Vietnam veterans urged to seek testing

[Guest guest]

June 29, 2008

Vietnam veterans urged to seek testing

By

wjohnson@...

Link Savoie, a well-known local veteran's advocate, has recently been diagnosed

with CLL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.

While the diagnosis is scary, Savoie said he is fortunate for several reasons.

The first is that CLL is a slow growing form of cancer. Many people with CLL

lead normal and active lives for many years - in some cases for decades.

" My doctors tell me if I have to have one, this is the one to have, " Savoie

said.

But the most important reason is that, after years of court battles by veterans'

groups, the disease is now listed as one of 11 that can be caused by exposure to

Agent Orange, a herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War.

As a result, the Veteran's Administration offers compensation and disability

payments to sufferers in addition to help with its treatment.

" We have been after the VA to include it for years. We finally had to take it to

court to have it included. That's a shame, " Savoie said.

Savoie is not sure how many local Vietnam veteran's there may be but estimated

they could number in the thousands.

" Please go and get tested, " Savoie said. " Call the VA in andria and get an

Agent Orange test if you were in Vietnam. "

He fears many, especially older male veterans, will put off such tests,

sometimes until it is too late.

" I am pleading with wives and children. Your loved ones need to be tested at

this very moment. It is a major concern, " Savoie said.

" It is a simple blood test. It doesn't cost anything. The VA did a fantastic job

on me. They were very accommodating, " Savoie said. " If you meet the criteria,

they will even give you mileage. "

The VA has been fighting for years to deny benefits to Vietnam veterans

suffering from Agent Orange exposure.

Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. Government sprayed more than 20 million gallons

of Agent Orange over the jungles of Vietnam in an effort to defoliate trees to

deny cover to North Vietnamese troops.

Savoie was a military police officer in Vietnam, a duty that often required him

to go into areas recently sprayed with the herbicide.

" I guess I was a victim like all the thousands of other guys, " Savoie said.

For decades after the war, the government denied the herbicide caused any

problems other than Chloracne, an acne-like skin condition.

Thanks to tough challenges by veterans groups, who have been fighting in

numerous court cases since the early 1980s, the VA is now willing to offer

compensation for 11 diseases, the most recent being CLL.

While slow off the mark, the VA is moving quickly to do what it can help.

The VA has established a new toll-free help-line for Vietnam veterans exposed to

Agent Orange. Veterans can speak directly to VA representatives at

1-800-749-8387 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

They also can access a 24-hour automated system to request information or listen

to recordings about Agent Orange. The VA also has expanded its Agent Orange

Review newsletter to more than 600,000 identified, in-country Vietnam vets.

According to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national office, any and all Vietnam

veterans who have not had an Agent Orange exam should do so immediately,

especially if they have cancer.

" If a Vietnam veteran has recorded documentation of a cancer that the VA

considers to be caused by Agent Orange exposure, such as prostate cancer, he

will more than likely have a disability rating within two weeks, " said

McNeill, deputy director of VFWs National Veterans Service. " The VA is very

quick on that. "

Savoie agrees, saying once his case was confirmed, the VA quickly granted him a

disability.

Before visiting the VA for an exam, McNeill said veterans should first see a

service officer for guidance.

In Sept. 2000, the Veteran Administration also recognized that Agent Orange was

used in Korea in the late 1960s. Republic of Korea troops are reported to have

done the spraying, which occurred along the demilitarized zone with North Korea.

Savoie credits his local doctor with helping to prolong his life. Savoie had an

annual health exam which showed an elevated white blood cell count.

" She referred me to an oncologist, who suggested the Agent Orange test, " Savoie

said. Many doctors and tests later he was confirmed to have CLL.

" All Vietnam veterans need to be tested. I urge you all to be tested, " Savoie

said.