Hundreds of thousands of servicemen were exposed to asbestos over decades, especially during the period from 1940 to 1980. Asbestos was used in construction of naval vessels as well as shore facilities. All branches of the military used asbestos, which was also widely used in civilian applications. Asbestos can cause mesothelioma. Because this cancer has a particularly long latency period, many servicemen who were exposed years ago are now developing this disease.
- Mesothelioma Patient & Family Resources: Mesotheliomahelp is provided by Belluck & Fox, LLP as a comprehensive resource for mesothelioma victims and their families. The site provides up-to-date information on the latest news and treatment options as well as an easy to use search feature to find local mesothelioma doctors and health care clinics.
We fight for veterans harmed by asbestos: Veterans with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer should know they have options: the opportunity to bring a suit against manufacturers and sellers of the asbestos that caused their illness. If you were harmed by asbestos exposure, for example, in ships or military housing, contact Weitz & Luxenberg to get a free case review.
Important Information for Veterans: Asbestos products were often used on military ships and within military housing, and Veterans may have been exposed. Previous exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that has no cure and affects countless Veterans and loved ones. For more information regarding military asbestos exposure visit Mesothelioma.com
HERPES ZOSTER(SHINGLES)- YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO AVOID IT!
By Carol Ware Duff MSN, BA, RN
Shingles is an malady that can cause blisters which can produce intense pain and affect the way you deal with the usual activities of daily living. There is an adult vaccination that can give you protection against Herpes Zoster.
Gulf War Veterans Forgotten in the US House of Representatives and US Senate?
Gulf War Veterans have been asking for Senate VA Committee Hearings or Joint House and Senate VA Committee Hearing in regards to the loss of a 75 million dollar research effort at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas led by DR Haley. Its supporters Ross Perot and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson have been strangely quiet. The major media has also chosen not to investigate and report this story.
Special Report: Follow UP: SPC Dennis - Please get in touch with us!
SPC Dennis you are still in our thoughts! We still want contact directly with you! Email DSNurse1@yahoo.com
Reference previous post to a column article and recent articles on follow ups to SPC Dennis I had posted. URGENT CALL FOR HELP-I PICKED UP THIS COMMENT FROM MY SEPT 21 2009 ARTICLE
I hear you!!! I and others do care. I am one of the nurses that was there in 90-91 Desert Storm TapLine Road LOG BASE CHARLIE --7th Corp area....Air Force Flight Nurse with MASF Mobile aeromedical staging facility. Please ----people, your fellow veterans, do care! Do Not off yourself stay in the fight do not let them win!!! WE were in touch with VA they said they are in touch with you but we want to hear from you! You are not alone and other veterans want to buddy up with you!
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) are hosting a first-of-its-kind national summit to address the mental health care needs of America’s military personnel, families and Veterans, harnessing the programs, resources and expertise of both departments to deal with the aftermath of the battlefield.
Careful Work: Veteran Fred L. Stanley sews medical labels at the Veterans Administration on Wilshire Boulevard Thursday afternoon. photo by Brandon Wise.
WESTWOOD — When Vietnam veteran Fred L. Stanley visits the 99 Cent Store, he does with pride for he carries with him a reusable grocery bag. Not only does he feel good about protecting the environment by using fewer plastic bags, Stanley also loves the attention he gets when people ask him about his bag, which features the logo of the city of Santa Monica.
Special Report: GULF WAR ILLNESS RESEARCH FROM FRENCH SCIENTIST
GULF WAR ILLNESS RESEARCH REPORT FROM FRANCE
Among several factors, implication of pyridostigmine (PB) in late cognitive dysfunction is highly likely. As a hypothesis to explain these behavioural disorders is a potentiation of the operational stress effects by pyridostigmine. We have previously described that repeated stress combined to pyridostigmine treatment induces learning dysfunction linked to genomic cerebral modifications.
Latest study results: Suggest that pyridostigmine may have central effects, under stress, via indirect mechanisms emerging from a peripheral pathway.
