COME
COME ON
COME ON CONVERSATIONS. THE COMPANY SAYS IT WAS LEFT
OFF THE DETAILS ON ACCIDENT AND
IT WAS NEVER LISTENING AND.>>>
TODAY MINNESOTA VETERAN EAT
SOMETHING IN VIETNAM THAT ENDED
UP KILLING HIM MORE THAN FOUR
DECADES LATER?
DECADES LATER? HIS FAMILY THINKS SO.
AND IS QUESTIONING WHY OTHER
VETERANS AREN'T BEING WARNED
THEY, TOO COULD BE AT RISK.
CHEERS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
A.J.
A.J.
A.J. LAGOE.>> I'M SHAKING LIKE A
LEAF, BUT I REALLY NEEDED TO DO
THIS FOR HIM.
>> ROXANNE PETERSON JUST LOST
HER HUSBAND OF 44 YEARS.>> I
LOST HIM BECAUSE I BELIEVE
THERE WAS INFORMATION OUT THERE
THAT WASN'T SHARED WITH US.
>> ARMY VETERAN STEPHEN
PETERSON PLAN TO TELL THE STORY
HIMSELF.
HIMSELF.
HIMSELF. HE DIDN'T MAKE IT TO OUR
INTERVIEW.
INTERVIEW. >> DEATH NOVEMBER 11, 2018.
>> HE FELT LIKE HE FOUGHT THE
WAR TWICE AND THIS TIME IT GOT
HIM.
HIM.
HIM. >>
HIM. >> SERVED THREE TOURS.
>> HE CAME HOME WITH METAL
SCARS, DAMAGED HEARING AND
JUNGLE ROT ON HIS FEET.
WHAT HE DIDN'T KNOW IF HE WAS
ALSO LIKELY CARRYING A
MICROSCOPIC HITCHHIKER THAT 46
YEARS LATER IS SUSPECTED OF
BEING HIS KILLER.
>> IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HE
WAS A TICKING TIME BOMB.
>> HIGHLY LETHAL.
>> DOCTOR JOHN LARSON WITH
MINNESOTA ONCOLOGY SAYS
PHALANGEAL CARCINOMA IS
UNCOMMON IN THE U.S., THERE ARE
ONLY ABOUT 8000 CASES HERE EACH
YEAR.
YEAR.
YEAR. RARE AND DEADLY.
>> IT IS HARD TO CATCH THIS AT
A POINT WHERE IT IS CURABLE.
>> PETE WAS ALREADY STAGE IV
WHERE FIRST DIAGNOSED, HE
SURVIVED JUST 14 MONTHS.
>> IT IS A DIAGNOSIS AND THEN,
IT IS A DEATH SENTENCE.
>> LISA FOWLER WANTED ANSWERS
ABOUT HER DAD'S RARE CANCER.
>> GOOGLED VIETNAM VETS AND
MODULE CARCINOMA.
MODULE CARCINOMA. >> WHAT SHE DISCOVERED AS A
GROWING SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY
OF VIETNAM VETS AND THEIR LOVED
ONES WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE
PHALANGEAL CARCINOMA IS TIED TO
THEIR SERVICE CAUSED BY
CONSUMING A TINY PARASITE
CALLED A LIVER FLUKE COMMON IN
FISH IN THE WATERS AND
SOUTHEAST ASIA.
SOUTHEAST ASIA. >> DOCTOR LARSON SAYS THE LIVER
FLUKE PARASITE CAN LIVE
UNDETECTED FOR DECADES CAUSING
INFLAMMATION AND SCARRING,
EVENTUALLY LEADING TO>> LATER
ON, DECADES LATER OR NOT,
USUALLY, JUST AFTER EXPOSURE.
>> DESPITE THREE TOURS, SERVING
IN A PLACE WHERE THE SPATE
WHERE THE PARASITES ARE A KNOWN
HAZARD, AS FAMILY SAYS THEY
WERE NEVER WARNED THAT HE WAS
AT RISK.
AT RISK.
