Update on Cancer
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Oct. 9, 2021, 6:24 p.m. by TypicalTimmy
I've been getting a lot of questions and messages lately. I'd like to address them here to merely cover everything at once.
When I left Magic and T/O, it was for my own personal reasons of seeing too much fighting going on within the community. I needed a break and honestly wanted to walk away entirely. Sold nearly everything and moved on. I then used my newly found time to double down on my career, saving a boatload of money by working ungodly amounts of overtime and even a second job. I once worked 84 hours in a single week at just one job - to save for a house because one day I'd like to settle down and raise a family.
Back in April, I began losing my voice. Problem is, my voice would recover but the pain would not. I did an oral inspection and found lumps all over it.
The doctor, in May, diagnosed it as post nasal drip. Gave me antibiotics and nasal spray.
60 days later (refills), not only was there no change, it had gotten significantly worse. I decided to wait it out and try changing my diet and life style. Perhaps an allergy?
Nothing.
July rolls around and we get swamped at work. 60-70+ hour weeks. Simply no time. I take pictures and catalog everything. Friends and family warn me of cancer. Yeah right, sure it is.
August. I see the doctor again. They run tests. Bacterial, viral, fungal, even STD screenings. All negative. By this time the growths have spread and grown to around 5mm in size. Constant pain, not unlike bee stings. Pain extending into my bronchial tubes and left lung. I begin to truly fear cancer. But I'm only 32? It can't be cancer, can it?
September. I discover that the company I work for... the dust and fumes are both carcenogins. I've been breathing in carcenogins for over 5,000 hours with zero proper PPE. I get a cancer insurance policy and am told I need to wait 30 days for it to kick in.
October - where we are now. Appointment is scheduled. I found out likely my insurance won't cover an immediate test. To confirm a test, they would need to do a biopsy - and the insurance company may deny this. Why? Because a biopsy means an invasive surgery to confirm, and the insurance company wants to see the doctors rule everything else out first. This means likely several more months of tests with negative results and medicine that has no effect.
Meanwhile I have now around 10mm masses in my Oropharynx, a "pulp"-like fleshy mass on the immediate back of my throat, and using a tone depressor you can see welts or lumps extending down into my trachea. The pain flares out in the pattern of my bronchial tubes and extends into my left lung. Extreme fatigue and loss of physical strength. If I do not constantly eat, I rapidly lose weight. Nonstop headaches and ear aches, as well as physical pain from breathing - and unending pain in my throat (the "bee stings").
That's why I am largely inactive in terms of making decks, answering questions or assisting others like I use to be. I basically hover in the custom card forum where I can make a quick post and move on.
I've contacted a law firm but they can't move forward without a proper diagnosis, obviously.
But my friends, it gets worse. This same company that has been exposing me to scientifically proven carcenogen, verified by the WHO, OSHA, EPA, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), multiple international studies and more... this same company also exposed me to asbestos paneling.
My boss told me it was fiberglass paneling and told me to clean it by hand. After doing so, enveloped in clouds of white dust that burned my skin like pepper oils and made it so hard to breathe that I had to take off my Covid-19 blue medical mask because even that alone was impossible to breathe through, I began to wonder. I got a test kit, submitted a sample I stole from work. And it is asbestos.
Asbestosis (inflammation of lungs and respiratory) can take months to years to set in, and Mesothelioma can take years to as much as 40 years to set in. Once mesothelioma sets in, the average life span is a mere sixteen and a half months.
Mesothelioma is a death sentence.
Oh and the exposure to asbestos was AFTER the growths began. So the growths and spreading started first, than the exposure to asbestos occured months later. So no, the panels didn't cause whatever... this is.
Anyway... I don't know what will happen with me. What I do know is this.
- Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma has a 70% survival rate. Nice!
- Tracheal cancer and Bronchial cancer have less than 20% survival rates
- If it is cancer, and it's in multiple systems as we suspect, it's already Stage 4, or a very late Stage 3.
I very well could be looking at death here. So. I'm just trying to... I don't know. Vent, I suppose.
