It got me thinking; I survived three tours in RVN. But, I brought Agent Orange home with me. I have had five surgeries to remove cancerous organs to date. Each time after the first one they have asked me if I have ever had any surgeries. I said, can you read my medical history? Yes, of course was the answer each time. The last time (#5) they told me I had cancer of the left kidney, and they would have to remove it.
I asked for a second opinion by a civilian Dr. They did a second MRI, and found that it was a"thing" growing on the back side. The VA Dr just said "oh..." and sliced me open about 1 1/2" across the front, slid my guts and kidney out of the way and removed the thing that was growing on the back. I had made a written request for it to be biopsied to determine what it actually was. They sent half of it to the VA Med Ctr in Seattle, and the other half to Johns Hopkins. By a curious twist of fate, the USPS somehow lost both packages. To this day I still wonder what it was they actually found of one or the other, or both; and why the VA did not want me to know.
My last annual the new Dr I have pronounced me cancer free. Cross my fingers...
Rich