange. At this time, no action has be taken.
“I feel like the government’s kinda letting me down with this thing,” said Charles Marshen, a Vietnam vet with bladder cancer, in a video by ProPublica. “But I don’t hold anything against my country. I can’t do that.”
Agent Orange was one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the military during the Vietnam War to kill plant life so American forces could see the enemy through the jungle. From 1961 to 1971, the United States sprayed 20,000,000 gallons over enemy-held territories.
Below Chuck Logan, 73, talks about his exposure to Agent Orange and his experience with bladder cancer and the VA.
For decades, veterans of the Vietnam War have been pushing to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to acknowledge the link between exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange and certain long-term medical conditions, including cancer.
Alan Eller is one such Army veteran who has filed three VA claims, over more than a decade, to make the connection between Agent Orange and his diagnosis with bladder cancer.
Even though doctors outside the VA certified the link between his cancer and his service, the VA has rejected all of Eller’s claims.
“My doctors have been telling me Agent Orange probably caused the cancer dating back almost 20 years now,” Eller told ProPublica. “It’s been a fight at every turn with the VA.”
An ongoing research project by ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot has been documenting the stories of Vietnam veterans and family members who are coping with the lifelong health effects of Agent Orange. Of the 5,000 veterans they spoke to, they found more than 125 cases of bladder cancer.
In March 2016, the National Academies of Sciences released a report sponsored by the VA, called “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2014,” which moved bladder cancer and hyperthyroidism from “inadequate or insufficient” evidence to “limited or suggestive” evidence of connection to Agent Orange exposure. The report further recommended that the VA include bladder cancer on the list of conditions presumed to be linked to Agent Orange. At this time, no action has be taken.
“I feel like the government’s kinda letting me down with this thing,” said Charles Marshen, a Vietnam vet with bladder cancer, in a video by ProPublica. “But I don’t hold anything against my country. I can’t do that.”
Agent Orange was one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the military during the Vietnam War to kill plant life so American forces could see the enemy through the jungle. From 1961 to 1971, the United States sprayed 20,000,000 gallons over enemy-held territories.
Below Chuck Logan, 73, talks about his exposure to Agent Orange and his experience with bladder cancer and the VA.
Vietnam Vets With Agent Orange-Linked Cancer Are Still Waiting For Justice
Posted from taskandpurpose.comPosted in these groups: 
Vietnam War
Agent Orange
Vietnam War Agent Orange
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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I handled, mixed by hand and power sprayed AGENT ORANGE HERBICIDES ON ANDERSEN.AFB GUAM DURING THE VIETNAM WAR AND LATER. I have 4 cancers and ischemic heart disease as well as 32 other autoimmune diseases
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I, too, am waiting on a decision from the VA. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer 4 years ago. Each time I hear that a decision will be made, it gets pushed off to another time or another administration. The facts are in and the determination is in. How hard can it be to put this and the other problems on the presumptive list?
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SFC Bob Wilgus
We found the cancer had returned in April 2019 and started all over after the surgery in July 2019. How many more administrations do we have to go through before they take care of the veterans like they promised?
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SFC Bob Wilgus
This past December 30th, it was discovered that my bladder cancer has returned for the third time. Now, waiting for a surgery date. Now, they say the decision is pushed to later in 2020. How many times have we heard that? How many more will die before the government will make a decision?
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