For my fellow service members, veterans, and their families, this is about the aftermath of toxic exposure. For those of you who are regular readers, please forgive me, I’ll be getting a little more in-depth and significantly more personal with this one. The bottom line is this, if you or someone you love served and was exposed to the toxic fumes from burn pits or whatever the hell else was in the areas we served while overseas supporting U.S. national interests, go get checked out. Become best friends with your primary care provider. Get referrals to the specialists for your breathing (all of it), your GI tract, kidneys, your reproductive bits, that shock absorbing sponge between your ears, and your ticker.
If there is a cancer screening and prevention program within a day trip for you, go get genetic testing and let them know you’ve had a high level of environmental exposure. This is the one I’m using so you have an idea about what to look for: Inova Saville Center. Get on a proactive screening protocol and stay on top of it. I know many of us deal with pain, the normal level of pain is none, so if you have some, go get that checked out too. Don’t wait, you may not have the luxury of time. I got really lucky, I probably shouldn’t be here…
Where it Started
In 2014 I retired from the Marine Corps and I had some issues that had started to show up year prior. Aside from jotting some things down for the VA service connected disability paperwork, I didn’t really follow up on too much. I just sucked it up, pushed forward, ignored it; until I couldn’t anymore.
It started with an increase in pain and some difficulty breathing. My wife, who loves me far more than I love myself, finally got me to start going to my doc. I had a few things checked out, most of which came back fine. Nothing out of the ordinary for my age and life experience. That life experience is essentially the way they say you’ve beaten your body to submission and this is the result of that. Then we found some significant issues with my sinuses and nasal cavity tissue… when I say significant, I mean irreparable damage. There it was, can’t do anything about it, so I stopped. Then the pain increased, the breathing got worse. Breathing had to do with the pain, or so I thought.
Allergic to What?
Multiple procedures later and my pain hadn’t improved and my breathing was getting worse. Finally, there was a breaking point and I was pushed to do what I absolutely didn’t want to. Go to a pulmonologist and find out exactly how bad it all was. Saying my lungs were FUBAR is an understatement. They were barely functioning. Quite possibly the only reason I was still around at that point was because I’ve remained as physically active as possible. Ironically, when I’m working out is about the only time my pain really subsides… or I just don’t notice it… not sure about that one. Anyway, I digress.
The tests and breathing med cycle began and continued for about nine months before we found some level of stability. In the process I’ve been maxed out on multiple things including a monthly injection. As my pulmonologist puts it, “I’m throwing the kitchen sink at you because if I don’t…”. We’ve discovered that I’m having an allergic asthmatic reaction to, well, air. You read that right, my lungs and pulmonary system is so fucked at this point that I’m having an allergic reaction to breathing. I cannot speak highly enough about my pulmonologist who aggressively followed up on what I was reporting. That’s when we found the cancer.
Jimothy
Yes we named the tumor, was hanging out on one of my kidney’s. Obviously he misread the vibe in the room and decided to make himself at home. The progression of reports was kind of entertaining. In the dark way that veterans can relate to. First it way, “These things are normally nothing to be concerned about.” Then it became, “Nothing to worry about, they’re normally benign.” Which became, “There are a lot of treatment options.” Next was, “We need to get this out sooner rather than later.” Finally, “It’s a really good thing we removed it when we did.”
There’s been some debate among my providers about how long Jimothy was chillin’. However, they all agree that the risk of his family coming to visit is significant. Monitoring and addressing issues as they come up is a thing of the past. Now I’m in fuck around and find out mode. Moving forward I’ll be getting scans regularly and trying to get ahead of the boom. There is a cancer institute that has an active screening and prevention program that I’ve enrolled in. They’re working with me to develop an individualized screening plan. They want to stay on top of it now.
What’s Next
It’s not really a matter of when another nugget of cancerous goodness will pop up, but when. The idea is to catch it right away and address it. We can no longer wait to see what happens. If we wait for it to crop up, it could be too late.
With that, don’t wait. Make the appointments, get the tests. If the VA won’t do it, go elsewhere. I know the co-pays and everything can add up, but damn, staying alive is worth it. At first I lost people in combat. Then to suicide. Now, it’s cancers and other physical health issues. I talk to too many who have weird things showing up on routine tests. A few who went in for a strange pain or feeling who never came out. By the time they went in, it was too late.
A Note About Me
This isn’t about seeking sympathy or anything like that. I’m doing good. My wife and family have surrounded me with support and love. This is not defining me. It’s an aspect of the journey that I’m on and that’s ok. I’m staying on top of it, that’s what matters. At the end of the day, I’m doing what I need to do to stay well. An attitude of gratitude and letting go of the things I can’t control. Thank you for making it this far and please share this with anyone you know that may need to read it.
As for the Jimothectomy, it was done with a robot assisted laparoscopy. In other words, I got into a knife fight with a drug dealer named DaVinci… you should see the other guy. Stay the course, take care of yourself, we need you.
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