The Briefing Room
General Category => Military/Defense News => Topic started by: rangerrebew on March 07, 2024, 03:37:56 pm
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They Stood Sentry over America's Nuclear Missile Arsenal. Many Worry It Gave Them Cancer.
Military.com | By Thomas Novelly
Published March 07, 2024 at 5:37am ET
This story, part of a series of investigative reporting projects by Military.com on service member and veteran health, was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Danny Sebeck was shaving on an August day in 2022, when he spotted a lump on his neck he hadn't noticed before. It was probably nothing, he thought.
Later that month, he was talking with a close friend who said he had noticed a similar bump, too. The two had served together at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, as missileers -- a high-stress job in which young officers are stationed below ground in launch control centers to keep careful watch over and, if called upon, fire America's nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.
While Sebeck was feeling OK, his friend was experiencing fatigue, night sweats and swollen lymph nodes and decided to go to his doctor. Shortly after, his friend learned he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an aggressive form of cancer that can be fatal to nearly one-third of those who receive a diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/03/07/they-stood-sentry-over-americas-nuclear-missile-arsenal-many-worry-it-gave-them-cancer.html
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A lot of what was considered 'safe' when those facilities were constructed has been shown to be carcinogenic now, including the cigarettes that early hands smoked.
The Air Force should step up and get these people the very best treatment available.