August 8, 2007



Two other Minnesota veterans with Parkinson and myself met with Congressmen Tim Wilz MN and Bob Filner CA in Rochester a couple of weeks ago. Filner is the Chairman of The Veterans Affairs Committee, they both believe that Parkinson can be caused by being exposed to Agent Orange.. Filner and Walz are going to draw up legislation to put Parkinson on the presumptive list of diseases caused by Agent Orange. What we need now is everyone to contact their Senators and Congressmen and ask them to support this legislation. We need this done ASAP, have your friends and relatives do the same. This is very important to get the word to these people. If you have trouble writing or sending this message have someone help you do it, but get is done.

I also received a email from the Director of the Subcommittee on Health that our information has been forwarded to the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee and was told that our issues are big ones and they hope to address them soon.

Steve


“ADAPT, IMPROVISE, OVERCOME”

Thanks Steve!
The VA and the National Academy of Sciences agreed on a ten year study, from the original Veterans and Agent Orange 1994. There was to be an update every two years for ten years. The recent study release is number seven, I count 7X2= 14. Thus we are now four years over the ten year agreement, with many unanswered issues, such as neurological conditions other than peripheral neuropathy including Parkinson’s disease.

It is people such as you, who make the big, really BIG difference.

I am getting feed back from many membbers that the letters are starting to flow.
So please get on board and send yours.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by SteveFiscus:
I am getting feed back from many members that the letters are starting to flow.
So please get on board and send yours.

Steve

Great point Steve. Those who suffer from Parkinson's, need to post on these few available Military.com Parkinson's topics, to bring the situation to the forefront. As we all know, as bad as this condition attacks a human being, there are naysayers who will deny the veteran any benefit of doubt, or deny the veteran even when the evidence is overwhelming.
These few Parkinson's topics can be used to bring attention to the possible relationship to every congressional representative in the nation, by e-mailing them with either a link to the forum topic, or copy it and paste it on an e-mail.
We have multiple thousands of veterans who have Parkinson's and were exposed to Agent Orange type herbicides. These people need to be getting on this forum and responding. A few of us did this in 1977 when the VA flatly denied Agent Orange would cause any condition other than chloracne. It took 11 years, but what a difference. However 11 more years and many will be gone.
It is up to the veteran (and their loved ones) to respond. As Confucius said "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

A note to all those accessing this topic on the HOT TOPIC boards. The link will be removed in 7 days from this date. If you wish to review Agent Orange issues, you are always welcome to visit the Agent Orange Discussion Board.
http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/739197221
Thanks to those who care enough to post on these issues.

I've sent my letters off. It took me some time to write them because right now I am mad as He11. To think I have Parkinsons's and the other problems from AO has made me real bitter. I find out end of this week or next if my tumors are removeable or just ...well you know.


It's even harder to see my family go thru this with me.

quote:

M'dawg: It's even harder to see my family go thru this with me.

You sure are on my prayer list.

Just checked our roster we are now at 50 members in our group, a 128 days ago we were at 6, trying to figure out how to get the attention of the House and the Senate. We didn't just figure it out WE DID IT!!!!!
Now is the time to get those letters and emails out to your Senators and Congressmen and women.
Semper Fi,

Steve

quote:

trying to figure out how to get the attention of the House and the Senate. We didn't just figure it out WE DID IT!!!!!
Now is the time to get those letters and emails out to your Senators and Congressmen and women.

Very good. Remember this topic will only be found on Agent Orange and Disability Compensation Boards after Saturday.

I have been in contact with Congressman Walz staff this week and was told they are still working on our bill. They are working with the VSO'S for their input.I also gave them Dave Barkers name to contact and that he would be the real expert on this matter. As of Friday 9-14-2007 they had not contacted Dave. Let's get those emails out to these people to get the ball rolling.
I will be on radio today up Fargo, ND on the veterans hour with ED Milligan and talk about our work with the presumptive bill.
Let's start seeing some more postings at this site and give us some of your thoughts.

Semper Fi,

Steve

"ADAPT, IMPROVISE, OVERCOME"

Hello, I want to join the group and be counted. I have Parkinsons, I was lucky to see a very good doctor for a second opinion. She was very good. To make a long story short, she let me know that most people have sysmptons long before they seek medical help. The lack of arm swing was a clue for me. In 1969 and 1970 I was a Drill Sergeant at Ft Benning Ga. When I started to notice that my left arm did not swing like my right arm. The doctor say that was my first clue. That was about a year after I had retuned from Vietnam. Just want to know is there a bill number on Congressman Filner's bill. That would be a good thing to put in letter to our reps and senators. Please post if you have the bill number.

I have worked with Congrerssman Filner in the Merchant Marine Bill and he is the one that got it out of committee and passed to the Senate over Larry Craigs' objections.

His e-mail response is only if you are from California, but I have recieved several responses from using Fax...Letters take to long to go thru mail security. His Fax # in Washington is
202-225-9073.

Thanks fellow members for keeping this issue alive. Since 1977 I have been in the AO battle and we have come a long way. However we have much more to do. Please stay with us!

