jcawork Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Hi Guys, Well, my house came back contaminated for Radon. I checked w/ a number of physicians including our ask the experts and yes, Radon is a contibutor to sclc. Add smoking and you have quite a mess. I never knew this. Please get your homes checked. It doesn't matter for us-too late, but if others live in your home they are at risk. Sometimes significant risk. For example, my husband quit a heavy smoking habit at 40. He is 55 and his randon/smoking combo risk remains the same for 20 years. Well, I add this-radon, the asbestos exposure 8 years ago, the teenage repair shop chemical exposure and smoking on top of it etc..... Too many people on this board are VERY young for lc/sclc if you havnt noticed. Something is up. I suspect its radon. When I saw a surgeon for a consult w/ I first got dx w/ lc, but didnt know what type yet, he had 3 young patients (40's) all from the same subdivision in the same year w/ lc. He had them all check and they were all off the charts for radon. Food for thought. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggiesmom Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Are you in a private house (not an apartment building, I mean)? I wonder does radon come up thru the ground and is it capable of contaminating an apartment building? How do you get tested for radon? I live on the third floor of a nine story building. It was built around 1950 and I know there was plenty of asbestos used at that time. We were told all the asbestos was removed. I don't know if I totally believe that. Also, last November I was home for a week and during that time they were doing MAJOR outside concrete work on the terraces which created a STORM of dust. It was all over my house and there was no avoiding it. For a week or so after I was coughing up blood. Scared the hell out of me. Then it stopped, but I believe that was definitely no good for me. It's always something. Joanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcawork Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 Hey Joanie, I live in a house and dont know about apartments If you google radon there are millions of sites and info. I remember w/ you were coughing up blood and the dust. You can go online to get radon tests. Then you send it to a lab. Get it anyway and check. Cant hurt. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadstimeon Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Hi Joanie, Here is a site that might be helpful. Does mention about being a ("A Radon Guide for Tenants") tenant. Can get a kit at Home Depot etc. Hopes this helps. Rich http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/tenants.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Don't just get the air checked.....CHECK YOUR WATER FOR RADON TOO. I've posted about this before. Our basement is airtight...NO radon. But we sit near a rock ledge and our neighborhood does have radon in the water. Everyone around here is on a well. We've had a carbon alleviation system installed to remove most of the radon in our water....getting in down below or at the government recommendations. When we moved in here there was and still is, to my knowledge, NO federal limits on radon in one's water. It is recommended that no more than about 500 picocuries per liter of radon be in the water...but there are no federal restrictions on radon in the water, as there ARE for radon in the air. The radon in our well amounted to over 15,000 picocuries per liter when we were tested! This was about 16 years ago. Our first winter in this house, I got so hoarse I sounded like Kermit the Frog! Within weeks of having the allieviation installed...my voice returned to normal. What you have to remember with radon in your water is that it's NOT drinking it that is the risk. Radon is a gas. When you take a hot shower, part of that "steam" you are breathing in is radon gas!!! THAT is the real danger with radon in your water, as I understand it. It's one of many environmental risks. I didn't panic about moving out of this house....because aside from the radon, my smoking, my thyroid issues and female hormones....there could be other reasons I got cancer too. But....it doesn't hurt to be prudent....and testing one's home for radon in the air AND the water system is a good idea. Those on city water are probably okay....but having a sample taken and tested is not terribly expensive as I recall...and may still be worth the peace of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patkid Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Brian had our home tested for Radon. Our average over 2 days was 9.1. The literature says "even levels below 4 pCi/L pose some risk. There is a lot of info on the internet about Radon Gas. We are going to install a mitigation system.................seems rather like closing the barn door after the horses are out, but.........right now I am letting Brian call all the shots............It is vital that he HAS SOME KIND OF CONTROL OVER SOMETHING................ Who knows what we have all been exposed to..............I remember as a kid sitting on the front porch and watching the big city equipment go up and down the streets spraying pesticides to kill Dutch Elm Disease. We thought it was entertainment................then we went to the back yard and sat at our picnic table and ate lunch...............no one even knew to cover up the eating areas........................... Life is a crap shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 My house in my home town had radon. It was one of the first things we checked after my mom (non-smoker) was diagnosed. It came back 4-5 times the "action level" She also had a lot of 2nd hand smoke exposure at work and renovated a few apartment buildings (a lot of dust) and who knows what else. Asbestos usually is associated with mesothelimoa (sp?) which she did not have. The higher you are from the ground I would assume the less risk from radon. It is a natural gas that comes out of the ground. There are sites that show typical radon level for different states. Some states/areas have more. Most buildings are not air tight so if you are in an apartment and are not near the ground level, I would think there is less risk. You can buy kits to do a self test and then send them to a lab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Patkid, Just read your post. Sorry about Brian. It still is a good idea to get the mitigation system. It is interesting that my mom had neuroendocrine carcinoma. Wonder if the radon causes this type of cancer more? Also SCLC is a neuroendocrine type of cancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Interesting Addie, I never knew radon could be in the water (as you said it is a gas). Thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 If you can get through all the gobbledegook (Can NOBODY in the government write a paper that lay people can understand without having to go back to school themselves???? ) here is a link about radon in the water: http://www.infiltec.com/infwater.htm Don't go looking for a clear, simple statement though on what the government deems a "reasonable" level of radon in water....because if it's there...it's buried. I'm on my way to chemo and don't have time to look for it. What I said earlier though....less than 500 picocuries per liter of water....is the number WE were given years ago as a "recommended" amount to shoot for when we installed the system to get rid of most of the radon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouse Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Jen! Thanks for posting this! I bought a Radon Detecting Kit a week or so ago and haven't used it, yet. I suspect radon, because of the large numbers of cancer victims in the neighborhood. We have people with breast cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer. This is what I remember, without asking family members. These people all were within a 3 block area. One of the girls who grew up here lost a child to Luekemia! Because it was a lovely day, Husband aired out the basement! Will need to wait! Will start the test, soon! We have City Water, Addie, but I have three adult children living on well water. I must tell them! Half of my life has been spent in this basement for 48+ years! Washing, ironing, sewing, crafting and now, my computer is down here! And guess what else I did down here? Yes! I smoked! Wonderful! Never even heard of Radon in the 50's when we bought the house! Too late for me, but the children???? Love, Marge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 May I remind those on city water that the water comes from somewhere? Our "city water" actually comes from eight wells! I think one of the differences between "city water" and non-city water is the addition of chlorine and flouride - and if radon is a gas, would chlorine "clean it" out of the water? I think if I were testing my home, I would test my water - city water or not. A thought, not sure if I'm making sense, lacking real rest and my ol' brain is going swiss-cheezy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 Better safe than sorry, Beck.....so no, it's not a bad idea to check city water too. Dunno what I was thinking...but I do think the risk is a bit higher with well water....because in many parts of the country you'll find wells drilled near areas with lots of rock or rock ledge...and I think that has something to do with how radon gas gets into the water. Isn't it the breakdown of uranium or something that turns into radon gas? Jeez.....I shouldn't have slept so much in science class....eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 http://www.rpii.ie/radon/Radonindrinkingwater.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmaydee Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 ...hmmmm maybe.... (radon).... but the 3-5packs of cigs i smoked everyday may have been a contributing factor....hehehehe.... .....s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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