Thank you.
SynergyBuild says... #3
Damn, if you find out it's for the worst, please sue the company you work for, that sounds like it's breaking numerous laws. Then spend that money getting the best treatment possible. I wish you luck.
October 9, 2021 7:17 p.m.
Are you free to name the company? If it's happening to you, it's happening to other people. All the best.
October 9, 2021 7:46 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #6
legendofa, legally I can not. As I am looking to sue, I could be held liable for slander. If I go off naming the company, file a lawsuit against them and their attorney decides to do a wide search for "name + cancer" and come across my posts linking cancer to their name, they can file suit against me for making "currently unproven claims".
I can discuss the medical results and the fears and potentially even the industry and the materials, but not the name.
October 9, 2021 8:29 p.m.
Dang that sucks that that company would screw you over like that. Hope you get better ASAP
October 9, 2021 8:59 p.m.
This is....I have no words. Absolutely sickening that they wouldn't even provide you with the proper preventative measure or at the very least inform you. I'm so sorry to hear of your struggles.
Have you tried traditional means of alleviating your pain? If not traditional, then maybe untraditional (weed, homeopathic, etc...)? Being in pain sucks and I wish you nothing but the best <3
October 9, 2021 9 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #9
Profet93, the only medicine I have found that offers any meaningful degree of relief is Benedryl, and only with regards to breathing easier.
I'm no doctor, but if taking antihistamine means the breathing is less problematic, than that means I have inflammation in my respiratory system - confirming the pain and fear that whatever is affecting my throat has spread to my lungs.
Oh, and copious amounts of pain killers. Which isn't necessarily a "good" thing.
Furthermore, being self-medicated on Benedryl and pain killers is a very dangerous combo as the fatigue and numbness makes working and driving very dangerous, especially since I work with power tools and drive a forklift. Lastly, attempting to file a lawsuit on self-medication is a sure-fire way to not be taken seriously, as a case is based on proven medical studies and research and not based on what would amount to anecdotal evidence.
October 9, 2021 9:22 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #10
The only PPE provided were cut resistant gloves which are more dangerous than not when working with a table saw, and safety glasses which failed to fully envelop the face and debris would often get behind them and into my eyes anyway.
I bought my own proper safety glasses.
With the gloves, the saw can snag the glove and pull your hand into it. It's safer to not wear gloves when using power tools.
As for masks, the only masks provided were blue Covid-19 medical masks and, when there was a shortage, N-95 white masks. However, two things:
- Per the CDC guidelines, as I am the only employee working in the saw room (an OSHA violation), I do not need to continually wear a mask as I am not at risk of exposure or at risk of exposing to others.
- Cutting while wearing the mask and glasses cause the glasses to fog up. Given that I am using a table saw, it is horribly unsafe to be unable to see what I am doing. Therefore, it's safer to not wear the mask.
As such, I never wore the mask except on rare occasions. What's more is the blue medical masks do not aid against fumes.
There is a misconception on what those medical masks do: They DO NOT protect YOU from getting Covid-19. They protect others FROM you. If you have Covid, the mask captures the moisture on your breath to limit the virus from spreading outward from you onto and into others. While it is true that the virus is physically smaller than the fabric openings on the mask, it's also true that Covid-19 is a non-airborn virus; It does not simply linger in the air. It travels on the moisture of your breath, and the mask can stop and absorb the moisture like a sponge, thereby stopping the spread.
However, consider how large (ironically) a virus is; It is a very complex organism made of large protein chains.
Fumes from the material I cut are merely freely aerosolized molecular chains, approximately 3 to 5 nanometers in size. Meanwhile the virus is 50 to 140 nanometers in size.
If we take the larger size of 5 nanometers and the smaller size of 50 nanometers, then the polymer I have been breathing in is 10x smaller than the Covid-19 virus. The mask simply does nothing to prevent the polymers from processing the material.
