Lumber Liquidators and CDC and cancer

NYSpeed Automotive NYSpeed Off Topic
1

Continue with the post I made in this thread - http://www.nyspeed.com/showthread.php?282462-Lumber-Liquidators-60-Mins-Report

I didn’t want to bring this up within an open forum but I am starting to run out of options to get closure on what caused my Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

In 2010, I installed one of the affected Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring in my home - Dream Home Nirvana. I still have an unopened box in my basement. I installed the flooring by myself and cut the flooring to fit my rooms by a miter saw within my house. I was exposed to all the dust particles, handling, and installation of the product. I did not get my air ducks cleaned after getting the flooring installed. However, I did get my carpets professionally cleaned.

I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on Jan of 2012. I received chemo therapy and radiation from Roswell Park Cancer Institute. I have since been placed in remission.

Since the claims back in 2015 and the 60 minute study, I have been skeptical about the claims being accurate. I didn’t do the air test because my flooring would have been 5 years old.

Since the CDC study, I have been following the news and information about this topic closely because I am trying to get closure on how I contracted this cancer. Based on my personal study on the internet, I was able to find a direct correlation between Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and the exposure of formaldehyde. I reached out to my cancer clinic (Roswell Park Cancer Institute) and talked to my doctor. My doctor confirmed that their is a relationship between the exposure to formaldehyde and the development of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

However, my questions seems to be complex and their has not been enough scientific study around it.
Is being diagnosed with cancer within almost 2 years of exposure to the flooring enough time to develop Hodgkin’s Lymphoma?
I understand the statistics from CDC but the research never discussed about the installation, breathing in wood dust/laminate, or the amount of physical exposure to the product during the installation.
Since Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is an environmental cancer, does my claim seem reasonable that this product caused my cancer?
Does the exposure need to be 1 year, 5 years, 7 years, etc? Does the exposure and affects determine on my genetic makeup?

I have reached out to the following Law Firms:

  • Celino and Barnes
  • Brown and Chiari
  • Dietrich Law Firm
  • Lipsitz and Ponterio

Only Lipsitz and Ponterio was interested but dropped my case last week because there is not enough scientific evidence behind how much and how long does one need to get cancer from excess levels of formaldehyde.

Progress being made:

  • Reached out to CDC for more assistance
  • Trying to seek additional lawyers
  • My brother is a soon to be doctor and is studying and researching this information at Med School
  • Think about reaching out to News 4 for assistance

Any other suggestions out there?

Thanks!

CDC Study and results from the Laminate Flooring - http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/laminateflooring/default.html
Studies of workers who breathe in very high levels of formaldehyde over many years have shown a link to rare cancers. Formaldehyde exposure from the tested laminate flooring would be much lower and would last for less time than the exposures linked to those cancers. However, whenever you are exposed to a cancer-causing chemical, your cancer risk increases.
We estimated the increased lifetime risk of cancer based on

  • Installing flooring with the highest formaldehyde levels
  • Breathing in formaldehyde at those levels in the house all day long for two years
  • Note: We chose a two-year time frame because several studies have shown that indoor air concentrations of formaldehyde from new building products usually decrease over time, particularly during the first two years.

We estimated the cancer risk to be between 6 and 30 extra cases for every 100,000 people breathing in formaldehyde from this type of flooring all day, every day. To put these numbers into perspective, the American Cancer Society estimates that up to 50,000 of every 100,000 people may develop cancer from all causes over their lifetimes.

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That’s awesome man! In regards to the questions you asked, I honestly don’t think there are many people on the site qualified to answer them, myself included. My family, both sides, are prone to cancer and you get the “It could be environmental factors that caused it.” “It could be genetic.” “It could be hereditary.” I would think that the exposure would have to be along the lines of you worked for 20 years in the plant in China making the stuff. But, does that doesn’t rule out the possibly you were susceptible to things that cause cancer from day one and this was the final catalyst?

