Male Breast Cancer Is One Presumptive Illness Under The Camp Lejeune Justice Act
Male breast cancer is an extremely rare disease so when hundreds of cases appear in one spot suspicions are aroused
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 - Male Breast Cancer is one of the presumptive illnesses caused by drinking, cooking, and bathing with Camp Lejeune water automatically pumped into every home and office on the base. Studies indicate that Marines that passed through Camp Lejeune have a much greater chance of developing the rare deadly disease than those who were stationed at other military bases throughout the country. The definitive study to date was conducted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), based in Atlanta, Georgia. The ATSDR is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of the agency is to identify man-made public health threats and protect the public from them. First and foremost on their radar in recent years is the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune Marine base in North Carolina. The study examined thousands of Marines that were stationed at Camp Lejeune for at least 30-days from 1953 to 1987 and found a correlation between the volatile organic compounds trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), 1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE), and vinyl chloride, and Marines who developed breast cancer. The CDC is continuing to study the relationship today and has expanded its database.
The Mayo Clinic defines the early stages of male breast cancer as including "a painless lump or thickening in your breast tissue. Changes to the skin covering your breasts, such as dimpling, puckering, redness, or scaling. Changes to your nipple, such as redness or scaling, or a nipple that begins to turn inward." The MC notes that breast cancer usually occurs in older males but can happen at any age. Male breast cancer is life-threatening and as with any form of cancer, the earlier it is detected the greater chance of successfully treating the disease with radiation rather than chemotherapy. According to doctors, males that have inherited the gene called BRCA2 have a greater chance of developing male breast cancer. US Marines with male breast cancer have filed Camp Lejeune water lawsuits seeking substantial lump-sum monetary compensation for their pain and suffering. CNN recently wrote that only about 200 men per year as compared to 200,000 women per year developed breast cancer. It is estimated that about ten percent of all male breast cancer was diagnosed as having served at Camp Lejeune making it one of the largest cancer clusters in history. A breast cancer specialist told CNN that it was alarming that so many young men from one place had developed the disease. "Dr. John Kiluk, a breast cancer surgeon at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, said he's startled by the common threads among the group.
"The average breast cancer patient for males is about 70 years old," Kiluk said. "So when you have gentlemen in their 30s stepping forward, without a family history of breast cancer, that is alarming. And the question is, why? Why is this happening?" CNN reported.
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