[vinnysm7Participant]

hi there , this is my first posting on here ,
i was diagnosed nearly a year ago , been through a year of various treatments , and having started with a suboptimal response my plasma levels crept up again .ive just started DT-PACE . ive done my first week and im home now , second cycle in november .
i wanted to see if theres a way to raise awareness in carpenters , joiners cabinet makers etc of the risk factor of myeloma if you are in these trades , or trades involved with wood , dust wood chips etc.

as time has gone by over the last year ive found more and more that people with this condition are carpenters etc .
friends of friends , people ive met at UCLH macmillan centre .

i think because its not a well known condition its links aren’t known either .
having been in the trade , i know so many other carpenters that have never heard of this .
if id known of it i might have looked deeper into the back pain i was suffering for months and put down to pulled muscle !!
and id like to think that my friends and working associates could be aware of this now i have it .
i think it needs to be publicised so people know about it , even if its only 5000 people a year being diagnosed .

they should be given the chance to identify this at an early stage .
i was wondering how many people on here have been involved with wood and mdf etc.

i spent years n=being covered in wood chips and dust .
maybe now im paying for it .
awareness is everything . id like to make this a household name amongst the carpenters and joiners of the country.
i don’t wanna be putting my name out there , im not in it for recognition , id like it if somehow MYLOMA UK , could see if theres a way to bring it to peoples attention.
and also other links and risk groups .
to many people say they’ve never heard of this ,
i think its time people recognised all the names of all the cancers .

[robert0439Participant]

Hi Vince. I would not be surprised to hear that there is a link to the industry you have been working in for many years. As for myself, I was in aircraft/engine manufacturing and maintenance industry, where I was exposed to cutting fluids, coolants, hydraulic fluids, and engine fuels etc. I was diagnosed with smouldering myeloma in June of 2014 and at that time I read somewhere there was a connection to the line of business that I had been in.

In January of this year I had a stem cell transplant where I can only describe this as pretty brutal however, looking back it was indeed the best thing I did as I am now just about back to normal enjoying life to the full but just being careful in what I do. Long may is last.

Good luck and best wishes to you for the future.

Kind regards,
Robert Gale

[peterlParticipant]

Good Morning Vince,

Prior to retirement I worked for the Americans, Canadians and British on various comms’ related projects as a consultant/advisor. But in my spare time I enjoyed making models using obvious materials like: wood, metals, composite boards, MDF etc, along with the vast number of glues and solvents available. I got fed-up with the travelling involved in my main job, so took early retirement to spend more time with the family. But after 6 months I got ‘stir crazy’ – and decided to look for a local job – and that was my big mistake.

I got a job in two local secondary schools. I took some courses and ended up taking small classes for GCSE Maths, ‘A Level’ Maths and Physics (I have a degree in physics). I then, in my view, compounded my mistake by agreeing to assist the students in the CDT (woodwork/metalwork) workshops because of staff shortages. One of the schools was a typical turn of the 20th century building, re-worked and patched up to cater for modern educational needs. The workshops were an absolute ######## nightmare! I’m familiar and can operate most workshop type machines: metal and wood lathes, large sheet bench cutters, milling machines, band saws… But the problem was dust and debris extraction, which was virtually non-existent. There was little ‘properly engineered extraction systems’ so for example the band-saw machines emptied their fast flowing debris, through a floor tube (about 4″ dia) into a dampened bed retainer. Walking anywhere near the workshops first thing in the morning, I could smell the MDF dust in the air. I took pictures, complained, but got no where. So I left after a year. I honestly think that the exposure I had was a contributing factor to my myeloma (diagnosed mid 2015). Proving a causal link is however difficult – especially considering the thousands of American and UK patients newly diagnosed each year – who have absolutely no connection with ‘wood’ exposure.

It’s a big mistake to underestimate the seriousness of this nasty disease. NICE define myeloma as “A chronic and ultimately fatal condition that seriously affects quality of life.” – this being irrespective of the treatment pathways chosen. So, as you say, anything that can be publicised to warn potential patients of the risk should be done as soon as possible. I’ve no idea whether you have a trade association? But as a start maybe you could try and get any further evidence available (concerning carpenters) and any higher than usual occurrence of myeloma in that group? Myeloma UK may be able to help? I think your post is extremely useful, and I wish I knew the best way to address the problem.

Regards,
Peter

[Author]

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