Staff Report

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Vietnam veterans and their family members or survivors are encouraged to attend a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the chemical defoliant Agent Orange, which was used during the Vietnam War and which adversely impacted the health of many soldiers who served in Vietnam.

The Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting is slated for Wednesday, Sept. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post, 350 S.W. 25th St., Fort Lauderdale.

Staff members from the Vietnam Veterans of American headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., will be on hand to review the possible health effects and to discuss benefits available to veterans, family members and survivors who may have been impacted by Agent Orange.

The Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting is being hosted by the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, as part of a tour through Florida organized by the Florida State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America. “This is an educational opportunity for vet- erans and families to learn more about Agent Orange, and what options are available to them,” said Stephen Bowers, President of the Fort Lauderdale Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Among the adverse health impacts potentially linked to Agent Orange are laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, bronchial cancer, tracheal cancer, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma, amyloidosis (AL), early onset peripheral neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, porphyria cutanea tarda, ischemic heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

For more information about the Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting or to RSVP, call 954/9666300, ext. 11482.