Well, I know where I can point my finger...

I don't remember exactly when it was, but I remember hearing about the water contamination at Camp Lejeune. This was a base that I lived as a young child for maybe a year or so in the mid '80's, as my Papi was a Marine.

I remember half listening to the information about the contamination and half heartedly asking my Papi questions about our time living there, but the one or two articles that I read mainly spoke of the victims as those that developed cancer, and largely breast cancer at that. Because neither of these applied to me, I just shoved this information in the back of my mind.

And then my husband, who currently subscribes to a newspaper for servicemen, brought me an article to read. And things changed.

The article spoke of just how long the water contamination had gone on, from the early '50's - the mid- late '80's, and how the contamination was due to chemicals from a nearby dry cleaners AND a really bad gas spill that affected the water supply. This would have affected tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people. The symptoms that the victims would suffer included various cancers; breast, uterine, bladder, brain, etc. as well as other tumors throughout the body. The tricky part is that many of those affected would not see these manifestations for YEARS after they moved away, causing pinpointing the offending agent very difficult if not impossible.

The part that really caught my attention, was a young man was mentioned in the article with the exact same tumor as me.

I have always wondered what caused my tumor, and have often asked, fearing that my children would be at risk for developing the abnormal cells in their brains as well. Now, I guess I know.