Pennsylvania Congressional Leaders Look for Answers on Philadelphia VA Cancer Treatment

Yesterday, Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) convened a special field hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs in an effort to determine what went wrong with the Philadelphia VA Hospital's prostate cancer treatment unit late in June.

Last week, the New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer broke stories about botched prostate cancer treatments at the Philadelphia VA resulting from misplaced radioactive "seeds" designed to slowly treat the disease through a procedure known as brachytherapy. The media painted a grim picture of the Philadelphia VA's "rogue cancer unit," which appeared to lack proper oversight for its prostate cancer treatment.

The stories focused on a retired Air Force veteran, Rev. Ricardo Fillipin, whose prostate cancer treatment resulted in severe radiation burns that needed immediate attention outside of the VA health care system. Adding insult to injury, Fillipin received a letter from the VA four years later acknowledging a “possible” mistake.

Yesterday's hearing presented a much different story about the Philadelphia VA and the doctor embroiled in the controversy, University of Pennsylvania Dr. Gary Kao, who was contracted by the Philadelphia VA to perform brachytheraphy. Reps. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) and John Adler (D-N.J.) joined Specter to preside over the hearing and ask pointed questions of each witness.

Of particular interest during the hearing were the assertions by the Philadelphia VA and Dr. Kao that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) actually had proper oversight of the facility, as did VA administrators. In fact, VA's acting undersecretary for health, Dr. Gerald Cross, noted that the Philadelphia VA's brachytherapy program had been reviewed by independent agencies on several occasions, and all indicators pointed to a program that exceeded national standards.

Dr. Kao also testified that misplaced seeds are common in brachytherapy and do not necessarily connote a "botched procedure" by the NRC. NRC representative Steve Reynolds refuted this statement, an assertion that the panelists seemed reluctant to accept based on further evidence provided by Dr. Kao. Representative Fattah went as far as to say that the issues raised by the Philadelphia VAMC's brachytherapy missteps may be indicative of a broader health problem within the private health care industry.

During a touching moment, Dr. Kao attempted to make amends with Fillipin for the suffering he endured as a result of botched treatments, telling Fillipin that he deserved better care and he deserved to know what happened.

VA has come under fire for several key oversight issues in the last few months as the result of numerous internal investigations. AMVETS leaders are keeping a close eye on all of these issues to ensure that VA delivers appropriate care to all affected veterans. Congress will once again address the VA brachytherapy issue in a hearing before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs after the Fourth of July recess. Check back with American Veteran Online as details of this story continue to unfold. To view a list of witnesses from yesterday’s hearing and to read their statements, Click Here.

(Photo: Dr. Gary Kao testifies before Sen. Arlen Specter, Rep. Chaka Fattah and Rep. John Adler at a special Congressional hearing on the Philadelphia VA's recent brachytherapy controversy. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)

Magazine Update: Veterans For Education

In the fall issue of American Veteran magazine, we explored the challenges facing veterans returning to college. In the story, we profiled the student-veterans' group, Veterans For Education (V4E), at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Since last meeting with the students at Rutgers, V4E has continued to work tirelessly to improve the perception of veterans on their own campuses and at schools across New Jersey.

William Brown, a former Navy SEAL who helped to establish the group alongside Army veteran John Cosby, continues to work with newly-appointed New Jersey Congressman John Adler on the Congressman's veterans' advisory board. Leading up to the election, Brown and his V4E colleagues hosted a congressional debate between Adler and challenger Chris Meyers. V4E's work keeping tabs on both Adler and Meyers leading up to Nov. 4, inspired Adler to seek counsel from V4E on veterans' issues once in office.

Brown has also developed an ambitious idea to run across Iraq from Kirkuk to Basra as a sign of good will and to raise funds for Iraqi charities. Brown's idea has been highlighted by a variety of major media outlets, including the New York Daily News and the Boston Globe. AMVETS has offered support to Brown in his efforts to make this run a reality within the coming year.

The current president of V4E, Bryan Adams, a former Army sniper who was wounded in Iraq, has gained significant notoriety in his own right over the last six months through his work with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). In the fall, IAVA enlisted Adams' help as its new national spokesman. Adams is featured along with IAVA's director of government affairs, Todd Bowers, in the new Ad Council public service announcement, "Alone." The PSA, which can be viewed below, recently won the 2009 New York ADDY award. Adams is currently also in the running for student body president at Rutgers Camden.



Through the leadership of Brown, Adams, and Cosby; and with the support of the Student Veterans of American (SVA), the veterans at Rutgers have become vocal authorities on student-veterans' issues across New Jersey. V4E has been working for months with the New Jersey Legislature to pass legislation authorizing state colleges and universities to accept college credits from military transcripts, as part of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges program. The group is also pushing through legislation that would authorize the state's office of veterans' affairs to assign veterans' assistance officers to college campuses across New Jersey; a story that has been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer and syndicated on Military.com.

Unfortunately, V4E continues to face challenges within their own student body. Recently, an Army Major visited Rutgers Camden School of Law to inform students about opportunities with the Army JAG Corps. The officer was greeted with offensive signs put in place by a Rutgers student disparaging the honorable service of our men and women in uniform as a method of protesting the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Not only were the signs misdirected toward service members, but they also contained racially-charged remarks, out of the context from the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" debate. One military student enrolled in the law school, Vivek Sahani, took offense to the signs and sought to take action with campus officials.

Thanks to Sahani's efforts, the campus is reviewing the actions of the student responsible for placing the signs. Similar protests have taken place on college campuses nationwide, leaving many veterans feeling unwelcome in academia; victims of a debate on controversial policies over which they have no control. Check back with American Veteran to follow this story's developments. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on the issue, or if you have had similar experiences on college campuses near you.

(Photo: Veterans For Education members last fall at Rutgers Camden, photo by Ryan Gallucci. Video: IAVA's "Alone" public service announcement featuring Bryan Adams, used with permission from IAVA.)