[h2omaker]

Why me??

by h2omaker on Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:19 pm

Ever wonder why me? I use to.
I was told I had multiple myeloma September 11, 2006 when I was fifty-five years old. I call it my own nine eleven. Starting to do some basic research, the first thing I found was this is an “old person’s” disease.
I had an auto stem cell transplant the following year at the Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh Pa. I have relapsed and am currently on a weekly Dex and Revlimid and have responded well to it.
But back to my original question, “Why me?” I think I know “why me”.
I work for the City of Oil City in the water department. The key word here is OIL. The first oil well was drilled about fifteen miles north and for years most of the world’s oil went through Oil City. Half never made it to market the first few years; it was spilt along the way. Refineries were built everywhere with no regard for the environment. Oil was cheap, as low as fifteen cents a barrel and endless, so what if you spilt some?
The city had a waterline that went through an area where refineries and chemical plants had been built. The line was old and often needed repaired. When we dug the line up for repairs, the ground water was very shallow, and the hole filled with a soup of crude oil, chemicals, solvents, and almost anything made from oil. When we were done making repairs, our cloths would be saturated to our skin.
In the mid 1970’s (I was in my 20’s) we replaced a section of this pipe. For about a month we worked every day in this “stuff”. Almost every year we worked on this waterline until it was replaced entirely last year by a contractor.
The contractor had to have an environmental consultant on the job full time. Shell Oil hauled almost everything that was dug up away. At least two of the holes caught on fire. Benzene was detected in excess of 300 parts per million (PPM), the maximum you can work in is three PPM but only average one PPM. Sometimes the contractor’s employees worked in full hasmet gear.
Of the city workers, three contracted blood cancers, out of about fifteen! Why am I writing this? Maybe if we can recall how we may have ended up with this disease, maybe we could prevent others from suffering our fate.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp

As an ending, July 26th is my six year anniversary of my transplant.

[cmm36]

Re: Why me??

by cmm36 on Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:58 am

My son is 33 yrs. old and was diagnosed 3 months ago with Plasmacytoma. they only found 1 tumor but it was a big one-fractured a vaertabrae in his mid back.. To make a long story short- he had radiation for a month steady and then a couple of "blasts" to end the treatment. He is staus quo waitng for bone to regenerate where there is avoid... inthe meantime- His doctor said "Don't do anything stupid." I have read there is a 50/50 chance it will re-occur but rear its ugly head as Multiple Myeloma. I think these blood cancers are heredity also because my sister died in 1979... 6 days before my son was born of Rhabdomya sarcoma which is a marrow based cancer and my dad is now 2 yrs. free of Lymphoma. I am trying to be positive.. and to think I over worried about Diabetes in my kids?? Who knew?

[lyndaclark]

Re: Why me??

by lyndaclark on Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:47 am

I was diagnosed in 2005 at age 49 and had two stem cell transplants in 2006; thankfully still in remission and off all maintenance drugs for about 5 years. My father worked at a Mobil OIL REFINERY all his life. Could he have passed something to me in utero? I will always wonder. I lived my first 20 years in New Jersey, known for having excessive cancer occurrences. Our house was built where a small airport used to be; if you dug down deep enough there was still asphalt. Another thing I will always wonder about. And of course, growing up in the 50s/60s, a kids idea of fun was riding our bikes behind the mosquito pesticide spraying truck. Also, my mother's grandmother died of "bone cancer" back in the 1970s, but I wonder if it was actually multiple myeloma. And one last thing: I went prematurely grey at as a teenager. I dyed my hair for 30 years before being diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

[johng]

Re: Why me??

by johng on Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:19 pm

I lived for about 28 years in an agricultural area. I have since learned that there have been three cases of Multiple Myeloma (counting my own) involving people living in a radius of, at most 100-200 meters. There have been numerous other cancers involving most of the homes on that country road (a stretch of about a mile and a half). While most of the farming has eliminated the most toxic chemicals, 30 years ago it was common to fumigate heavily before planting.

I can't say for sure that the culprit is environmental, but i suspect that it is.

[GeorgeLJurak]

Re: Why me??

by GeorgeLJurak on Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:01 pm

Yes, I know why I have multiple myeloma. I was a chemist my whole life and I was exposed to organic solvents, daily. Prolonged exposure to organic solvents, leads the list for multiple myeloma causes. I could have wore a mask, but they were too cumbersome, so I didn't. Now I must pay. I have always been hard headed and now it has come back to haunt me.

[Mona]

Re: Why me??

by Mona on Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:02 pm

I don't know why me. I have never worked in agricultural or chemicals. I am an accountant who worked in offices. Although my parents had prostate and breast cancer, there is no history of blood cancer in my family.

Then again, we never knew why my mother died of breast cancer at 65 or why my father died of prostate cancer at 75.

I guess I do wonder why sometimes, but mainly try to just get by.

[Hope]

Re: Why me??

by Hope on Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:01 pm

I turned 50 years old in June 2012. I was told I had multiple myeloma in July and had a stem cell transplant in Dec. 2012 I had my own cleaning business for 15 years. I do blame all the cleaning agents I used thru the years. It has to be that just no other reason. I have Hope for life and more years to live. It has rocked my world for sure. So to all of you out there...God Bless You All and Peace be with you.

[hope]

Re: Why me??

by hope on Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:41 pm

Remember to keep smiling

[Ron Harvot]

Re: Why me??

by Ron Harvot on Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:35 pm

Tom,

You are from Oil City! I used to work at Quaker State and worked in Oil City between 1987-1995 when the company left for Dallas. I moved with them and have been in the Dallas area since. I was not exposed to the oil as I worked in the office and am not a native of the area. I was born and raised in Cleveland. I have often thought what could have caused me to develop the disease and I can't point to anything in particular. Nobody in my family has it or has ever had it. So it remains a mystery. I heard that it could have been a reaction to a virus I may have contracted or possibly pesticides that were common when I was a child.

Ron H

[lys2012]

Re: Why me??

by lys2012 on Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:27 am

I have no idea why me...

I was 32 year old young women,

no blood cancer in the family,

working as a legal secretary,

grew up in middle class/suburban southern Ontaria home,

none of my friends or family were sick, so don't think I was ever "exposed" to anything

just "bad luck" according to my Doctors.