No Longer Accepting Claims
Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit Facts
TorHoerman Law is no longer accepting claims for the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Lawsuit.
Intake Closed
An increased risk of Leukemia has been identified by professionals who’ve studied the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and veteran medical records as a tragically common diagnosis.
About Leukemia
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming systems of the body, impacting blood cells, bone marrow and the lymphatic system.
There are four main types of leukemia diagnosed:
- Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
- Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)
The various types of leukemia progress differently and impact the blood-producing systems of the body in ways unique from one another.
There are also other, rarer types of leukemia that aren’t listed above.
Leukemia impacts people of all ages, especially children.
According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, nearly 400,000 people are living with or in remission from leukemia and nearly 60,000 people are diagnosed with the cancer every year.
Leukemia and its Causes
Leukemia diagnosis can be linked to a number of different factors, both environmental factors and non-environmental, genetic factors.
Environmental Leukemia causes include, but are not limited to:
- Chemical Exposure: exposure to certain chemicals, particularly Benzene, has shown to increase the risk of Leukemia.
- Exposure to Radiation: Scientific and medical evidence has shown that exposure to radiation greatly increases the risk of all types of leukemia.
- Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of developing Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)
- Chemotherapy Drugs: Certain drugs used to fight other cancers can inadvertently increase the risk of leukemia, especially if the treatment is long-term (2-10 years).
Benzene, a main environmental risk factor for Leukemia, contaminated water supplies at Camp Lejeune.
Research on the relation between Benzene exposure and Leukemia include:
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health: Leukemia and Benzene
- Environmental Health: Exposure to benzene at work and the risk of leukemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Epidemiology: Leukemia Risk Associated With Low-Level Benzene Exposure
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): Leukemia in benzene workers
The effort to prove that leukemia, specifically childhood leukemia, can be associated with exposure to benzene has been difficult.
An article from the Guardian published in 2014 details the story of a Georgia family and their fight to bring justice for their son who developed leukemia while living in close proximity to BP-owned petroleum tanks.
BP and their subsidiaries spent millions funding research to invalidate the findings that benzene does in fact contribute to leukemia diagnoses.
Leukemia Symptoms and Complications
The various types of leukemia present themselves in different ways and levels of severity.
Symptoms across these types of leukemia are generally similar to one another.
Listed below are early warning signs and common symptoms of leukemia:
- Fever or chills
- Persistent fatigue, weakness
- Frequent or severe infections
- Losing weight without trying
- Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen
- Easy bleeding or bruising
- Recurrent nosebleeds
- Tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae)
- Excessive sweating, especially at night
- Bone pain or tenderness
There are serious complications associated with leukemia, especially if treatment isn’t undertaken as soon as the warning signs appear.
- Severe infection
- Urinary tract infection
- Pneumonia
- Skin infection
- Bleeding throughout the body
- Intracranial hemorrhage: bleeding in the brain and skull
- Pulmonary hemorrhage: bleeding in the lungs
- Gastrointestinal hemorrhage: bleeding in the stomach and/or intestines
