I am a Vietnam veteran and was diagnosed with CLL in 1994 (There has already been an Agent Orange/CLL connection made). I began suffering various skin cancers a couple of years before and have been through many mohs surgeries. My oncologists agrees that CLL and Skin cancers are most probably related to my exposure to Agent Orange during my tour in Vietnam.
FYI! I was also diagnosed with Crohns disease in 1985 and suffered a severe bout of Shingles (hospitalized) in 1999.
Early last year I injured my wrists in two separate, very minor accidents. Both wrist became swollen, became very warm to the touch and were, of course, extremely painful. I was advised to consult with an orthopedic doctor as well as a rheumatologists and they both ordered MRIs and Xrays of both hands and wrists. The results indicated the soft tissue in both wrists had been attacked and completely eroded by my immune system(?) and/or some undetermined form of of rheumattoid arthritis. They, and every expert they talked with, were mystified by the event. Eight months later both wrists are locked and the fingers on my right hand stiff.
Question: Could there be a link between the disability/damage to my wrists (rheumatoid arthritis) and my exposure to Agent Orange (Dioxin)?
Thanks for your assistance