Finally, a very good test is the smell test. If you can smell something through the mask, the mask isn't preventing you from breathing it in. So if you burn a material, and can smell the burnt material, the material's fumes are making it past the filter and into your sinuses. Meaning, the filter didn't work.
October 9, 2021 9:37 p.m. Edited.
If you have confirmed they are using asbestos you should have a slam dunk class action lawsuit against your employer. But good luck we'll be here for you
October 10, 2021 4:27 a.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #12
shadow63, a class action lawsuit is not quite what you are suggesting, but I understand what you mean. Here's the interesting thing on the potentially multiple lawsuits I am reviewing:
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1.) I live in Illinois, USA. This is an unbelievably important detail. Why? Because in the majority of the States, worker's compensation does not cover cancer claims. The reason it does not cover cancer claims is because there are so many things that cause cancer that it is nearly impossible to "prove" any one cause was the actual true cause for the case. As such, many States do not even entertain the idea of worker's compensation covering it. For example, suppose someone works in a refinery and they develop lung cancer. Well, was the cancer caused by the refinery? Or was it smoking? Or was it genetic? Or was it exposure at another job 10+ years ago? Well, here in Illinois, worker's compensation DOES cover cancer - if it can be proven. The studies I have uncovered prove that this material does in fact cause cancer with lymphoma being the #1 most reported cancer, followed closely by tracheal and lung cancer, as well as leukemia. It also causes liver and pancreatic damage, as well as neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive impairment. Oh, and it turns out that the company actually labels their products as a carcinogen. I discovered that on some of their products, they have the "Serious Health Hazard" pictogram, which is an international symbol for serious risk of radiation exposure and / or cancer. This specific pictogram sort of covers both, as radiation exposure most often leads to cancer. So while no, I am not handling radioactive materials, the materials themselves still do cause cancer.
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2.) It turns out that you can not sue for asbestos EXPOSURE. The reason you can not sue for EXPOSURE is because there are currently no DAMAGES. A lawsuit is essentially an argument over monetary hardships and displacement. If I have not incurred damages (time off work, surgeries, medicine, etc) from the asbestos, there is nothing I can sue for. Because asbestos can take years, even generations, before it causes Mesothelioma, suing mere months after exposure is, to use the proper legal jargon, batshit insane. Lol. HOWEVER -- what it turns out I can do is sue, not my company, but the manufacturer of the machine. You see, the machine was produced by Company XYZ and they reported in the manufacturing notes that they used fiberglass paneling as an insulator for radiant heat to prevent damage to the wiring. Well they did not use fiberglass paneling; They used asbestos paneling. So because the manufacturer of the machine lied, I could theoretically sue them, not for damages for asbestos exposure, but for falsely representing the safety of their machine. Though, that likely would not lead anywhere. Interestingly enough, my company would have a far easier time suing than I would, because they bought the machine and were lied to about the materials in use - thus incurring true damages. Now, what I can do is file suit and use this as a footnote. You see, suppose I develop Mesothelioma down the road, or Asbestosis, I can then return to that suit later on and say "We knew about this back in 2021-2022 and therefore we are making the claim.". It's not that you would be suing with the intention to win, rather you would be suing with the intention to solidify it in legal documents for a later date.
