NEW PRESUMPTIVES FOR THE SOUTHWEST ASIA VETERANS

 Nine new cancers added to the presumed service-connected list related to particulate matter
News Sections: #VetResources, Benefits, Top Stories

Published On: April 26th, 2022
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Bryan Lett is a USMC Veteran and public affairs specialist for VBA’s Office of Strategic Engagement

On April 26, VA announced the addition of nine rare respiratory cancers to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities due to exposure to fine particulate matter for Veterans who served any amount of time in

Afghanistan, Djibouti, Syria or Uzbekistan during the Persian Gulf War, from September 19, 2001, to the present, or
The Southwest Asia theater of operations from August 2, 1990, to the present.
VA is taking a new approach to making decisions on presumptives, one that takes all available science into account, with one goal in mind – getting today’s Veterans, and Vets in the decades ahead – the benefits they deserve, as fast as possible.

VA identified, through a focused review of scientific and medical evidence, a biological plausibility between airborne hazards, specifically particulate matter, and carcinogensis of the respiratory tract; the unique circumstances of these rare cancers warrant a presumption of service connection.

Veterans and survivors who had claims previously denied for any of the below respiratory cancers are encouraged to file a supplemental claim for benefits;

Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx;
Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea;
Adenocarcinoma of the trachea;
Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea;
Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung;
Large cell carcinoma of the lung;
Salivary gland-type tumors of the lung;
Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung and;
Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung.
VA will contact impacted Veterans and survivors to inform them about their eligibility and it will provide information on how to apply.

To apply for benefits, Veterans and survivors may visit VA.gov or call toll-free at 800-827-1000.

Coming in October from Angry Robot

 

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An innovative, edgy near-future dystopian SF thriller and satire on how government treats the disabled from an exciting author, Ever Dundas   The cover for HellSans by Ever Dundas was designed by Kate Cromwell. HellSans will be out on the 11th October 2022.

 

 

Atlanta VA Unopened Mail Backlog

 

Mail stacked in the hallway of the Atlanta VA medical facility. Atlanta VA Health Care System’s Unopened Mail Backlog with Patient Health Information and Community Care Provider Claims

4/27/2022 1:30 PM EDT In September 2021, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on large quantities of unopened mail being stored in the warehouse basement of the VA medical facility in Atlanta. The OIG conducted a review that found the Atlanta VA Health Care System (HCS) had formed a task force to open, sort, and process stacks of mail reportedly piled as high as 10 feet and dating back at least 10 months. When opened, the 17,660 pieces of mail contained medical records, claims, nearly $207,000 in checks, and correspondence from veterans. The mail backlog began accruing after a November 2020 verbal agreement between Atlanta VA HCS officials and VHA’s Payment Operations and Management (POM) personnel. The agreement called for POM staff to vacate space in a building leased by the medical facility where POM was processing mail if Atlanta VA HCS personnel took over the responsibility for processing that mail. The OIG determined that VA should have established a formal agreement clearly detailing each office’s responsibilities. VA HCS leaders did not include responsible managers in decision making discussions and lacked a clear understanding of the volume of mail processing work they were accepting. Atlanta VA HCS did not ensure mailroom staff were adequately prepared or trained to handle or sort the influx of mail, and POM officials were later reluctant to help, citing the verbal agreement. Given the mail mismanagement in Atlanta, VHA should ascertain the effects the mail processing delays had on veterans and community care providers and take corrective action. Because POM is implementing similar transitions at sites across the country, POM and medical facilities need to ensure there is adequate staff with sufficient training to handle the mail processing workload. VA concurred with the OIG’s five recommendations.

A Look Into the Future from Angry Robot

 

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A traumatised woman with amnesia finds her own dead body and sets out to uncover the truth of her demise in a race against time, sanity, crumbling realities and the ever-present threat of the Silhouette.    The cover for Full Immersion was designed by Francesca Corsini. Full Immersion will be out on the 13th September 2022.

 

Prison of Sleep by Tim Pratt available April 26 from Angry Robot

 

­ Prison of Sleep Tim Pratt   Out on the 26th April

­ After escaping the ruthless Lector, Zax Delatree has a new enemy to fight in the sequel to Doors of Sleep.   Every time Zaxony Delatree falls asleep, he wakes up on a new world. His life has turned into an endless series of brief encounters. But at least he and Minna, the one companion who has found a way of travelling with him, are no longer pursued by the psychotic and vengeful Lector.   But now Zax has been joined once again by Ana, a companion he thought left behind long ago. Ana is one of the Sleepers, a group of fellow travellers between worlds. Ana tells Zax that he is unknowingly host to a parasitic alien that exists partly in his blood and partly between dimensions. The chemical that the alien secretes is what allows Zax to travel. Every time he does, however, the parasite grows, damaging the fabric of the Universes. Ana is desperate to recruit Zax to her cause and stop the alien.   But there are others who are using the parasite, such as the cult who serve the Prisoner – an entity trapped in the dimension between universes. Every world is like a bar in its prison. The cult want to collapse all the bars of the worlds and free their god. Can Zax, Minna, Ana and the other Sleepers band together and stop them?