Thank you Dave,
Without you running point and breaking trail we would never have come this far. Like the old Marine Sgt. says, "ADAPT, IMPROVISE , OVERCOME", by God I think we are nearing the "OVERCOME" part. I am going to be in conact this week with some very imporant people in the Agent Orange field, hopefully we can get they support. Keep the emails and fax going to Congressman Tim Walz office in support of the bill.
WWW.WALZ.HOUSE.COM
FAX 507-206-0650
Phone 202-225-2472
Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Cmmittee Bob Filner's
Phone 202-225-8045
FAX 202-225-9073

Semper Fi,

Steve


"ADAPT, IMPROVISE , OVERCOME"

Good Morning,
Our Parkinson Groupwent over 60 members today
Are offical name is going to be "Veterans With Parkinson". We didn't call it Viet Nam veterans with Parkinson because we finding that people were getting taged with this stuff all over the place. We should have a web site up soon.

Steve


"ADAPT, IMPROVISE, OVERCOME"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SteveFiscus,

quote:

We should have a web site up soon.

Hopefully with links HERE!

Bless you Steve, you are doing a great service for our fellow veterans!

Letter from:
Director
Environmental Epidemiology Service
Department of Veterans Affairs



October 1, 2007


Dear Mr. Fiscus,

I have received your e-mail and understand your concern regarding the relationship between Parkinson’s disease and exposure to Agent Orange.

The information you have requested comes mainly from a series of periodic reviews of the scientific literature on veterans and Agent Orange. These reviews are completed every two years by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. The most recent of these published updates is called “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2006.”
You can read this “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2006” report online for free at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11906#toc, Chapter 8 Neurologic Disorders, PP 474-499.

The latest review concluded that the association between Agent Orange and the development of Parkinson’s disease remains inadequate and insufficient. This does not necessarily mean that an association does not exist, but that a conclusion is lacking due to methodological limitations such as the size of the reviewed studies (number of individuals tested), failure to investigate specifically the necessary compounds of interest, or lack of consistency across study findings

We are planning to update and reevaluate the mortality patterns of Marine Corps Vietnam veterans and Army Chemical Corps Vietnam veterans who sprayed Agent Orange in Vietnam. Mortality statistics for those who served in Vietnam and those who served elsewhere during the Vietnam War can ultimately be compared to death rates obtained for a similar group of individuals from the U.S. general population to determine whether rates are higher for military personnel, and more specifically, for those who served in Vietnam.

NIEHS (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/) is a premier Federal research institute that may have additional information related to herbicide exposure and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. If you would like to share information on those 60 veterans on your database, please send it to me without personal identifiers so that we don’t violate the privacy of the individuals.

Thanks again for your service to the Nation.

Han K. Kang, Dr.P.H.
Director
Environmental Epidemiology Service
Department of Veterans Affairs

Dr. Kang is on the Veterans side, all he can do involving his studies is prove medical connection,the rest is up to our govt. officials and the VA.


Agent Orange exposure tied to ills in Vietnam vets
Thu Nov 9, 10:49 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vietnam veterans who sprayed the herbicides like Agent Orange decades ago in Vietnam are at an increased risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic breathing problems, a new study shows.

Agent Orange, a weed killer containing dioxin, was widely used during the Vietnam War, Dr. Han K. Kang of the

Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC and colleagues note in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Overall, two thirds of the herbicides used during the conflict contained dioxin.
To understand the long-term effects of exposure to the chemicals, Kang and his team compared 1,499 members of the US Army Chemical Corps to 1,428 vets who had worked in chemical operations jobs but did not serve in Vietnam. The Chemical Corps members had been responsible for spraying herbicide around base camp perimeters, as well as aerial spraying of the chemicals from helicopters.
Study participants were surveyed by telephone in 1999 and 2000.
Tests of a subset of the study participants, including 795 Vietnam vets and 102 non-Vietnam vets, showed the Vietnam vets had higher levels of dioxin in their blood.
The researchers analyzed the effects of Vietnam service and herbicide exposure separately, and found that hepatitis was the only health problem linked to serving in Vietnam per se.
However, exposure to herbicides among Vietnam veterans conferred a 50 percent increased risk of diabetes, a 52 percent greater heart disease risk, a 32 percent increased risk of hypertension and a 60 percent greater likelihood of having a chronic respiratory problem such as emphysema or asthma.
An increased cancer risk also was seen among the Chemical Corps members, but this was not significant from a statistical standpoint.
"Almost three decades after Vietnam service," the researchers conclude, "US Army veterans who were occupationally exposed to phenoxyherbicide in Vietnam experienced significantly higher risks of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and non-malignant lung diseases than other veterans who were not exposed to herbicides."
SOURCE: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, November 2006.


SEMPER FI

I just managed to stumble onto this web site and this thread. I've been stumbling around, a little confused as to how to join in on this topic and hopefully I'm in the right place.
I'm a 59 year old vet with Parkinson's who served one tour in Vietnam. I also live in Minnesota.
I would be more than happy to do what I can to help here if possible. I just need to know what.
Thanks,
Marty
martycee@mchsi.com

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MartyCee,

I am 62 years old and served one tour (1966-1967) in Vietnam. I have Parkinson's disease and since I have no family history of Parkinson's I honestly believe that Agent Orange is a strong possibility for being the cause.
I will contact my U.S. Congressman and Senators to request their assistance to support any legislation concerning Parkinson's and Agent Orange.
David Edwards
Wellston, Ohio