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3.) I looked into many organizations (all listed above) who agree that this particular material is very dangerous to Human health. What is interesting is that the CDC found "no evidence" to support the claim that this material causes cancer. This one is a very interesting story. Years ago, six law firms in America filed a lawsuit against the FDA, requesting that the FDA list this material as a carcinogen so that it could be federally regulated. The FDA was represented, in part, by a law firm here in Chicago, IL - this law firm actually brags about it on their very own website as one of their greatest accomplishments. The FDA used the CDC's report to basically stand before the courts and say that the mountains of evidence and piles of bodies were false. Now, why or how does the CDC make this claim? Well, that's a big story also. So there was a company who looked into the elevated cancer rates of Denmark with regards to this specific industry as it began booming over there. The researchers wanted to know why it was that people within this industry were seeing elevated rates of cancer, and why specifically with this material as high as 10x more likely than other materials. What they found is that this specific polymer metabolises in the liver and spreads throughout the body, wreaking havoc across it, with the lymphatic system being the most likely to be destroyed. The study looked at dozens of workers who had cancer rates within 5 - 10 years of mild exposure and found correlation, by finding that workers who had direct exposure developed cancer, but those who did not have direct exposure (clerical workers, managers, non-material handlers, etc) did not. This study was then reviewed by the WHO and IARC who did their own tests, finding the same results. From here, the EPA listed it as a carcinogen and, from that, OSHA set up regulations on handling it. That is when the FDA was sued to regulate and restrict this material with regards to the implementation of food-contact exposure. So, the FDA used the CDC's report to battle it out of court. Now what is it that the CDC found to contradict such claims? I uncovered their 492 PAGE REPORT and read it. It's quite chonky. In their report, they fed both rats and mice enough of this material in water to achieve a rate of 100 ppm, then monitored them both. The rats developed lung cancer, but the mice did not. The report says that the specific cell that the rats developed cancer in is something like 7x more dense in mice; Therefore if these specific cells were becoming cancerous, mice should be at a 7x greater risk than the rats - yet the mice developed no cancer whatsoever. Furthermore, the rats have (with regards to body mass) more cells than Humans. So if rats developed the cancer, but mice did not, and Humans have even less cells per volume than the rats, than we Humans are at a significantly lower risk and thus it is, in the opinion of the CDC, a non-carcinogen. Well, here's the flaw with their study: FIRSTLY - the study admits to rats developing cancer SPECIFICALLY FROM THE MATERIAL IN QUESTION. Secondly, the most frequent form of exposure is inhalation, not ingestion. And I find it quite fascinating that DRINKING WATER CAUSED LUNG CANCER. Think about that, because the reports from the Danish study said it metabolized in the liver and spreads. Thirdly, inhalation can bring about a far higher concentration than 100 parts per million. The actual fact is that having only 100 parts per million is extremely small, for any standard. Breathing in fumes can range into the tens of thousands per million. Fourth, the rats and mice underwent mild, short-term exposure and not chronic, long-term exposure, whereas the Humans in Denmark underwent both mild and chronic long-term exposure. So the study done by the CDC is very flawed. Oh, and fifth, not everybody's body is the same. We could take every single user on this website and expose them to the same levels as I was, and not every user would develop cancer. It all comes down to genetics and how your body handles it. So to say that "Well I didn't get cancer!" is a complete red herring.
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4.) Illinois Senators actually proposed a bill to ban the use, sale and manufacture of this material because of the health risks associated with it. The bill has been in limbo since 2017. The specific legal term is "Session Sine Die".
Essentially, I have been building the foundation of my own case - so that if it is in fact cancer, I can drop this bombshell on a law firm and we nuke this company into the ground. The fact that their own product labels itself as a carcinogen is basically the nail in their coffin because they admit fault right there.
Now as to your claim of a class action lawsuit, what would happen is that it could become that because it is possible that their products are at risk of causing cancer on a global scale - yes, global. This company that I work for is the largest company in this specific field.
There are other potential avenues to explore, such as violation of labor laws, violation of worker's rights, violation of OSHA mandates, violation of EPA mandates, etc.
If this is cancer, we are bringing the Tsar Bomba to the table.
October 10, 2021 5:07 a.m. Edited.
TypicalTimmy says... #13
I've spoken before on this site about my rage.
I'll destroy an entire corporation if I need to. My life is worth more to me than their bottom line.
October 10, 2021 5:14 a.m.
Wow. That was insane to read through. I think you definitely have a shot at ripping them a new one. I'd make a joke about Johnny Silverhand and Arasaka Corp. from Cyberpunk 2077, but jokes seem like they'd be in bad taste right now.
Once that's all settled, I hope you get all the treatment you need and make a full recovery as fast as possible. Wishing you all the best.
October 10, 2021 9:34 a.m.
