[TriciaK]

As you say, Rhonda, none of this is really new or surprising, and I guess no one knows really what to say in reply! I for one know exactly what in the environment contributed to my BC, and most likely my sister's, also. There is some cancer in my grandfather's family but there has been no other BC. I was in southern Utah near St. George, the area of the southwest close to the Frenchman Flat atomic testing in the 1960's. They call us "downwinders." The above ground atomic tests were always scheduled for days when the wind was blowing away from the populated areas of Nevada, like Las Vegas. I lived 350 miles away. I can remember seeing the early morning dark sky light up like midday when the blasts went off. My children can remember a white powder like fine snow on the playground at school on certain days. We were eventually compensated a stipend by the government if we could prove we were in the path of the fallout and if we contracted certain kinds of cancer. one small town in Nevada, much closer than we were, had the whole population affected, including many children who died from luekemia. My sister didn't live near me, but in the summers she would frequently come down and spend several weeks bottling the fruit that grew so abundantly in our area. We could never prove that she was there at the times of the tests, and she died of BC before all the litigation was concluded. The only other family member affected was my daughter-in-law who grew up nearby . So far my children are alright, but they are tested for cancer often. Of course the downwinder monetary compensation was helpful, but in the 20 years I've been fighting cancer it didn't go very far. So I am an example of cancer caused by the environment. Most of the cancer causing agents are not traceable and are much more subtle, but they are out there! Are there any other downwinders in this group, by the way? Hugs, Tricia