Osteosarcoma and Agent Orange Connection

[pami582]

I know  the VA states there is no connection or link to Osteosarcoma and Agent Orange, but I diagree totally!  Osteosarcoma is usually a child disease instead of an adult disease.  My husband is 64 years old and he was diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma, which is a very rare disease for a 64 year old adult.  I need a few opinions and case studies where there is a link to the disease and Agent Orange.

[Vladswife]

Hello, I just found this post today. I Am looking into this dioxin link to osteosarcoma. Your comment actually set me on my way.  I'm having trouble googling anything that ties them together. There is quite a bit about soft tissue sarcoma and dioxin, but nothing linking it to bone sarcomas of any kind. I know it was quite a few years ago, so I'm taking a shot in the dark by asking you if you have any knowledge of where you found this information or if maybe by some off chance that you are a professional in this field. Any help would really be appreciated. I'm running out of time on being able to put in a claim for my father. He was diagnosed a month ago and the bill passed ends on September 30th of this year.  Thank you in advance.

[Tinabudde]

Pami one thing you will find is under the Agent Orange sites they list dioxin, and dioxin is known to cause sarcomas and osteosarcomas.  Check out the keywords on yahoo or google together and you'll see alot of studies.

[Tinabudde]

Hi Pami, I found this http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1991 it's about getting benefits but I think he should apply for benefits anyhow even tho you can't find a direct link because a sarcoma is a cancer that arises from transformed cells in one of a number of tissues that develop from embryonic mesoderm. Thus, sarcomas include tumors of bone, cartilage, and it would be hard to determine if it was actually an osteosarcoma or a sarcoma.  What you could do is find a specialist that deals with sarcoma's and have them evaluate him, and see what the doctor says about the exosure from the agent orange.  Ewing sarcoma is a malignant round-cell tumour. It is a rare disease in which cancer cells are found in the bone or in soft tissue. There are alot of sarcoma's that if on the govt list what is to say they won't pay for the osteo one.  It's a matter of finding a doctor who can link it with medical evidence and who has tons of medical journals to look at and peers to consult.  

[Tinabudde]

Was your husband in Vietnam?  There are so many diseases that link to exposures, in 1990 mustard gas victims from World War 2 were allowed to file for benefits.  My neighbor was one of them, he was a test chamber and exposed to breathing mustard gas fumes and skin exposure.  He wound up with burns and then skin problems, stomach and lung issues all his life.  They said the little amount he had was not enough to file benefits, he fought it and won.  I met him after he won and bought a house near us.  I will look later tonight and see what I can dig up.  There may not be a website that is devoted to that but you have link things like with my neighbor, he breathed in the fumes through his mouth, tho most of the causes on the govt site included lungs, he had some lung but alot of esophagus and stomach issues, he was a mouth breather so naturally the fumes would go thru those areas.  It's sort of peicemeal work.  I had a cousin that died of agent orange it hit his liver and finally his liver ruptured and he bled to death on the way to the hospital.  It's pretty bad stuff, I'm sorry your husband is going through this, I will see what I can find for you.  hugsssss