As young men we never put two and two together but when you see pictures and
think about it. Most air base and LZ's were in the middle of the jungle and
nothing grew on them but dust and mud. The MACV command used AO to kill the
foilage and then went in to build the base. If you look on the internet for
Camp Evans or Dong Ha or Khe Sanh you'll see what I mean.
Even Vietnam veterans who were not involved in spraying Agent Orange
experience higher levels of dioxin contamination, which is linked to an
increased overall risk of cancer, a study reports.

April 15, 2005- Even Vietnam veterans who were not involved in
spraying Agent Orange experience higher levels of dioxin contamination,
which is linked to an increased overall risk of cancer, reports a study
in the April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ,
official publication of the American College of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

The study, conducted by a group of U.S. Air Force and other researchers,
analyzed cancer rates among nearly 1,500 Air Force veterans who served
in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, but did not actually spray
Agent Orange or other herbicides. The men served as a comparison group
in a previous study of cancer risk in veterans of Operation Ranch Hand,
the unit responsible for spraying Agent Orange.

Even though they didn't work with Agent Orange, veterans in the
comparison group had significant blood levels of TCDD, the highly toxic
dioxin contaminant of Agent Orange. The current study was designed to
assess whether low-level exposure to TCDD affected the later risk of
developing cancer.

Higher blood levels of TCDD were associated with higher rates of cancer
in the years after serving in Southeast Asia. For veterans with blood
TCDD levels above the median, cancer risk was 60 percent higher than for
veterans with lower levels. The increased risk wasn't limited to any
specific type of cancer, although much of it was related to digestive
and respiratory cancers and of the skin cancer melanoma.

The study also looked at how length of service in Southeast Asia
affected cancer risk. Veterans whose time in Southeast Asia was above
the median were more than twice as likely to develop prostate cancer,
compared to those with shorter tours of duty. Prostate cancer risk was
unrelated to TCDD level.

There was also a significant interaction between duration of service and
dioxin contamination-veterans who served longer in Southeast Asia
tended to have higher blood levels of TCDD. Cancer risk was highest for
vets who spent more than 2 years in Southeast Asia and had TCDD levels
above the median.

TCDD and other dioxins have been linked to cancer and a wide range of
other health problems. A recent study found increased rates of
cancer-specifically prostate cancer and melanoma-in Air Force
veterans who sprayed Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. That study
also suggested possible increases in cancer risk in the comparison group
of Air Force veterans who served in Southeast Asia but did not spray
Agent Orange.

The new results support the finding of increased cancer rates for
veterans with higher TCDD levels, even though they weren't directly
exposed to Agent Orange. TCDD may promote the development of cancer even
at very low levels of exposure. Another possible explanation is that
blood TCDD levels reflect some other, unknown risk factor.

The interaction between cancer risk, TCDD levels, and time served in
Southeast Asia suggests that a combination of factors are involved. More
research will be needed, including longer follow-up of Vietnam-era
veterans and more detailed information on their individual tours of duty
in Southeast Asia.

ACOEM, an international society of 6,000 occupational physicians and
other health care professionals, provides leadership to promote optimal
health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments.

The study is published under the title:
Did TCDD Exposure or Service in Southeast Asia Increase the Risk of
Cancer in Air Force Vietnam Veterans Who Did Not Spray Agent Orange?
Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 47(4):335-342, April
2005. Pavuk, Marian MD, PhD; Michalek, Joel E. PhD; Schecter, Arnold MD,
MPH; Ketchum, Norma S. MS; Akhtar, Fatema Z. MS; Fox, Karen A. MD

Applying for VA Disability Compensation
VA's Gulf War and Agent Orange 'hotline' number is (800)749-8387

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc