The guys had an interesting discussion on the most recent FAWcast about radon. I prefer to talk sports and make snarky comments on this site, but we've had some personal experience that I thought I would share for the public good. When we moved to Ames in 2003, testing the house for radon was recommended, but I treated it like a real estate up-sell and blew it off. Biggest mistake of my life!
My wife grew up in a smoking home (she never smoked). Apparently, you can incur as much as 50% of the damage of smoking by just being in the proximity. Strike 1. Then I moved us to a radon home. Strike 2. And she handled the pool chemicals. Strike 3.
In mid-May 2017, she got sick. For weeks to follow, she just couldn't seem to shake the cough. As the summer went on, it got so bad that she needed oxygen just to keep her O2 level up as they tried to treat the problem. In late summer, they discovered accumulation of fluid in the sacks around the lungs (more than a liter under each lung). Bad sign. Procedures to remove the fluid provided great relief for breathing, but that was only treating a symptom. On the day before the last UNI game (first game of the 2017 season), I'm setting up a tailgate in the RV lot and get the call. Stage IV Lung Cancer. Trooper that she is, she still tailgated the next day and even went to the game before we told anyone.
The stats about Stage IV Lung Cancer are not good, largely because so many people who get it are smokers who eat at McDonalds everyday and don't go to the doctor until it is too late. That was not her. She ate well, exercised, and took better care of herself than any of us in the family. Fortunately, she is doing great. We use an oncologist in Chicago named Dr. Keith Block who specializes in "integrative treatment" (which means he emphasizes chemo, nutrition, supplements, exercise, rest, and more). Because chemo is so toxic, he does whatever he can to help her be strong. Most lung cancer patients die because their bodies can't fight off pneumonia or sepsis, in large part because chemo leaves them so weak. She gets high dose infusions of Vitamin C and Curcumin to help keep her body strong during chemo. She also religiously keeps a strict vegan diet and takes supplements as directed to help her with certain aspects of her blood tests and terrain markers. Her main tumor shrunk significantly right away and she has experienced good progress such that Dr. Block just gave her a 60 day chemo holiday in which to rely just on diet and supplements. A few weekends ago, she biked 7 miles around Ada Hayden park. So, things are looking good for her.
Now, back to the causes. It isn't that radon "causes" cancer. Radon causes inflammation, particularly in the lungs, and inflammation makes an organ hospitable for cancer growth. Same with smoking and pool chemicals. She had the triple whammy. Additionally, we have learned that she is a victim, like most of us, of the American diet and lifestyle that contributes to vulnerability to cancer (e.g. sugar feeds cancer cells at a rate much, much higher than the rate of normal cells). We can't draw the line from any one thing to her cancer, but it makes sense that all these things contributed.
Here is how I understand radon to work. Radon gas leaks into a house through the crevices under the foundation that eventually channel water to your sump tank. When the channels have no water in them, the radon finds the path of least resistance and gets into the channels. The circulating air helps pull the radon into the house. Once in the house, it tends to settle as it is too heavy to "float," so basements are usually the worst. We hired a radon mitigation company to test (we wanted a more reliable test than the one we got from the American Cancer Society). Although we didn't do it, I like the idea of having someone do the testing who doesn't make anything from the installation of the mitigation system because it helps eliminate the concern about being taking advantage of. Indeed, our radon levels were very high. Essentially, they built a frame around our sump tank, covered it with an acrylic sheet, and caulked the seams. A pipe comes through the acrylic cover and runs up into our garage attic where a blower sends the radon into the neighborhood. Seriously, I asked if it is just going to fall down and gather inside our backyard fence, but was assured that once it gets up in the air, it dissipates just like radon that leaks from the ground where there is no house.
So that is our story. It is a bit more personal than I like to be on the site. Snarky anonymity is my preference. But rarely have I had such personal experience to share. I thought it might be a good public service for me to share it with you as CF has become a meaningful community to me.