 

Virginia Tech Anniversary

 

Today I have an anniversary to remember. It is one I can only visit in my mind because no matter how many tears, no matter how many "I love yous" and "Prayers lifted" I say or hear can take the pain away.

 

It is not just my pain. It is the pain of a family that is so very close to my heart. It is the pain of a nation that has forgotten how to feel pain any longer.

 

Fifteen years a ago a person with mental health issues locked a college campus down and went from room to room taking lives.

 

32 lives were taken that day. This day is remembered at Virginia Tech. 

 

The Survivors come to remember friends and teachers. 

 

The Staff comes to console whomever they can. 

 

The Parents come to remember their children taken too soon. 

 

The Parents remember their children every day. But on this day the memories become crystal clear, their emotions operate on a higher level; as if, it were yesterday.

 

My prayers and blessings go out to all touched by this anniversary.

 

I can hope that my dear friends will know that I am there with them in spirit and my heart is full of love.

 

Today, we are all Virginia Tech!

 

Afterglow by Tim Jordan available now from Angry Robot

 

Glow is not gone. Glow remains. Glow is alive.

 

The nanotech drug is now everywhere. It creeps across the world, a mind-bending plague, a brain-altering poison that lives on from host to host, twisting everyone to its will.

 

Still recovering from his addiction, Rex remains in hiding, battling the voices in his head that are not all his own. Some days are peaceful, others are downright terrifying. But there are bigger problems to face – a new alliance threatens the balance of power in the world again, and a dangerous enemy from Rex's past tracks him down.

 

Can Rex really be the cure for the plague that Sisters promised him, or the root of humanity’s downfall? Faced with ultimate destruction, Rex must decide if he really is a prophet... or just a coward?

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­  After Glow Tim Jordan   Out Now!

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­ ­ ­ Click Here for More! ­ ­ "Running beneath the violent tangle of identity and memory is a fascinating exploration of how people cope – or fail to – with adversity." – Publishers Weekly  ­

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Stringers by Chris Panatier available from Angry Robot

 

­ ­ ­ ­ Click Here for More! ­ ­ "Where Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy recommended towels, this slapstick and semisweet space opera sends its Earthlings out among the aliens armed only with a jar of pickles… Readers are in for a treat." – Publishers Weekly ­ ­

­ ­ Stringers Chris Panatier   Out Now! ­ A genius is abducted by an alien bounty-hunter for the location of a powerful inter-dimensional object. Trouble is, he can’t remember a thing.   Ben isn’t exactly a genius, but he has an immense breadth of knowledge. Whether it’s natural science (specifically the intricacies of bug sex), or vintage timepieces, he can spout facts and information with the best of experts. He just can’t explain why he knows any of it. Another thing he knows is the location of the Chime. What it is or why it’s important, he can’t say.   But this knowledge is about to get him in a whole heap of trouble, as a trash-talking, flesh construct bounty hunter is on his tail and looking to sell him to the highest bidder. And being able to describe the mating habits of Brazilian bark lice won't be enough to get him out of it.

 

Available Now! The Blood Trials from Harper

 

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.   It’s all about blood. The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.   But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.   Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism and the misogyny, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.   "An action packed adventure paired with luscious world building makes The Blood Trials an enthralling, unputdownable read."  — Bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead, Kalynn Bayron

 Available from Amazon and other Booksellers

Wrath Goddess Sing is available now

 

Drawing on ancient texts and modern archeology to reveal the trans woman’s story hidden underneath of The Iliad, Maya Deane’s Wrath Goddess Sing weaves a beautiful vision of Achilles’ vanished world, perfect for fans of Song of Achilles and the Inheritance trilogy.

Achilles has fled her home and her vicious clan to live as a woman with the kallai, the transgender priestesses of Great Mother Aphrodite. When Odysseus comes to recruit the “prince” Achilles for a war against the Hittites, she prepares to die rather than fight as a man. However, her divine mother Athena, intervenes and transforms Achilles into a woman’s body and promises her glory, power, victory in war, and a child born of her own body.

 

Reunited with her beloved cousin, Patroklos, and his brilliant wife, Achilles sets out to war with a vengeance. But the gods—a dysfunctional family of abusive immortals that have glutted on human sacrifices for centuries—have woven ancient schemes more blood-soaked and nightmarish than Achilles can imagine. 

 

"Epic and triumphant." — Ava Reid, author of The Wolf and the Woodsman

 

Available from Amazon and other Booksellers