Vietnam Vets With Cml

[Terry Hackett]

Our son who is 29 was just diagnosed with CML Leukemia. My husband served in Vietnam in the late 60 and was covered in Agent Orange. It appears from reading these messages that there are other Vietnam veterans whose children are being diagnosed with CML. Being such a rare disease especially in children too many of them seem to be from Vietnam Vets. Exactly how many of them are out there. The targeted drugs seem to be working but at an a co pay of $1800 a month. They are working on getting him financial help or discount through the pharmacy/drug company but they are saying this could be a life time cost. Anyone out there making any progress with getting help from the VA for this?

[GBArmy]

Hi Terry. Sorry about your son's issues. A few things come to mind. steps to go to the specific med first. Probably would have to get a rationale letter from his doc. Going thru his doc's office can possibly get a critical drug free or a greatly reduced cost; all pharmaseudical companies have that kind of relief for a limited number of patients. We have that for one of my wife's drugs. Times are changing; the Congress right now is all for veterans rights; 4 years from now, who knows. Point is I would file a claim for the illness. You will be denied but it's possible that the VA will be forced to cover illnesses of children of Vietnam veterans someday. We just got 3 more presumptive diseases added to the AO list last year, so maybe. That took 50 years for Congress to force the VA to accept their responsibility, maybe more to come. We wish him well.

[Buck52]

The children of Vietnam veterans and occasionally even their grandchildren have also dealt with significant health problems from Agent Orange exposure as well. Birth defects such as neural tube defects are the most common effects of Agent Orange in the second generation exposed to Agent Orange. That's the bad news.

The VA will provide disability benefits to children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. The VA disability rating for spina bifida, for example, can range from Level One (least debilitating) to Level Three (most debilitating)

Unfortunately 

There is currently no definitive evidence that a father's exposure to Agent Orange exposure causes birth defects. However, an analysis of Agent Orange registry data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) suggests a link between males' exposure to Agent Orange and having children with certain birth defects.

However all is not lost   with this conflicting statements

As the spouse or dependent child of a Veteran or service member, you may qualify for certain benefits, like health care, life insurance, or money to help pay for school or training. ... If you're caring for a Veteran, you may also be eligible for support to help you better care for the Veteran

 

I would talk to a VA Representative about this at your Local VAMC  maybe the VBA Office VSO. They can Advise and they also would have the correct Forms to file  ect,,ect,,

Edited March 29, 2021 by Buck52