Esophageal Cancer (adenocarcinoma)

[sjh4951]

My late husband was a US Marine and served in Viet nam from 1967-1969. He was a machine gunner and stationed in I Corp among other areas. In 2004 he was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer. No family history, no Barretts. On May 30, 2006 (the day before our 37th wedding anniversary) he died from this horrible cancer. He was only 57 years old.

I am interested in knowing if there are any vets on this site who have esophageal cancer.

My husband was denied by the VA for compensation. I filed for DIC (had 7 doctor letters all stating in their opinion..) but the VA still denied my claim. I am now appealing.

I have located through the internet approx. 15 widows who have all lost their Vietnam vet husbands to EC. We have all spent many hours researching the web and have located approx. 10 VA claims for EC that have been approved...hundreds that have not.

IF YOU OR YOUR LOVED ON HAS SUFFERED FROM ESOPAHGEAL CANCER PLEASE REPLY!!

Thanks for a wonderful site!

Susan

[Johnny K.]

My late husband was a US Marine and served in Viet nam from 1967-1969. He was a machine gunner and stationed in I Corp among other areas. In 2004 he was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer. No family history, no Barretts. On May 30, 2006 (the day before our 37th wedding anniversary) he died from this horrible cancer. He was only 57 years old. I am interested in knowing if there are any vets on this site who have esophageal cancer.

My husband was denied by the VA for compensation. I filed for DIC (had 7 doctor letters all stating in their opinion..) but the VA still denied my claim. I am now appealing.

I have located through the internet approx. 15 widows who have all lost their Vietnam vet husbands to EC. We have all spent many hours researching the web and have located approx. 10 VA claims for EC that have been approved...hundreds that have not.

IF YOU OR YOUR LOVED ON HAS SUFFERED FROM ESOPAHGEAL CANCER PLEASE REPLY!!

Thanks for a wonderful site!

Susan

Hello Susan,

Thank you for your sacrifices. My sympathies to you and your family. Your husband is a hero to our country.

I am an old USMC / Navy Hospital Corpsman. I am in remission with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. I had surgery, radiation and chemo beginning in September of 2000-February of 2001. My oncologists told me that the cause (etiology) of my cancer was unknown but was NOT caused by smoking, but was certainly exacerbated by "stress". The cancer was not esophogeal but was in the buccal mucosa inside my cheek.

I was a grunt platoon corpsman with the Marines from 1973-1992, including my Reserve duty and a recall during the first Gulf War.

I am now a disabled vet with a VA disability rating of 0% for PTSD and major depressive disorder. I would like to get service connection for the cancer, but I do not know how to make that happen. My brother Jim died of lung cancer last year at age 59. He received his first disability check the week before he died.

He, too, was a Hospital Corpsman on the Hospital Ship USS Repose off the coast of Vietnam in 1967-1969.

My VSO says the VA holds lung cancer to be a "presumptive" service connected disability.

My best to you on your quest,

John

[sjh4951]

STS- Soft Tissue Sarcomas-

the VA lists 35 or more types of STS cancers that are attributed to Agent Orange.

Adenocarcinoma is not really the same as adenosarcoma.I think they would both be STS cancers but I am not a doctor so not sure-

I feel that (if the VA had denied based on smoking or denied saying this was not an Agent Orange cancer-) that this will definitely take a strong medical opinon from an oncologist

to show that this was an STS cancer, caused by the veteran's exposure to AO, and that there is no other known etiology (such as smoking) for the veteran to have this type of cancer.

If the VA has already considered the 7 letters you mentioned from doctors and has denied- this definitely will take more medical expertise and an opinion that fully follows the VA IMO criteria.

They can rule out squamous and B and T cell cancers such as this article on adenocarcinomas:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...i?artid=1308827

And could rule out any smoking or drinking as the etiology as both os these are considered factors in development of esophagal cancers such as within this article:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...i?artid=1374251

If VA denied on a smoking or alcohol comsumption basis- known in medical community as causual to this type of cancer-

a good IMO cancer doctor could rebutt that with medical evidence to show that these did not cause your husband's type of cancer- therefore AO did.

GERD however is another reason one can get esophagal cancer.

This widow proved her husband's in service GERD caused his esophagal adenocarcinoma . He died due to the same cause that your husband did.

It appears that the widow did receive DIC-but I cannot tell by this award because she filed at the BVA solely for accrued benefits.

"At the time of the veteran's death, medical evidence

established a diagnosis of GERD, credible evidence had been

presented that the veteran had sought treatment for

gastrointestinal symptoms during active duty, and a link

(established by medical evidence, particularly the opinions

of Drs. Kinney and Metzner-Sadurski) related the in-service

gastrointestinal symptoms to the veteran's GERD.

Accordingly, resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the

veteran, the Board concludes that, for purposes of accrued

benefits, the veteran's GERD was incurred in active service.

38 U.S.C.A. § 5107."

This was a posthumous award- apparently this claim was pending for the GERD when the veteran died.

