Email to DVA 14/4/2025

Dear DVA,

I am continuing to compile evidence of my complex health conditions and their likely connection to my father’s service-related Agent Orange exposure. This latest information is drawn directly from my GP Health Summary, printed on 6 February 2025 from North XYZ Medical Centre.

Active Medical Conditions:

1. Bilateral Dupuytren’s Contracture

2. Right Trochanteric Bursitis

3. Severe Osteoarthritis of Fingers

4. Severe Osteoarthritis of Foot

5. Left Lumbar Radiculopathy

6. Mild Scoliosis

7. Degenerative Disc Disease – Cervical Spine

8. Dermoid Tumour (Ovarian)

9. PTSD

10. Major Depression

11. Neuropathic Pain

12. Chronic Pain

These conditions have had cumulative physical and mental impacts, all contributing to substantial, ongoing impairment in daily life. The congenital and degenerative nature of many of these conditions supports a second-generation toxicological injury.

Connection to Agent Orange (TCDD):

The pattern and nature of these illnesses match the profile of toxic developmental interference from in utero dioxin exposure:

• Dupuytren’s Contracture: This fibrotic condition is increasingly seen in veterans and second-gen individuals. Dioxin exposure affects connective tissue fibroblast proliferation, directly linked to fibrosis and abnormal tendon shortening.

• Radiculopathy, Scoliosis, DDD, and Osteoarthritis (Early/Severe): Skeletal abnormalities (including scoliosis and transitional vertebrae) and advanced degenerative spinal changes are developmental anomalies associated with prenatal toxic exposure, as dioxin disrupts vertebral patterning and disc integrity.

• Dermoid Tumour (Ovarian): A teratoma with teeth, hair, and its own blood supply—found in the sac of Douglas—suggests early embryonic cellular disorganization. This is consistent with in utero endocrine disruption and improper cell migration—hallmarks of toxic embryogenesis caused by TCDD.

• Neuropathic Pain & Chronic Pain: Chronic nerve dysfunction, particularly in patients with spinal deformity and disc disease, may stem from developmentally flawed vertebrae and compromised nerve root canals—as shown in multiple spinal scans already submitted.

• PTSD and Depression: While these are common among veterans, second-gen descendants also report high rates of neuropsychiatric disorders, likely due to neurodevelopmental damage from dioxin and the epigenetic impacts on HPA axis formation and stress regulation.

Relevant Statements of Principles (SoPs):

• Osteoarthritis – SoP No. 70 of 2015 (Balance of Probabilities)

• Dupuytren’s Contracture – SoP No. 103 of 2017

• Major Depressive Disorder – SoP No. 106 of 2021

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – SoP No. 80 of 2016

• Lumbar Spondylosis – SoP No. 101 of 2016

• Peripheral Neuropathy – SoP No. 53 of 2015

• Trochanteric Bursitis – Covered under soft tissue musculoskeletal disorders (see SoP No. 91 of 2013)

Note: While the dermoid tumour and skeletal anomalies like scoliosis or vertebral fusion do not currently have individual SoPs, they should be considered under the umbrella of birth defects and developmental abnormalities resulting from wartime chemical exposures.

Summary Statement:

“I present with multiple congenital, degenerative, neurological, and fibrotic conditions. These findings, backed by clinical imaging and long-term GP documentation, reflect the established and suspected impacts of second-generation exposure to Agent Orange (TCDD). My symptoms span musculoskeletal, neurological, psychiatric, and reproductive systems—all consistent with known in utero and epigenetic toxic damage. These conditions are not age-typical, and many have caused significant life-limiting chronic disability.”

Please let me know if this should be packaged with previous submissions or sent as a separate evidence document.

Kind regards,

Mrs Danielle