AT RISK. IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK ON
THE VA WEBSITE, THERE IS A
WARNING ABOUT THE LIVER FOR
FITTING LIVER FLUKE STATING
THEY MIGHT'VE BEEN INFECTED,
HOW MANY VETERANS DOES THIS
IMPACT?
IMPACT?
IMPACT? A
IMPACT? A 2017 VA PILOT STUDY FOUND IT
COULD BE AS HIGH AS ONE IN
FOUR.
FOUR.
FOUR. WITH THIS INFORMATION, PETE
FILED FOR VA VA BENEFITS.
>> WHAT HAPPENED?
>> DENIED.
>> DENIED. >> THAT IS NOT UNCOMMON.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FOUND
VETERANS FILING VETERANS CLAIMS
FOR BILE DUCT CANCER HAS
INCREASED SIXFOLD SINCE 2003
BUT NEARLY 80% ARE DENIED.
IN AN EMAIL TO KARE 11, THE VA
CALLS THEIR OWN LIVER FLUKE
STUDY FLAWED.
STUDY FLAWED. THERE ARE OTHER CAUSES FOR THE
RARE CANCER AND THE VA
MAINTAINS THAT THERE IS NO
RESEARCH SHOWING
RESEARCH SHOWING CHOLANGIOCARCINOMA IS MORE
COMMON IN VIETNAM VETERANS
THAN IN THE REST OF THE
POPULATION.
POPULATION. >> NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE.
>> SOME VETERANS WONDER WHETHER
IT IS LIKE A GEORGE THAT TOOK
THE YEARS THE GOVERNMENT YEARS
TO SEE WERE CAUSING CANCER.
>> TWO OF THE DOCTORS WROTE
LETTERS TO THE VA STATING
BECAUSE OF HIS TIME IN VIETNAM,
MORE LIKELY THAN NOT, HE
DEVELOPED CANCER BECAUSE OF HIS
EXPOSURE TO LIVER FLUKE'S.
>> WHY IS IT SO HARD TODAY?
>> HE DIED BEFORE HIS APPEAL
WAS HEARD.
WAS HEARD. BUT HIS FAMILY IS CONTINUING
THE FIGHT.
THE FIGHT. >> WELL, DAD, WE ARE DOING THIS
FOR YOU.
FOR YOU.
FOR YOU. >> AND SHARING THE STORY PETE
NOW CANNOT IN HOPES OF RAISING
AWARENESS OF THE RISK THEY
WISHED THEY HAD BEEN WARNED
ABOUT.
ABOUT.
ABOUT. >>
ABOUT. >> WE MISS HIM.
WE MISS HIM A LOT.
>> A NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN IS
INTRODUCED A BILL DIRECTING THE
VA TO STUDY AND REPORT TO
CONGRESS ON THE PREVALENCE OF
VILE DUCT CANCER IN VIETNAM
VETERANS, THE VA TELLS ME THEY
HAVE ALREADY STARTED BUT IT
WILL BE ONE AND A HALF-TWO
YEARS BEFORE DATA ANALYSIS WILL
BE COMPLETE.>> SO IF YOU LOVE A
VIETNAM VET IF YOU ARE A
VIETNAM VET IS THERE A WAY TO
TEST FOR THIS?
WILL IT MATTER?
>> FROM ALL THE RESEARCH I HAVE
READ THAT YOU CAN BE TESTED FOR
THE ACTIVE LIVER FLUKE
INFECTION, THAT PARASITE THAT
CAN LIVE INSIDE SOMEONE'S BODY,
THEY HAVE A LIFE OF 25-30 YEARS
IF THAT FLUKE HAS DIED, IT IS
MUCH HARDER TO TEST, THERE'S NO
REAL WAY TO TEST FOR A PAST
INFECTION, BUT THEN YOU ARE
GOING TO WANT TO BE MONITORING,
TRYING TO CATCH THIS CANCER AS
EARLY AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE WE
KNOW WITH ANY CANCER, THE
SOONER YOU CATCH IT, THE
BETTER.
BETTER.