The widow proved he had GERD in service.

The BVA accepted a treatise showing the strong association between GERD and this type of cancer.

Agent Orange was not a factor.

An independent medical doctor has to have the STS list and then opine if your husband's cancer falls into this list in any way at all.

Also they should have a guideline to the type of IMO that VA needs.

That format is available under "Getting an IMO" in the search feature.

It is available here under a search.

The fact it was metasic is another factor VA considered- this could mean many things that would rule out AO cancer.

Did he have any symptoms documented whatsoever in his SMRs that might find he had GERD and then that the inservice GERD caused this type of cancer?

[sjh4951]

Sorry that I was unable to respond sooner.

STS..I followed the link that you provided and talked with LIVE HELP there at the NCI. I was told that esophageal cancer is not a soft tissue sarcoma.

A Sarcoma is cancer that begins in the:

Bone

Cartilage

Fat

Muscle

Blood Vessels

or other connective or supportive tissues

A Carcinoma is cancer that begins in the skin or in the tussues that line or cover internal organs.

My late husband had adenocarcinoma (esophageal cancer) His cause of death was listed as esophageal cancer w/mets.

HIs gastrointrologist, surgeon and oncologist all wrote letters stating that my husbands cancer was as likely as not caused from agent orange. His gastro doctor stated that he felt agent orange was causal, that my husband had no other risk factors nor a family history of cancer. All three doctors wrote two letters. The VA doctor that my husband saw (eye,nose,throat doctor) said that he was not an expert in that cancer field but that he knew of my husbands other doctors and that they were all well-known in their field. He also suggested (stated!) that the VA should not request that my husband see another of their doctors as he was clearly in a terminal condition. The VA still requested that Bill see another doctor. I got a letter from his oncologist to send to the VA stating that he could not make the trip as he was too ill by then. THATVA doctor (that never saw my husband)said he reviewed ONE letter plus some study he must have found on the internet and made his decision that Bill's cancer was not caused by agent orange. The VA used his letter to deny my case.

I would think that with everything that Bill and then I sent to the VA that the weight of evidence would have been in his (my) favor. Not so...just flatly denied. I am appealing now. It will probably take atleast two years but that's ok...the time will pass anyway.

Another in the group of widows that I chat with (she's in Wisconsin) just had her claim approved. Her husband also died from esophageal cancer. Her state rep (Steve Kagen) spoke in her behalf at her hearing. He is also a doctor. I was told that he is trying to get esophageal cancer on the presumptive list.

Thanks for your replys to my previous e mail. I need all of the advise I can get.

[ronn]

My late husband was a US Marine and served in Viet nam from 1967-1969. He was a machine gunner and stationed in I Corp among other areas. In 2004 he was diagnosed with advanced esophageal cancer. No family history, no Barretts. On May 30, 2006 (the day before our 37th wedding anniversary) he died from this horrible cancer. He was only 57 years old.

I am interested in knowing if there are any vets on this site who have esophageal cancer.

My husband was denied by the VA for compensation. I filed for DIC (had 7 doctor letters all stating in their opinion..) but the VA still denied my claim. I am now appealing.

I have located through the internet approx. 15 widows who have all lost their Vietnam vet husbands to EC. We have all spent many hours researching the web and have located approx. 10 VA claims for EC that have been approved...hundreds that have not.

IF YOU OR YOUR LOVED ON HAS SUFFERED FROM ESOPAHGEAL CANCER PLEASE REPLY!!

Thanks for a wonderful site!

Susan

I was dignoised in 2003 for cancer of the throat. It involved my tongue,vocal cord and esophagus. Had chemo, radation and surgey's.

I'm currently rated at 30% for hoarsness only ,. under agent orange.

Pretty sure i was informed that only respaitory cancers were the only ones covered under agent orange by a dav rep.

good luck on this and keep me in the loop ! ronn

[danang_1969]

I was in Nam in 67-69. I have had many esophegal problems, bleeding esopagal ulcers and inflammed but so far I have not been diagnosed with cancer. I have had my esopagas stretched or dialated 5 times due over the past 7 years due to the muscles contracting while eating and causing hanging food to hang in my throat. It would not come up or go down and eventually required being put to sleep and either removing or pushing on down. I have got as desparate as drinking salad oil in an effort to cause it to go down and prevent a trip to the hospital and incur alll those medical bills. I have been on prevacid, prilosec, nexium, and carafat for years. The last time they stretched it they busted an artery in my throat and I lost 3 units of blood and also died. They had to be given blood and spent five days in the hospital. I too have filed on that a esophegal condition due to dioxin exposure and for 10 years and continously am told by the VA there no nexus or casual relationship between that condition and my military service. I have other Vietnam vets that have the same esopagal problems. I am convinced the presumptive list is not complete in it's accuracy and this should be on it. Of course, as Bertha said if his cause of death was esophagal cancer, then I would go to work building my case because it would be presumptive. Sorry to hear of your great loss. God Bless.

Danang _1969