Vietnam Vets with Cholangiocarcinoma

Lourdes…..Sheila Harrison has been of help to many VA Vets and families. Certainly she knows how to fill out the required forms. Here is her website:
http://www.engineersvietnam.com/network/prasite/warning.htm
All my best wishes,
Marion

I know that this post is from a while back but I thought if anyone is still trying to keep track of information and connection between CC and Vietnam Vets I’d share that my dad, who served in Vietnam in 1967-68, has recently been diagnosed with CC. No known risk factors, he’s been generally healthy up until this came up so he keeps asking himself where did it come from. (and all we get from doctors is “bad luck” ~ thanks a lot!).

No plans to send anything to the VA but hoping that anyone else trying to get responses from the VA is successful.

~Lourdes

UPDATE: Three weeks after the attempted resection with my Dad, he was admitted to the hospital after experiencing hallucinations, and then soon his speech became incoherent. He had been disoriented in the mornings but then things would get better during the day, so we assumed it was lack of sleep and stress from the big surgery he had. We never really got any post-op instructions on what to look for with infection besides fever, and a nurse was coming to the house regularly to check his vitals. The doctors at the hospital believed that he was suffering from some sort of infection and eventually, they found a mass in the gallbladder area while doing a scan. They drained fluid (enough to fill a coke can) from the place where his gallbladder had been removed. They put him on a series of antibiotics, but nothing seemed to work. He passed away Saturday morning, August 28, 2010 (his surgery was on July 28th). So if anyone sees signs of disorientation, incoherent speech or hallucination after surgery, these are serious signs of possible infection that should not be ignored.

My father was just diagnosed with bile duct cancer last week. He is in stage 4 and the prognosis is not good. He served in Vietnam from 1967-1968. He was also stationed in Korea (hardship tour) for a year in 1978. I will have to ask him where he served in Vietnam when he is feeling better. He is 74 years old, so this surgery has taken it’s toll. We have been told that the cancer has enveloped the arteries that go into the liver and it is incurable at this stage.

Hi Stacy:

My husband Tom was never in Vietnam so we know that he did not contract Cholangiocarcinoma there. However, he was stationed in Germany in the motor pool. He has put in a claim to the VA for service connected disability based on his exposure to Chromium 6, a PCB, which has been proved to cause liver cancer. The VA used green army paint which contained Chromium 6 and just recently in about 2006 switched their paint to a paint that contains Chromium 3 which is safer that Chromium 6 based paint.

We do not have an answer to his VA claim as of yet, but just recently had to travel to Milwaukee and meet with a ‘independent’ doctor hired by the VA to go over the claim and make a decision. I have read a lot of the denials on the VA website, which posts all the claims and the decisions. The one common theme that I did pick up on was that most (if not all) the claims for service connection have been filed by the widows of the Veteran, not by the actual Veteran. In Tom’s case, he is the actual Veteran filing the claim and hopefully that will have some bearing on the decision.

We plan to appeal if it is turned down becuase there is NO HISTORY of anyone in his family ever having cancer. If the VA can give service connected disablity for type 2 diabetes, they really need to be looking at all the Veterans who are coming down with Cholangiocarcinoma and start recognizing this disease as service connected, whether it comes from the Rice Paddies, the fish, the water in Asia, or from PCB’s such as Chromium 6. I have heard from other Veterans that have fought to get service connected disabilities that sometimes you have to appeal it three and four times before they will approve it.

The funniest part of all the paperwork that has to be filled out is the question “Did you have any symptoms when you left the service”. Of course not because exposure to the Aisan Fish Fluke or exposure to PCB’s that cause cancer can take 40 to 60 years to manifest itself and start causing problems.

All the literature that we sent along with Tom’s VA claim showed those stats over and over again. It does not, however, seem to matter to the VA, since there was no evidence of the Cholangiocarcinoma when the Veteran ‘left the service’ that seems to be the one theme that they are using to deny these claims. I feel that if the actual Veteran’s start putting in these claims (while they are still alive) that some of the rulings would turn out differently. However, in some instances, like Darla’s husband Jim, there simply isn’t enough time between diagnosis and the death of the Veteran to even begin to file for a service connection! As unfortunate as that is, the widows of these Veterans need to continue to appeal and appeal again if necessary.

I also believe that there are many, many people who belive that Cholangioncarcinoma is ONLY caused by the Asian Liver Fluke, and that is incorrect. PCB’s and exposure to them also causes Cholangiocarcinoma.

Go with God and KEEP KICKIN’ THAT cancer.

Margaret (My husband and Cholangiocarcinoma)

Hi Stacy,

Welcome to the site. I can’t help you with this, but I wanted to join in with Marion in welcoming you here. Hopefully others will be along soon that can help you with this and I wish you every success.

My best wishes to you,

Gavin

Has anyone had success with their application or appeal to the VA? We just received our initial denial, but are continuing the fight! Any helpful tips would be appreciated.