Thread: 7 skin cancers, one possible melanoma

Originally Posted by bob10

Here it is, long winded. Ralph Spooner was a mate of mine, who passed away from cancer. Bet you haven't heard of agent blue.

http://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/...dies/nrcet.pdf

Cheers Bob. HMAS Hobart (2) RIP my favorite ship had traces of the stuff. I had asbestos on Vampire, Hobart and other ships which did fall on us when the big bang things went boom. Add, beryllium, AFFF or the foam they are currently chatting about at air force/army bases for lunch almost daily. Not quiet true. We used AFFF fire fighting foam mostly during training exercises only happily. I did not like blowing soot if down wind of a true oil burner. Getting upwind fast was possibly why I like running so much perhaps? beryllium was in our Jason Pistol rods and other locations. C'est La Vie.
We did a lot of painting upper decks in shorts and sandals and I went with out a winter for at least 3 year so visits to dermatologist is possibly one of my best self preservation strategies. Motor bikes I and many mates rode are the biggest killer or slightly less final impact on the 15-24 year old me but again very lucky for it not to be me hurt.

Add sharks, crocs, actions stations, Missiles, BIG guns and little ones some times pointed at me, Driving on the wrong side of the road in some of the roughest or most beautiful places in the world and I volunteered and got paid for it I am very very lucky mate.


Lots of life tries to hard to or has the potential to kill us at times. Fight on, never give up and always enjoy and appreciate what we have is my rule.

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Cheers Bob. HMAS Hobart (2) RIP my favorite ship had traces of the stuff. I had asbestos on Vampire, Hobart and other ships which did fall on us when the big bang things went boom. Add, beryllium, AFFF or the foam they are currently chatting about at air force/army bases for lunch almost daily. Not quiet true. We used AFFF fire fighting foam mostly during training exercises only happily. I did not like blowing soot if down wind of a true oil burner. Getting upwind fast was possibly why I like running so much perhaps? beryllium was in our Jason Pistol rods and other locations. C'est La Vie.
We did a lot of painting upper decks in shorts and sandals and I went with out a winter for at least 3 year so visits to dermatologist is possibly one of my best self preservation strategies. Motor bikes I and many mates rode are the biggest killer or slightly less final impact on the 15-24 year old me but again very lucky for it not to be me hurt.

Add sharks, crocs, actions stations, Missiles, BIG guns and little ones some times pointed at me, Driving on the wrong side of the road in some of the roughest or most beautiful places in the world and I volunteered and got paid for it I am very very lucky mate.


Lots of life tries to hard to or has the potential to kill us at times. Fight on, never give up and always enjoy and appreciate what we have is my rule.

Being a tiffie, asbestos exposure is a given. Throw in boiler cleans, and funnel cleans. Crawling around in the bilges, soaked in FFO,and to think we enjoyed it. You didn't have to be mad, but it helped. Vampire was my favourite ship, although I served on all 3 DDG's. And then there were those angry little Asian people who were always trying to do us harm, not that I blame them, really. We were at War. It's easy to say fight on, when you are a young man. But it is the only thing to do, keep picking yourself up, one foot after the other, it's family that keeps you young.

I typed out a big answer to this re the L3 melanoma I had cut out years ago and then the damn website timed me out and it didn't get posted.....
Anyway, way back when working in the bush we all thought a good tan, a covering of dust plus a heap of beer after shift end meant you never got skin cancer. We rarely covered up not like nowadays and hardly ever even wore a hard hat unless directly under machinery.
But I found out different when the Doc. took an itchy small mole off my gut and sent it for testing and I've now got a large scar there but at least I'm still here annoying the Cook. :-)))
That bit cut out took over 6 weeks to heal (including the internal stomach wall) and the worst bit was waiting for 10 days to get the all clear. Not the best time of my life.
We all love the sun but it kills so many a year but we still see people laying down the beach for hours making themselves look "desirable"..... one girl I got to know back then used to have slabs of her facial skin peel off (she looked so old and she'd been a raving beauty before that) and had the back of one of her arms cut off to remove a melanoma.
Good luck.
AlanH.

