Guy I've known for 33 years called up. 350 feet of outdoor railroad, wanted me to pull it up. 11 days ago, he went to see the doctor for prep for back surgery, Doc comes to see him and says "You're done". Spine cancer, hip eaten by cancer, metastasized. 3-6 months. Years of work out in 2-1/2 hours, stacked. Hate that stuff. Dave
He lives about 3 or 4 miles from another friend who died a bit over a year ago, whose 2-rail 0 gauge layout we disassembled. Add to that the fellow Submarine Veterans whose funerals I attend, it's seems a wonder any of us are still alive. Dave
Sorry to hear about this. You mentioned all the old submarine vets. Is there a high incidence of cancer in sub veterans?
Yes and no. With the small numbers in the community, you might think so. But studies tend to show not so when compared to other control groups. Yet, Mesothelioma tends to be high, especially for those who have done shipyard overhauls. One of the guys in our local chapter was on an early Boomer (SSBN), got out, went to work for the local Navy Shipyard. His old boat got decommissioned, came in for "recycling". One of the main berthing areas, after all the bunks and lockers were removed....they dropped the main ventilation duct, and found the inside was lined with unsealed asbestos. 20+ years of ventilation in berthing through non-sealed asbestos. Agent Orange.....some of the guys end up with symptoms, VA denies claims....until first of this year, when they discovered long-term exposure to diesel fuel causes the same symptoms (and prognosis) of Agent Orange. It's the closed environment, recycled air, chemically produced and cleaned, resin bag filters, that one tends to think would exacerbate the situation. Does seem locally it is mostly cancers, but, then, a couple of those were in their 90's. Personally, my concern always was the radiation issues. But, the gummint says it isn't a problem.
