As the fourth leading cause of cancer death nationwide, pancreatic cancer occurs in over 64,000 people annually. Pancreatic cancer is more and more common, mostly due to obesity, cigarette smoke exposure, and chronic inflammation. However, the disease can also be caused by toxic exposure, which is the case of numerous veterans stationed on contaminated military bases. Exposure to PFOA, a highly toxic chemical, has a strong association with pancreatic cancer, and so do many chlorinated solvents that can still be found on some military bases.
The lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer is 1 in 64. Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis, with only 10 out of 100 patients surviving for one year or longer following diagnosis. For this reason, if you are a veteran who spent time on military bases with known toxic exposure, you should pay close attention to your health and seek medical attention immediately if you experience the following symptoms:
PFOA exposure can lead to the development and progression of pancreatic cancer in veterans who have this chemical in their bloodstream. Moreover, PFOA exposure causes oxidative stress in the pancreas, which can eventually trigger cancer. When this dangerous substance is the culprit behind pancreatic cancer, the mutation of the KRAS gene occurs, which is a key mutational event in pancreatic cancer. In lab studies, PFOA exposure resulted in a high incidence of pancreatic acinar cell tumors in rats through an undefined mechanism.
Pancreatic cancer has a latency of approximately 10 years when it is caused by PFAS exposure. Finally, chlorinated solvents, many of which lurked on military bases during the last century, might also contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer. More specifically, exposure to the following solvents was found to have a significant association with pancreatic cancer:
If you are a veteran who spent time at one or more contaminated military bases and now struggle with pancreatic cancer, we encourage you to get in touch with our expert team, as you might be entitled to financial compensation for your physical and emotional distress. The process is simple and will mostly take place over the phone, as we understand how overwhelming suffering from cancer can be.
Our expert team has over 35 years of experience in assessing toxic exposure claims, so if you developed pancreatic cancer due to spending time at contaminated military bases, we can offer you the guidance you need. The only documents you will have to send in are your military records and/or your medical records, which will be used as a starting point in evaluating your case.
After a careful review of your case, we will let you know whether you qualify for compensation. Eligible individuals will be promptly put in touch with a reliable, specialized attorney so they can have their military base toxic exposure claims filed as soon as possible. If you are too ill to participate in the process, you can ask a family member to help you.