Man urges care for Lejeune-related illnesses - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Man urges care for Lejeune-related illnesses

WASHINGTON — A simple hug from his wife is what alerted Mike Partain of Tallahassee, Fla., to his tumor, which turned out to be male breast cancer.

Partain, the son and grandson of Marines, traced his cancer to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he was born and spent the first year of life.

On Tuesday, he joined a legislative fight on Capitol Hill to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to care for veterans and their relatives who lived near the base from 1957 to 1987.

But lawmakers warned that the fight wouldn’t be easy. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., vowed to block any Navy promotions until $1.8 million is provided to study whether widespread illnesses can be traced to the base’s contaminated water.

“I have publicly committed that there wouldn’t be another name that moves through the Senate until this is resolved,” Burr said. “Don’t expect an easy road on this.”

Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and George LeMieux, R-Fla., joined Burr Dec. 9 in asking Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for a comprehensive mortality study or public-health survey at the base in order to understand illnesses blamed on the water. But the lawmakers haven’t yet received a reply.

Male breast cancer

Breast cancer in men is rare, with about 2,000 diagnoses a year nationwide, according to the American Cancer Society. But at least 55 men — including two in the Tallahassee area — suffered breast cancer after living near Camp Lejeune at some point during their lives, according to congressional testimony.

Drinking water was tainted with several carcinogens at Camp Lejeune from 1957 to 1987, according to congressional inquiries. Testimony focused on wells for Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point.

Two chief pollutants, tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), leaked into the drinking-water system from an off-base dry cleaner. A fuel spill also spread a plume of benzene and vinyl chloride into the water supply. In certain cases, the contamination reached 280 times what is now regulated under the Safe Water Drinking Act.

While the issue is becoming better known, corrective action has been halting.

Partain was a witness at an October hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which found that the Navy had assembled a registry of 140,000 veterans who had been stationed at Camp Lejeune during the 30 years in question. Lawmakers said an estimated 1 million Marines and their relatives might be affected.

Dr. Michael Peterson, a consultant for environmental health in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, said the Navy provided the names to the VA, but the VA hasn’t contacted the veterans specifically about the contaminated water.

Maj. Gen. Eugene Payne Jr., assistant deputy commandant for installations for the Marines, testified that despite $14.5 million in research, studies haven’t determined “an association between the past contamination and adverse health effects.” He noted that TCE wasn’t regulated until 1989 and PCE until 1992.

Lawmakers said veterans have been required to produce 15 pieces of evidence to receive treatment for illness blamed on exposure to a contaminant.

“This is not the way America should treat those who served it in a time of difficulty, and this is not the way that we should treat their families,” said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who led hearings into the pollution.

He joined Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., in announcing legislation to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to care for veterans and their relatives whose illness is traced to the contaminated water. The cost is estimated at $1.1 billion over 10 years.

“We owe at least this much to these Marines, and we owe at least this much to their families,” Miller said.

The Pentagon, through the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, would have to determine when water was contaminated and then presume that illnesses related to the pollution were service-related. The VA would determine which illnesses should be covered and what is a credible connection to military service.

“Just as our servicemen and servicewomen have dedicated their lives to protecting us, it is our duty to protect them whether they are stationed at home or abroad,” said Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello, who co-sponsored the bill. “Victims of this tragedy must have access to complete information as soon as possible and deserve to know who is going to care for them and how that care will be administered.”

Sens. Burr and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., have sponsored similar legislation in the Senate. But they fought a rival move in committee last week to require health care under the Pentagon rather than the VA because they are suspicious of the military overseeing the treatment.

“That basically would leave the wolf guarding the sheep,” Partain said. “I don’t want the Department of Defense to determine my future.”

Partain was 39 when diagnosed on his 18th wedding anniversary in April 2007. With the benefit of private health insurance, Partain has had a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

He’s thankful to still be alive, but he’s reminded of his ailment every time he takes off his shirt. He is also worried about whether the cancer could also strike any of his four children.

“It’s a betrayal,” said Partain, the grandson of a Marine major and the son of a Marine captain. “They knew that I was exposed and left me out there to die.”