Initiative Makes Getting Veterans Cutting-Edge Cancer Technology Top Priority
Long ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs got left behind on cancer research, but now a new push is aiming to bring veterans back into clinical trials. In other news, Vietnam veterans search ships' logs in their continued push to get compensation for possible Agent Orange exposure.
STAT:
Shut Out For Decades, Veterans Slowly Gaining Access To Innovative Cancer Treatments
Veterans have less access to cutting-edge cancer treatments today than at any point in recent history, but a new initiative aims to change that. A major cancer research group is seeking to enroll veterans in clinical trials of experimental therapies. The initiative is in its early stages, and so far only patients with lung cancer can participate. (Tedeschi, 3/4)
ProPublica:
Ailing Vietnam Vets Hunt Through Ships' Logs To Prove They Should Get Benefits
During the Vietnam War, hundreds of U.S. Navy ships crossed into Vietnam’s rivers or sent crew members ashore, possibly exposing their sailors to the toxic herbicide Agent Orange. But more than 40 years after the war’s end, the U.S. government doesn’t have a full accounting of which ships traveled where, adding hurdles and delays for sick Navy veterans seeking compensation. The Navy could find out where each of its ships operated during the war, but it hasn’t. The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs says it won’t either, instead choosing to research ship locations on a case-by-case basis, an extra step that veterans say can add months — even years — to an already cumbersome claims process. Bills that would have forced the Navy to create a comprehensive list have failed in Congress. (Ornstein and Parris, 3/4)