Originally Posted by bob10

Being a tiffie, asbestos exposure is a given. Throw in boiler cleans, and funnel cleans. Crawling around in the bilges, soaked in FFO,and to think we enjoyed it. You didn't have to be mad, but it helped. Vampire was my favourite ship, although I served on all 3 DDG's. And then there were those angry little Asian people who were always trying to do us harm, not that I blame them, really. We were at War. It's easy to say fight on, when you are a young man. But it is the only thing to do, keep picking yourself up, one foot after the other, it's family that keeps you young.

Funnel cleans on the Troopy HMAS Sydney were not much fun , no breathing apparatus back then ! only a rag over you face and endless soot to shovel out over what seemed like mile long tunnels . lagging steam pipes was another crapp job using asbestos and sleeping under asbestos coated deckheads in hammocks were a recipe for latter on in life problems , so far nothing to worry about yet !! touch wood .

Originally Posted by Fatso

Funnel cleans on the Troopy HMAS Sydney were not much fun , no breathing apparatus back then ! only a rag over you face and endless soot to shovel out over what seemed like mile long tunnels . lagging steam pipes was another crapp job using asbestos and sleeping under asbestos coated deckheads in hammocks were a recipe for latter on in life problems , so far nothing to worry about yet !! touch wood .

My first sea time was 6 weeks on Sydney back in 1964. It secretly pleases me to know I served in the days of lash up & stow, and the old Ensign, if only for 6 weeks. Regarding asbestos, if you have any worries at all, see your local Advocate, he can organise a chest x-ray, mine showed pleural plaques [2] which I didn't know I had, then you go and get tested, lung capacity etc. and if all is ok, you go on the asbestos watch list, which just means every 2 [ I think] years you go for another test. Sure beats any nasty surprises.

Originally Posted by bob10

My first sea time was 6 weeks on Sydney back in 1964. It secretly pleases me to know I served in the days of lash up & stow, and the old Ensign, if only for 6 weeks. Regarding asbestos, if you have any worries at all, see your local Advocate, he can organise a chest x-ray, mine showed pleural plaques [2] which I didn't know I had, then you go and get tested, lung capacity etc. and if all is ok, you go on the asbestos watch list, which just means every 2 [ I think] years you go for another test. Sure beats any nasty surprises.

I was Drafted on Sydney Dec /62 to 3/64 , It was out of Comission over at Athol Dolphens near the ZOO and we were placed on there to get it up to speed for re-comissioning along with the dockies , it was a great job as the senior bloke was a CPO , lived like kings untill it was comissioned and fully crewed then back to normal pusser living . So spent a lot of time in some real out the way places , bilges etc and you would not believe the amount of rust that held the old Sydney to-gether , but she was a great ship and crew we got 26 Knots out of the old girl on its first sea trails out side Sydney Heads . The first load of Pongo,s who did a test run to Q/land fully loaded for am exercise did not like it much though , bit cramped for them .
All good on the lung area so far . Al

Melanoma gone! In at 1100, out at 1215, minimum of fuss, great nurses, fantastic doc., and he is a land rover driver. D4, doing the territory soon. Promised me a macho scar to frighten the Toyota mob. [ just kidding. ] And the icing on the cake? I can't lift heavy things, or mow lawns, for a while. Went & got a 30 pack, the good wife [ as opposed to the bad one when I stuff up] carried it to the car, and to the fridge at home. I really think I will pay for that, though. LG.

Great to hear Bob, Chill for a few days mate. The burn bits do not like movement according to our fellow matlows who have been there before you

Hope the 30 pack has a dent in it. Cheers

Joined the RSL today. Tried a few months ago but was stumped by proof. Being a reformed ships diver Underwater control my very old documents were burried deep. I did not even have time to stop and enjoy an ale