Camp Lejeune & Male BC

Poppy

I have no idea how accurate this information is, but I wanted to pass along the story...

http://www.tceblog.com/posts/1246729809.shtml

17 cases of male breast cancer among those exposed at Camp Lejeune (NC) by Neil Fischbein on Saturday, July 4, 2009 [Permalink] [0 Comments]

And that number appears to be climbing. From today's St. Petersburg Times:

Scientists studying drinking water contamination at Camp Lejeune were startled when 11 men with breast cancer and ties to the North Carolina base were identified over the last two years.

Six more have been found in one week.

Five additional men with breast cancer and a sixth who had a double mastectomy after doctors found precancerous tumors contacted the St. Petersburg Times last week after reading a story about the 11 men with the rare disease.

"This male breast cancer cluster is a smoking gun," breast cancer survivor Mike Partain said on Friday. "You just can't ignore it. You don't need science to tell you something is wrong. It's common sense. It begs to be studied."

[...]

Male breast cancer is exceedingly rare. Just 1,900 men are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year compared with nearly 200,000 women, the American Cancer Society says.

A man has a 1-in-1,000 lifetime chance of getting the disease.

Men who get it are often over 70, though it is rare even in older males. Of the 17 men identified by Partain and the Times, just three are over 70 - the youngest was Partain at 39 - and many have no family history of breast cancer, male or female, according to interviews.

[...]

If you or a family member lived at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and have been diagnosed with male breast cancer, the St. Petersburg Times is interested in talking to you. Please call reporter William R. Levesque at (813) 269-5306 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 5306.

Anyone who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune in 1987 or before can register with the Marine Corps for a health survey. To register or to get more information, visit https://clnr.hqi.usmc.mil/clwater/ or call (877) 261-9782.

Partain's comment refers to a highly-questionable report proffered recently by the National Academy of Sciences which ignored significant available evidence and reached suspiciously preposterous conclusions including, amongst others, that further study of the poisoned population at Camp Lejeune should be both limited and discounted.

Read the full story here.

All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:

1. (Updated) Camp Lejeune lawsuit: What we know so far... (NC)
2. Searching for affected Camp Lejeune Marines and families (MA and IA)
3. 17 cases of male breast cancer among those exposed at Camp Lejeune (NC)
4. New federal lawsuit re: exposure and 'disinformation' at Camp Lejeune (NC)...
5. Limit study of Camp Lejeune, says solvents industry (NC)
6. New community site added - THE STAND (NC)
7. Panel considers Camp Lejeune contamination study (NC)

Deirdre1

This is VERY interesting.. if they can isolate one area then they can start to get a handle on how this affects men (and perhaps women too)!  I was always told that my father probably tested positive to the BRCA gene but he was gone before I even knew to get the test.  After my dx'ed I did get the test and even though I had a father who had bc I was not BRCA + AND my bc was DCIS something that might never turn into invasive cancer!  This is an important research.. it could answer so many questions - right now medical science is assuming that there is a distort to the gene in men who have bc, and as a family member of a male family member who ended up with a dx of bc the medical community didn't really know how to handle my cancer..  There is a grain of evidence here and I hope they get to the bottom of this!!!

My father also had a theory that it was his military career that exposed him to SOMETHING that created the bc... perhaps he was right!!!

Poppy

Deirdre, I don't know of all the causes and what certain pockets of populations might be exposed to, but I know my husband has said that the ship he was on in the Navy (back in the early 80's) had asbestos all over it. He was only in for a couple years, but for career military, who could spend a lifetime on a ship filled with asbestos, obviously that's a red flag! My dad was a doctor who worked in a certain building, on a certain floor, in a certain office, for 25 years. Before he developed lung cancer, another man on the floor developed brain cancer and died, then my dad, then another w/ cancer, then another. 4 good friends, all on the same floor for 25ish years, all leading healthy lives, die from cancer w/in a couple years? My step-mom said she had the building tested and it showed nothing unusual, but I don't believe that. I mean I believe HER, but I don't believe that there's no connection between the hospital building / something in the air, water / and their deaths. I'm sure your dad was right on the money. xo

holligoog

I just saw this story on CNN. How sad it is that our government will not support them!

Jelson

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/13/camp-lejeune-water-contamination-navy-letter_n_1203465.html

 an update and mention of a new documentary about Camp Lejeune and BC

Galsal

When was at the Breast Clinic at the VA for the diagnosis appt, Nurse shared that out of the 8 appts that day, 5 were for men.  This is a retirement area though and a number of their male breast cancer patients are from the Lejuene debacle.

Soccermom4force

http://mobile.washingtonpost.com/c.jsp?item=http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/documentary-reveals-how-contaminated-water-at-the-nations-largest-marine-base-damaged-lives/2012/01/10/gIQAfpy4GQ_mobile.mobile&cid=578815&spf=1



Documentary film on the Camp LeJeune water supply

D4Hope

My dad was stationed in Camp lejuene in the sixties, In fact that is where Myself and two of my brothers were born. Dad had colon cancer at 49. We lived there for five years.

CassieCat

This is an old topic, but I'm wondering if any other members of BCO spent time at Camp Lejeune? I was born there, so my mom was drinking the water while pregnant, and we lived there for a while after I was born. There's no way to really know if there's a connection between my BC and ingesting the water there, but there's no BC in my family, and hardly even any cancer. I think my dad wonders if my time at Camp Lejeune may have contributed to my cancer.

lekker

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/camp-lejeune/index.asp I remembered seeing something about special benefits for those stationed at Lejeune while I was researching the VA for my dad.

concernedhubbyalan

I was stationed at Lejeune. Blecccch!

CassieCat

This is helpful information for family members of those stationed there: https://www.clfamilymembers.fsc.va.gov/. I am in the process of applying for benefits.

CassieCat

In case anyone stumbles upon this thread, I am still in the process of getting reimbursed for my expenses, but I did get approved for the program.