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Soccermom · 07-02-2009, 09:33 AM

https://clnr.hqi.usmc.mil/clwater/

Florida Man Has Breast Cancer

By ROBIN WILLIAMS ADAMS

Published: Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 2:22 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.
WINTER HAVEN | Margaret Partain gave her husband a hug six months ago that probably saved his life.

It definitely opened the door to a host of unanswered questions.
The answers may come from an ongoing study of contaminated water at a Marine Corps base in North Carolina, where Mike Partain was born almost 40 years ago.
During the hug, Margaret Partain felt a small lump on the right side of her husband's chest.
He had a mammogram, figuring it would show the lump was a harmless cyst. But the radiologist ordered further testing. A biopsy produced a diagnosis as frightening as it was unexpected:
Partain, 39, has breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society predicts 2,030 cases will be diagnosed in men this year. That's miniscule compared with 178,480 expected in women, although just as life threatening.
Partain's doctors expected to discover he had mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, he said, which increase the risk of breast cancer.
But he didn't have that abnormality, making his breast cancer all the more unusual.
"Statistically I shouldn't have this," said Partain, who lived in Polk County most of his life before moving to Tallahassee last year.
"I want answers. I want to know what happened."
Partain had a mastectomy May 4 in Tallahassee, where he is a claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance.
He will get chemotherapy there through Nov. 19 and follow-up care at Shands Medical Center at the University of Florida.
"I was asking myself why and how," Partain said during an interview at his parents' Winter Haven home. "There's no history in my family. I don't drink or smoke."
A possible answer came in June when national news coverage highlighted an extensive investigation into water supplies at Camp Lejeune, the sprawling Marine base in Jacksonville, N.C.
Government health experts say water at the base was contaminated for a 30-year period starting in 1957.
Ongoing investigations aim to determine whether Camp Lejeune's water was responsible for a higher rate of birth defects and cancer in children conceived and born there during that period. Federal officials are considering whether tougher restrictions are needed on two solvents - TCE, trichloroethylene, and PERC, tetrachloroethylene - that tainted the water supply.
The focus is on children diagnosed before age 20, Partain said. But adults who have unusual cancers, as he has, also are starting to question whether their illnesses are linked to contaminated water.
Chemicals from a dry cleaner adjacent to Camp Lejeune and from industrial activities at the base are being blamed for the contamination.
A criminal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department in 2005 said federal rules limiting TCE and PERC in drinking water weren't in effect until 1989 and 1992, after the reported contamination occurred.
The water at Camp Lejeune meets current federal standards. The investigation didn't find legal violations or conspiracy.
But that doesn't change the anger and frustration felt by families whose children became ill, some of them dying.
At least 850 former residents have filed suit against the military. Partain isn't among them, but he has done research and contacted U.S. representatives' offices.
"I'm waiting to see what the Marines do," he said. "It upsets me they didn't do what they were supposed to do and notify families."
The Marine Corps hasn't told his parents, Warren and Lisette Partain, about the potential risk, he said.
Warren Partain learned through a June article in The Ledger and reports on CNN. He called his son.
"He said the wells were contaminated for 30 years," Mike Partain said. "It literally took the breath out of me. I started shaking."
Partain's mother was at Camp Lejeune throughout her pregnancy. He was born there on Jan. 30, 1968, and lived there until his father went to Vietnam in May 1968.
"There's no doubt in my mind this happened to me in embryo," he said.
As someone without BRCA mutation, his risk of male breast cancer was less than 1 percent, according to information given him by the genetic lab that tested him for that abnormality.
Partain said he noticed in 2005 he didn't have as much energy as before, but exams ordered by his Winter Haven doctor didn't find a cause. In January, he said, he started losing muscle mass.
If he had known about the possible impact of contaminated water, he could have taken more action, Partain said.
Partain also has dealt since birth with a diamond-shaped red spot on the back of his head and recurring rashes on his arms and upper body. He said he has seborrheic dermatitis, which makes him extremely sensitive to chemicals on his skin.
He thinks now that too could be related to the contaminated water.
Two Tallahassee-area families have called him since an article about him ran in the Tallahassee Democrat. One had a daughter, conceived at Camp Lejeune in 1975, who got a brain cancer. A woman who was pregnant there in the early 1970s said a son born there had a skin rash similar to his, he said.
"There needs to be notification to everyone who was there," Partain said. "I want to see them doing a lifetime study."
[ Robin Williams Adams can be reached at robin.adams@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Read her blog at robinsrx.theledger.com. ]"