It's terrible that corporations still treat employees like disposable things and don't protect them, even with the bare minimum. I studied workplace safety and, unfortunately, yours is a story many people also have gone through, not necessarily cancer, but a disease or accident that completely changed their life.
Even though suing them won't get your heath back, I at least hope you're able to damage them as much as you can so other people don't suffer as much as you're suffering.
Best of luck to you.
October 10, 2021 6:12 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #16
The hilarious part is, we don't even have HR. My boss doesn't want to, using his words here: "Pay some lady to sit on her ass."
I don't think he quite understands what HR does. Firstly, HR is not there to protect you - the employee - from the company. HR is there to protect the COMPANY FROM YOU.
For example, suppose you have a male employee who is sexually harassing a female employee. HR will very obviously side with the female employee and go though the appropriate steps to mitigate or remove the harasser. That can be though offering shift changes, suspensions and terminations. But these implementations, while beneficial for the female employee, are no designed for her safety. They are designed to ensure the female employee doesn't file a lawsuit against the company.
Now yes HR does tremendous amounts of good for their employees, there's no denying that. But the goal of HR is not to benefit the employee, it's to benefit the company.
Other roles of HR can be things like seeing the implementation of safety standards to prevent injury (and thus lawsuits), to ensure worker's rights such as lunches, wages and hours (preventing lawsuits), preventing the release of medical and insurance information (lawsuits) and so much more.
Because my boss has elected to merely not hire an HR representative, there is zero structural framework in place to protect him from me.
October 10, 2021 7:14 p.m.
SynergyBuild says... #17
TypicalTimmy Holy shit. Pardon my language but no hr? Is it like 5 people working there? I cannot imagine a functioning business with 10-20 people that doesn't have some oversight to help related matters. Your boss sounds like something out of a bad TV show.
You sure your not in some movie right now about to be struck by lightning, gain superpowers and stomp that company with the power of thunder?
Also that reasoning is pretty sound, I knew HR was valuable but I enjoyed the breakdown.
October 10, 2021 7:47 p.m.
Unfortunately, the same thing happens with workplace security. You are not there to protect the worker, you are there to make sure they keep working for as long as possible, not because the company cares, but because having healthy workers gives less headaches. Things truly are sad sigh
And, Holy Crap. Your boss looks like a horrible person.
October 10, 2021 8:06 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #19
I was forced to come in literally right now.
What my boss does is he sells product we don't have, then he schedules production to meet that demand. Now I get it, you need to run stock and sell product and everything, I understand. But what he will do is sell like 3 or 4 full trailers worth of product that isn't produced yet, then demands we work to produce it. He refuses to hire staff, citing that it's beneficial for us because we get overtime.
To put into perspective just how much I've worked, in just 17 months I've worked just under 5,100 hours. Full time (40hrs x 52wks) is only 2,080.
So 24 months is 4,160 hours.
I've done nearly 1,000 hours on top of that in 17 months. The most I have worked in a single week is 84.36 hours.
I've already worked more than 2,080 hours this year alone.
So what happened just now is the 2nd shift guy for weekends, his uncle died. He's going to the hospital. But because my boss refuses to staff appropriately, people need to be called in. If we don't work, then the promises our boss made to our clients fall through. The clients then rip my boss a new asshole for lying to them, and then he rips us apart for not working the hours he demands. Then he argues with us that if we can't do the work we shouldn't be there.
He went against my contract I signed and emailed everybody in the company that I am "on call".
I never agreed to this. I'm an hourly employee, not salary and not a manager. He has zero right to make that demand of me and change my contract without me signing and agreeing to a new one.
So now here I am, at work after having already put in 67 hours this week, because my boss is an utter and complete fucking asshole.
October 10, 2021 8:25 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #20
I think he didn't hire HR so that we have nobody to complain to about his performance. It's his way of protecting himself.
Well, we shall see how well this works out for him when I file the labor lawsuit for forcing us to work 20+ days in a row without leave. That one is a federal offense and it's kept in record by our timecards.
Most days I worked in a row was 23.
I've also worked 18+ hour days - also a federal offense.