Special Report: Desert STorm Veteran and Firefighter Fundraiser
MILLBURY — The cause of an Oct. 16 fire that destroyed a local police officer’s home is under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office, although the blaze is not thought to be of suspicious origin. Meanwhile, the Millbury Police Association is holding a fundraiser to help defray the cost of replacing Officer Robert J. Guyan’s belongings, including clothes, toys and baby items that belonged to his 8-month-old daughter, Lorianna Rose. The family’s two dogs were seriously injured in the blaze and recovered at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton.
Special Report: Watch the Gulf War Veterans: The War after the War
Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own
After the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans suffered toxic reactions, neurological damage, and rare cancers due to exposure to 2,4,5,-D and 2,4,5-T dioxin that was used in the form of the defoliant Agent Orange. Unfortunately, the U.S. military denied the problem and failed to heed any of the lessons of this chemical butchery.
Instead, it expanded its harmful legacy to the current generation of soldiers and civilians exposed to new, more deadly chemical toxins in the Persian Gulf.
Special Report: UPDATE SOS Call for Help From Fellow Veteran
Just an update.
WE a few Desert Storm and Vietnam veterans did not just ignore a comment to a posted story but did all they could to get in touch. SPC Dennis we hope and pray you are okay and will contact us DSNurse1@yahoo.com.
Just a nice story for the day about our flight attendants that care for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines and ideas that need to move forward!
I have transfered the story found online below. And wanted to Thank all those unsung citizens that do care for the troops and veterans. These people need to be remembered by all of us troops and veterans! From those that serve as greeters, volunteer at USOs, write us when we are far from home, send us care packages, and try to help any way they can.
I PICKED UP THIS COMMENT FROM MY SEPT 21 2009 ARTICLE
I AM ASKING PLEASE SPC DENNIS G please email me so we can get in touch by phone!!! DSNURSE1@yahoo.com is my email I will be up checking for you. Get me a number I can reach you at....I will call you!
BEWARE OF PRODUCTS ADVERTISED TO TREAT OR STOP 2009 H1N1 PANDEMIC INFLUENZA VIRUS
CURRENT WARNINGS FROM THE FDA
Health Editor note: It does not take long for "get- rich- quick- sharks" to circle when there is a health crisis. Carol Ware Duff MSN, BA, RN. Article posted October 23, 2009.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing consumers of—and protecting them against—potential harm associated with unapproved products claiming to diagnose, prevent, or otherwise act against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.
Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016) mandating Congress approves the health care budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at least one year in advance.
The bill is widely seen by veterans advocates as critical to meet the needs of America's 23-million veterans, as two major wars continue to draw resources and deplete the U.S. military's fighting strength.
Today is the final day for public comment on proposed VA rules the VA says will streamline PTSD diagnosis and broaden the scope of circumstances under which a veteran proves his combat experience. As with the current, contrived PTSD diagnosis, many see the rule as designed to place the veteran at the whim of the VA.
The problem with the rule change is that a VA-appointed psychologist or psychiatrist must sign off on the veteran's claim and the VA is not a trusted authority in such matters as helping veterans obtain disability benefits. In so many words the culture of denial goes on, if the VA so decides.
Special Report: GULF WAR VETERANS FAMILIES LIFE IMPACTED BY GULF WAR ILLNESS
GULF WAR VETERANS FAMILIES LIFE IN FOCUS
Gulf War Family members start speaking out. In the last 9 years we have lost attention to Gulf War Illness. Several family members are starting to speak out more of their concerns. Sadly the OIF and OEF deaths and injuries cast a bright light and those that served in 90-91 have been forgotten.
Gulf War Illness meeting in DC Nov 2-3, 2009. The Answers for Gulf War Illness Solved! Nov 4- I am hearing unofficially there will be a hearing House VA Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Mr Binns, Mr Cragin, and the big three service organizations to testify. But where are the gulf war veterans that have been advocates for 19 years? Where are the individual gulf war veterans who have been ill and those family members that their gulf war veteran spouse or family member died? Where is the meat?