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Not trying to be difficult but did you wear a dust mask of any sort during installation or try to ventilate the work area? I would imagine these questions would come up in any possible future legal proceeding from the defendants attorney. I’ve worked in various forms of construction all my life and honestly sort of regret not being more proactive with regard to wearing breathing protection. I’ve been exposed to large quantities of Cedar, treated, engineered wood dust, drywall dust, concrete dust, demolition dust, etc. and I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton of other things I took in over 25+ years. Thankfully I appear to have no issues to date.

I friend of mine was also diagnosed with Hodgkins a few years back and never really worked in any environments that he would consider “toxic” with no smoking gun as to the cause of his illness. He too is in remission and goes for annual checkups. When I stop and think about all the unnatural things we as a people are using, living around, ingesting, burning, disposing, etc. it’s overwhelming to think what harm we could be causing ourselves.

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With such a short exposure time (installed sometime 2010 and diagnosed Jan 2012) I doubt you’ll ever find a lawyer to take this case. If you were diagnosed in Jan 2012 the cancer obviously started well before that meaning you’re looking at probably less than a year of exposure. It seems highly unlikely the flooring was the underlying cause and probably impossible to ever reach the level of “preponderane of evidence” required to win a civil trial. Basically you’d have to prove that the flooring is more than 50% at fault for your condition. With a disease that modern science can’t even agree as to a cause that’s a tough burden of proof to meet.

When they talk about finding higher cancer rates with this kind of exposure it’s generally plant workers and professional installers who are exposed to it 5 days a week year round, not a DIYer who spent a week or less installing it with moderate exposure to the dust from cutting the product and then the low exposure from the installed product remaining in the home.

It’s human nature to want to understand why a serious health issue happened and unfortunately our brains are trained to equate correlation with causation. Just about from birth we learn to recognize patterns and use those patterns to validate our world. This is how anti-vaxers convince themselves that their kid is autistic because of vaccines. “There are lots of chemicals in vaccines, and in high doses some of those chemicals have been shown to cause brain development issues, and my kid got a bunch of vaccines a year or so before he/she was diagnosed with autism so there must be a link.” There’s a correlation there but science has proven there isn’t causation.

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Thanks man! I was thinking could this could have been a catalyst

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I was not wearing a mask and the installation was being performed during the winter time.
The issue I have is the labeling of the product where it says it meets all the California standards of formaldehyde

That is great with all your exposure that you have not developed any sickness and that your friend is doing very well.

I agree that it is overwhelming and I now have a different take on things when it comes to purchasing products and life.

I just wish our country was not so driven on exporting our everyday products to be made in other countries that don’t have the same legal requirements.

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I do agree with you but my sickness was caught before it hit the blood stream. I was experiencing sharp chest pains and went through a whole month of tests. The only thing that found something was a CTScan. After the CTScan it was my choice to get a biopsy done. In the end, my body was telling me something was wrong because the chest pains around my heart had no correlation to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It is true that if I wasn’t so persistent in telling the DRs that something was wrong, I would have been diagnosed in much later stage when the cancer finally hit my bloodstream and bone marrow.

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My friend had the exact same symptoms. Chest pains just as we were teeing off at a charity golf tournament.

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Glad you are doing well, sorry i can’t help with the case.

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Do you happen to know what stage he was in when he was diagnosed?

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Thanks for the support!!

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Honestly, no. We were in a strange time during our relationship and we actually didn’t speak for many years during his treatments. I know he had a rough time getting through Chemo though.

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Glad you’re doing well man. I’m not going to wade into internet legal advice here but it does sound like you’re doing the due diligence and exploring the options most would suggest.

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Yes, the chemo process was awful - the side affects were the worse.

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Thanks Man - just reached out to Law firm in Rochester that is specializing in this matter - Lumber Liquidators Toxic Laminate Floor | Buffalo Consumer Protection Lawyers