Nicholas J. Jury, PhD and Diana Zuckerman, PhD
2015
Cancer has many causes. The main ones that experts can identify are linked to heredity and environment. Members of the military and their family members have the same risks from heredity as others do, but are sometimes at higher risk of certain cancers because of exposures in their environment.
Can Military Service in Afghanistan and Iraq Increase Cancer Risk?
Are Gulf War veterans more likely to get brain cancer or lung cancer than other veterans? Are troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan likely to become ill from chemicals spewing from open air pits where garbage was burned on military bases? Since the garbage includes tires and other products made of materials that can be toxic when burned, the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund is urging safety measures to prevent toxic exposures on military bases and studies of the health risks. This is a situation where common sense should prevail: open air pits that burn toxic materials are dangerous to the health of those nearby.
Camp Lejeune and Contaminated Drinking Water
Contaminated drinking water at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina put military families and civilians who lived or worked there from the 1950’s through the 1980’s at risk for cancer and other serious diseases.
- Men living or working on the base from the mid-1950s until 1987 have been much more likely to develop breast cancer than other men. Breast cancer is rare among men, and men often do not recognize the symptoms and so delay treatment.
- Pregnant women who were exposed to more contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune were 4 times as likely to give birth to children with serious birth defects compared to women who were less exposed. Their children were also slightly more likely to develop childhood cancers such as leukemia.
We have been strongly urging U.S. officials to continue investigating how contaminants at Camp Lejeune have harmed children and adults in letters to Congress and in public statements.
Agent Orange and Vietnam War Veterans
Agent Orange was used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to clear vegetation to make it easier to see enemy soldiers. Agent Orange was contaminated with dioxin, making it much more dangerous. Nearly 1.5 million veterans were exposed when 20 million gallons were sprayed over Vietnam.
- New research indicates Agent Orange may increase the chance of developing a cancer of the bone marrow called multiple myeloma.
- The Institute of Medicine has concluded that people exposed to Agent Orange are more likely to develop chronic B-cell leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin disease, Non-Hodgkin disease, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft tissue sarcoma. They are also more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, Parkinson disease, heart disease, and peripheral neuropathy.
For more information, see Agent Orange and Serious Diseases including Multiple Myeloma.