On 2/5/2007
Val Dawn wrote:
I've been reading messages from other people and remembering what we went through with my father and how hard it was to cope with this. My father had bile duct cancer and was told that he wouldn't benefit from chemo or radiation. He located an alternative approach, through a doctor based in NYC. (I would be happy to share more info. about this treatment with anyone who is interested.) He was lucky that this allowed him to live without much pain for almost a year after diagnosis. Very sadly, he died in 2002, at the young age of 57.
My father had always lived a healthy lifestyle but was a Vietnam Vet. He served in 1968-69, and I believe he was in the 108th airborne troop. My mother, who was also devastated by my father's death, is 77 years old. She has been struggling to get benefits from the VA since my father's death, while also struggling to support her own needs financially. She has been repeatedly turned down by the VA, due to "insufficient evidence" to support the claim that my father's death was connected to his service in Vietnam. We have been searching for statistics that may support her case but the VA has not been able to supply any statistics about the incidence of bile duct cancer in Vietnam Vets. The VA has also not been able to provide any info. about others who served with him in 1968-69.If anyone knows of any helpful statistics or of any way to get more info., we would greatly appreciate it. We would also be very grateful to hear from or about any other Vietnam Vets who suffered from bile duct cancer.
I would also like to share an interesting fact that we came across on our search of the internet for more info. We discovered that there are parasites that are mainly located in Southeast Asia, that are associated with the contraction of bile duct cancer. I would also be happy to share this info. with anyone interested.
Thank you for the opportunity to seek this information. It would mean a lot to my mother and we feel grateful to locate this support.
I have a very dear friend -- he is my Korean acupuncturist --and he was diagnosed with bile duct cancer a year and a half ago. I am interested in the info you have on parasites in Southeast Asia possibly initiating bile duct cancer. When he was first diagnosed I read that there was a higher propensity for men from Souteast Asia to develop this medical disorder.
I am currently friends with a famous geneticist, and she is always interested in my "cancer theories." So any info you have may be put to good use.
God bless, and thank you for sharing.