07-02-2009, 09:33 AM	#1
Soccermom Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bradenton,FL Posts: 977	Camp Lejeune and cancer study https://clnr.hqi.usmc.mil/clwater/ Florida Man Has Breast Cancer By ROBIN WILLIAMS ADAMS Published: Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 2:22 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 12:00 a.m. WINTER HAVEN \| Margaret Partain gave her husband a hug six months ago that probably saved his life. It definitely opened the door to a host of unanswered questions. The answers may come from an ongoing study of contaminated water at a Marine Corps base in North Carolina, where Mike Partain was born almost 40 years ago. During the hug, Margaret Partain felt a small lump on the right side of her husband's chest. He had a mammogram, figuring it would show the lump was a harmless cyst. But the radiologist ordered further testing. A biopsy produced a diagnosis as frightening as it was unexpected: Partain, 39, has breast cancer. The American Cancer Society predicts 2,030 cases will be diagnosed in men this year. That's miniscule compared with 178,480 expected in women, although just as life threatening. Partain's doctors expected to discover he had mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, he said, which increase the risk of breast cancer. But he didn't have that abnormality, making his breast cancer all the more unusual. "Statistically I shouldn't have this," said Partain, who lived in Polk County most of his life before moving to Tallahassee last year. "I want answers. I want to know what happened." Partain had a mastectomy May 4 in Tallahassee, where he is a claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance. He will get chemotherapy there through Nov. 19 and follow-up care at Shands Medical Center at the University of Florida. "I was asking myself why and how," Partain said during an interview at his parents' Winter Haven home. "There's no history in my family. I don't drink or smoke." A possible answer came in June when national news coverage highlighted an extensive investigation into water supplies at Camp Lejeune, the sprawling Marine base in Jacksonville, N.C. Government health experts say water at the base was contaminated for a 30-year period starting in 1957. Ongoing investigations aim to determine whether Camp Lejeune's water was responsible for a higher rate of birth defects and cancer in children conceived and born there during that period. Federal officials are considering whether tougher restrictions are needed on two solvents - TCE, trichloroethylene, and PERC, tetrachloroethylene - that tainted the water supply. The focus is on children diagnosed before age 20, Partain said. But adults who have unusual cancers, as he has, also are starting to question whether their illnesses are linked to contaminated water. Chemicals from a dry cleaner adjacent to Camp Lejeune and from industrial activities at the base are being blamed for the contamination. A criminal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department in 2005 said federal rules limiting TCE and PERC in drinking water weren't in effect until 1989 and 1992, after the reported contamination occurred. The water at Camp Lejeune meets current federal standards. The investigation didn't find legal violations or conspiracy. But that doesn't change the anger and frustration felt by families whose children became ill, some of them dying. At least 850 former residents have filed suit against the military. Partain isn't among them, but he has done research and contacted U.S. representatives' offices. "I'm waiting to see what the Marines do," he said. "It upsets me they didn't do what they were supposed to do and notify families." The Marine Corps hasn't told his parents, Warren and Lisette Partain, about the potential risk, he said. Warren Partain learned through a June article in The Ledger and reports on CNN. He called his son. "He said the wells were contaminated for 30 years," Mike Partain said. "It literally took the breath out of me. I started shaking." Partain's mother was at Camp Lejeune throughout her pregnancy. He was born there on Jan. 30, 1968, and lived there until his father went to Vietnam in May 1968. "There's no doubt in my mind this happened to me in embryo," he said. As someone without BRCA mutation, his risk of male breast cancer was less than 1 percent, according to information given him by the genetic lab that tested him for that abnormality. Partain said he noticed in 2005 he didn't have as much energy as before, but exams ordered by his Winter Haven doctor didn't find a cause. In January, he said, he started losing muscle mass. If he had known about the possible impact of contaminated water, he could have taken more action, Partain said. Partain also has dealt since birth with a diamond-shaped red spot on the back of his head and recurring rashes on his arms and upper body. He said he has seborrheic dermatitis, which makes him extremely sensitive to chemicals on his skin. He thinks now that too could be related to the contaminated water. Two Tallahassee-area families have called him since an article about him ran in the Tallahassee Democrat. One had a daughter, conceived at Camp Lejeune in 1975, who got a brain cancer. A woman who was pregnant there in the early 1970s said a son born there had a skin rash similar to his, he said. "There needs to be notification to everyone who was there," Partain said. "I want to see them doing a lifetime study." [ Robin Williams Adams can be reached at robin.adams@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Read her blog at robinsrx.theledger.com. ]"