I read recently that exposure to the above chemicals can be the cause of ET. I am 74, ET jak2+, retired, but worked most of my life in the petro-chem and allied industries. This was hinted at in a lecture once but this was the first time I have seen it i print. Has any others had similar experiences?
Michael
Like you I’m in my seventies and worked as a manager in the tyre and motor industry for many years. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the chemical exposures were linked in some way to ET. Walking through production areas and in paint shops was almost a daily routine and goodness knows what vapours were floating around to be inhaled. We may never know.
I believe my ET to be from repeated exposure to chemicals both as an instructor at the Fire Service College and attending fires. Contamination with products was by dermal routes and inhalation.
hI ashby6708. I was diagnosed with ET JAK2 positive. I have worked in the petrochemical & oil & gas for the past 25 years. We used all types of chemicals for mixing & rolling fireproofing materials after spray & hand application to structural steel, mixing all types of paints & for cleaning down structural steel prior to application of the materials. We used Toluene for years for rolling & mixing the fireproofing materials & lots of chemicals with Benzene in them. One of the worst ones we used which is a known carcinogenic was Methylene Chloride which was banned from use in the USA but we still used it in the UK. I tried to claim against the company's i worked for using the chemicals but the solicitors would not proceed with this because researchers only believe these chemicals can be a cause of ET. Until there is actual written proof these chemicals can cause ET we dont have a claim against the companys & manufacturers.
The causal link to toluene and benzene is stated on the MPN Voice website, the last paragraph under the heading 'What Causes'. The corporate interest in suppressing this is obvious, similar to asbestos.
I wonder if my pv jak2 was due to heavy passive smoking for the first 25 years of my life. My mother smoked while pregnant and both my parents smoked so much that sometimes you couldn't see accros the room. House plants never survived, paintwork constantly turned yellow and food always tasted of cigarettes. As a child I would make roll ups for my dad, not knowing any better. I am proud to say that I have never ever so much as put a cigarette in my mouth, nor ever been tempted to. Living in that stinking fog was enough to to deter me.
Carol
I have just been diagnosed at 62 with ET Jak2+, I have worked as Laboratory Technician all my life, lately in schools but in the pharmaceutical industry when I was younger. I have always been very careful when dealing with toxic chemicals, but years ago some of the chemicals weren’t considered to have the effects they are now known to have. I must admit I have wondered the same as you if the fact I now have the mutation is only a coincidence.
Many years ago I worked as a lab technician for a plastics testing lab and used toluene and benzene daily in the lab. My close friend worked with me and at age 40 she developed CLL and years later died from this . I had breast cancer at age 39 and then six months ago was diagnosed with ET . I also suspect that the work I did in the lab may be the cause of my cancers.
Pam
NC USA
The causal link to toluene and benzene is stated on the MPN Voice website, the last paragraph under the heading 'What Causes'. The corporate interest in suppressing this is obvious, similar to asbestos.
I am an analytical chemist working in a laboratory using benzene, toluene, methylene chloride, hexane, ethyl acetate etc., pesticides, other carcinogens. I have ET Jak2+ and so does a colleague.
It is quoted elsewhere but I can't recall just where , I have read it in my research when diagnosed with 'Idiopathic' Myelofibrosis and thought my years of exposure to chemicals in all aspects of my work may have triggered my MF as I was a painter , decorator , but it only ever says there may be a possible link to such. I doubt there will ever be any enthusiasm for proving such links unless someone like Erin Brokovich intervenes.
Chris
Hi. First, great to see you again Chris!😁. I believe the MPNFoundation materials also make reference to the connection. Not positive but I read it recently either there or on Patient Power. We need lots of Erin Brokovichs in the US right now where almost everything has been changed from dangerous/harmful to just fine & adorable. It’s amazing how fast protection from harmful things is disappearing by simply reclassifying them. I am sorry to all who’ve been exposed to these toxins at work. Katie
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