I also routinely work with zero lunch or breaks because the amount of work he gives me is so much that if I stop working, I don't finish it and have to listen to him bitch at us.
So yeah. When I get the results back, if it is indeed cancer, I am going to bury them beneath a mountain of litigation.
October 10, 2021 8:30 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #21
I KNEW IT, I F---ING KNEW IT!! THAT LYING SLEEZEBAG
I've been saying FOR A YEAR NOW that I suspect our boss has been recording audio at work. He has cameras set up for security reasons; We are a Federal Trade Zone. Also, manufacturing, always a good idea to have cameras in place.
There would be times that I would have a conversation with someone and the very next day my boss would talk to me about it, like it was some fresh idea in his head. I'd ask my coworkers if they are talking behind my back - and express that I don't mind and it's all okay, I understand, I just would like to know.
The first shift guy absolutely hates drama. He will walk away if he can or change the subject mid-sentence. The third shift guy gives a negative amount of fucks to the point he will actively flip the cameras off and break shit on purpose.
Well here I am, sitting in the break room on yet another 14-15 hour day when I was looking at the camera. Used my phone to zoom in and pulled the specs printed on it.
Reolink - some of the best cameras with built-in microphones money can buy.
Oooooh now I'm mad.
- "Illinois is a strict two-party consent state. In many circumstances, it is illegal to record a private conversation in Illinois unless all parties have given consent. ... Under Illinois law, you can be charged with a crime for using an “eavesdropping device” to record a private conversation without consent."
October 12, 2021 1:52 a.m. Edited.
My advice would be delete this thread ASAP. Look at getting a lawyer like yesterday.
Good luck. I hope things are better. Fingers crossed it isnt cancer <3
October 12, 2021 2:12 a.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #23
LeaPlath, already reached out to a firm.
I'll leave it up to mods / admins if they want to delete this. They have my permission if they'd like to. Doesn't bother me one bit.
But I haven't named the company, industry nor material. So there's not much really tying me to anything. Sure the state, but we have how many companies here? That means nothing.
But again, if mods / admins want to delete this thread, go right ahead. I just needed a place to vent and, quite frankly, this is all I have left. Facebook is horrible and I don't use anything like Reddit or whatever. I've got no friends left and no family to turn to.
All I have left in life is my cat. That and this crappy job. That's all.
October 12, 2021 3:17 a.m. Edited.
I would consider taking some time off your job or at least going to a reduced schedule
October 12, 2021 4:28 p.m.
TypicalTimmy says... #25
Update:
Doctor (otolaryngologist) put me on a treatment regiment for stomach ulcers. He wants to test for those first for the following reasons, after listening to my concerns:
- Persistent since April
- Continually worsening
- Antibiotics do nothing
- Allergens do nothing
- Bacterial tests are negative
- Viral tests are negative
- STD tests are negative
- Growths are worsening
- Inflammation is worsening
- Pain is worsening
Taking all of this into account, he believes it's stomach ulcers. His thoughts are that if stomach acid and fumes are encroaching upward, it could be causing damage that the body does not have time to heal, if it is chronic. He said it explains pretty much all of the damage and inflammation while also not reacting to any medicine and being negative on all tests.
However, he also admitted that he is only guessing at this moment, because I lack the callings of an ulcer, such as:
- Localized pain in the stomach
- Acid reflux (pain, burning, "burping")
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty eating
So the influx of acid would explain the damage, but I lack the symptoms that typically are associated with it. So for the next six weeks I am on the regiment to see if there is any positive change. Been on it for a week now, so five weeks left to go.
So far, I have seen no positive change.
Just wanting to keep you all updated, since you all have shown support and kindness.
Thank you.
Oh, and I got Rotoscoped. He stuck a camera up my nose and down into my throat. The damage goes down quite far. That was a fun experience (not). Better than the other end, I suppose. Lol.
RNR_Gaming says... #2
Jesus. That seriously sucks. I hope you're able to receive good treatment and make it into remission.
October 9, 2021 7:02 p.m.