With all the attention we have solved the problem of Gulf War Illness! After all at the end of two years a 75 million dollar- 5 year project at Southwestern Medical University was cancelled. The Senate VA Committee Chairman just put out a letter with no full hearings or investigation by the US SENATE. Funding has been going down since 2001. VA Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans ends with a wimper and no press release when they turned in their report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. But have we really taken care of our Gulf War I (90-91) Veterans - Desert Storm Veterans?
VETERANS WITH PTSD TWICE AS LIKELY TO DIE AFTER SURGERY
PTSD CAN AFFECT SURGERY OUTCOMES
Health Editor's comment: Information to discuss with you healthcare provider. Carol Ware Duff, MSN, BA, RN
Article written by Janis Kelly
The first study to examine the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on mortality after surgery shows that veterans with PTSD are twice as likely to die following surgery as their counterparts without PTSD. The researchers found a startling 25% increase in 1-year mortality, even if surgery occurred years after the patients completed military service.
(HealthDay News) -- Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder face an increased risk for dying after surgery, even if the surgery is performed years after they have completed their service, according to a U.S. study.
On October 13, The New York Times ran a news story headlined "Door Opens to Health Claims Tied to Agent Orange," which was sure to be good news to many American veterans of the Indochina War.
It reported that 38 years after the Pentagon ceased spreading the deadly dioxin-laced herbicide/defoliant over much of South Vietnam, it was acknowledging what veterans have long claimed: in addition to 13 ailments already traced to exposure to the chemical, it was also responsible for three more dread diseases -- Parkinson's, ischemic hedart disease, and hairy-cell leukemia.
Every little bit of news helps gulf war veterans. This information harkens back to DR Urnovitz's early work in 1996 looking at the RNA in Gulf War Veterans that were ill. Answers and help for the gulf war veterans are needed.
For nine years during the Vietnam War the United States sprayed millions of gallons of a toxic chemical over vast areas of jungle — areas traversed by American military forces.
The chemical was shipped to South Vietnam in 50-gallon drums that were identified by their orange stripes. It quickly took on a name that now conjures images of birth defects and horrible diseases: Agent Orange.
The Pentagon authorized the spraying of Agent Orange for two reasons — to defoliate trees so Viet Cong insurgents and North Vietnamese military forces would have less cover, and to poison crop fields to prevent those enemies from having access to plentiful food.
RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) has conditionally approved the state's application for federal assistance to build a 100-bed State Veterans Home in Black Mountain. Conditions for the $14.6 million award include finalizing design documents, approval by involved state agencies, and advertising and award of construction bids.
Special Report: Door Opens to Health Claims Tied to Agent Orange
News from the Dept of Veterans Affairs' (DVA) new posture towards veterans appears to be hitting us almost daily. Writes James Dao in the Times of a new DVA proposal regarding Agent Orange victims: "Under rules to be proposed this week, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to add Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and hairy-cell leukemia to the growing list of illnesses presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant used widely in Vietnam."
News: Veterans Administration offers free flu shots to vets
Attention Maryland Area Vets
The Veterans Administration Maryland Health Care System is encouraging all veterans, except those allergic to eggs or who have experienced severe allergic reactions, to get an annual flu shot and is offering free walk-in flu shot clinics at each VA medical center and outpatient clinic in the state. See locations below the fold:
Reading about a former nurse at a Lexington, Kentucky VA Medical Center Home accused of murder as the same VA center stands accused of fostering conditions leading to "elevated mortality rates," it's easy to miss details of these conditions.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) DEFENDS RELIANCE ON "ANTIQUATED" H1N1 VACCINE PRODUCTION DESPITE SHORTAGE 
HERPES ZOSTER(SHINGLES)- YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO AVOID IT!
By Carol Ware Duff MSN, BA, RN
CURRENT WARNINGS FROM THE FDA
Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016) mandating Congress approves the health care budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at least one year in advance. 
Today is the final day for public comment on proposed VA rules the 
PTSD CAN AFFECT SURGERY OUTCOMES
