[EF11]

Re: Fed up, tired, and had enough of multiple myeloma

by EF11 on Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:02 am

I keep wondering if some environmental factor caused my husband's myeloma. He is also the picture of great health otherwise.

The 9/11 news about the firefighters is interesting. We lived in NYC through 9/11 and breathed in the toxic dust daily. However, we were not too close (lived upper west and worked in mid-town) and both worked inside office buildings.

My husband did walk to / from work daily, which was almost an hour hike each way. Perhaps he was one of the unlucky ones that gets triggered by such an environmental factor. Would it have taken 12-13 years for the disease to show up?

[gmarv]

Re: Fed up, tired, and had enough of multiple myeloma

by gmarv on Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:42 pm

My personal story is kind of in line with the article Steve referenced. I have no known history in my family of cancer other than skin cancer. I have not worked around chemicals much at all. A little bit of a dealing with asbestos (wrong kind of cancer from that, I think). I'm kind of the opinion that I just had bad luck on the DNA side of things.

[Guitarnut]

Re: Fed up, tired, and had enough of multiple myeloma

by Guitarnut on Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:06 pm

Over the years, I have been a screen printer in 3 different shops. I have been exposed to inks and ink additives, solvents used to clean the screens of ink and residue. The exposure is just too massive to even try and get an idea of how much.

There is no history of cancer in either of my parents or siblings or even grandparents on both sides. I personally believe there is more to it than just "random" bad genetics. But, then again, that's just me, and I am nobody, so ...

[Melanie]

Re: Fed up, tired, and had enough of multiple myeloma

by Melanie on Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:34 am

I can say that I do not disagree with the article Steve posted. However, I also cannot help but feel that there has to be more to it in some cases.

In regards to exposure from 9/11, there is a registry that tracks the illnesses and health issues of the emergency workers and cleanup personnel from their exposure at the ground zero site. I believe it was just this past summer that multiple myeloma was added to that list of illnesses covered. Now, my husband worked about a mile and a half outside of the determined exposure zone; therefore, he unfortunately does not qualify to be part of that registry.

Then I come to the issue of his employment as a Con Ed worker in the electrical generating stations and steam plants, where exposure to asbestos and fuel was constant. There were days that he would come home reeking of whatever fuel that is used to run the boilers. In regards to the asbestos exposure that Gmarv mentioned, yes mesothelioma is an asbestos-related disease, but who is to say if there isn't something in the asbestos that contributed to the myeloma my husband now has?

I question the notion that, now that he has the myeloma, could his immune system allow an asbestos related illness to also rear its ugly head. I question whether or not there could be a difference in the genetic makeup of the myeloma of someone who has been exposed to toxins as compared to someone who has not been exposed. If so, would there be a different way – or should I say more effective way – to treat it? In this 9/11 health registry, is there a difference or a trend in the genetic makeup of the myeloma patients?

Honestly, based on my husband's history, I have more questions than I am sure there are answers. I can only hope that some day there are more answers than questions.