Just got an email from Brent Carlson in Minnesota.
His story is incredibly revealing.
So without any further a due, here it is in his own words.
Hi Kevin,
I wrote to you about a year ago. I was diagnosed with ALL Luekemia at age 32. I am a health nut and always have been in good shape. Me and my wife married and moved into a 1941 very unique house 3 1/2 years ago.
I slowly started to go down hill health wise from that point on. My wife always was training for the next marathon and kept running. I lifted weights mostly and was in athletic community sports.
After about 2 years my wife was having constant headaches and was having severe asthma symptoms which I had never had. I had an allergic reaction to everything I put in my mouth, I mean everything!
We had a extremely busy schedule in the first two years of our marraige so I thought I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I did have minor asthma and alleries when I was younger so I thought it must be I am getting old.
I couldn’t beleive how bad it was getting; allergic to everything, swollen throat, caughing constantly, sinus infections, headaches and throwing up handfuls of mucus (black mucus sometimes), yuck!
First I started with the water. I called the local water utility to see what they treated the water with. Then I installed a reverse oasmosis whole house water filter system.
Didn’t work.
Then went on vacation and everything went away.
Said this is it, I am going home and ripping the house apart. And I did and ripped and ripped and ripped.
Alot of black mold under the carpet from former owners who must have continueally over watered their plants and didn’t have a dehumidifier or working AC.
We put in pergo and hard surfaces in most of the house, updated furnace and AC, installed UV lights in the duct work, installed a whole house airexchanger and cleaned and cleaned. My allergies went away almost immediately!
Yahoo!
BUT two months later was diagnosed with ALL Luekemia in February of 2003. After a year of horrifying treatment I’m doing much better, thank God!
I HAVE A WHOLE LIST OF QUESTIONS:
- Have you ever heard Mold playing a major role in any types of cancer? which? where are some good contacts or sources?
- Now that I have been through the mold is there a safe way for me to be a home inspector and mold consult?
- Where would you suggest I look for the proper education?
- Is there a safe way for me to be in this field with Leukemia in my past?
Thanks for your time, Brent Carlson
Hi Brent,
Good to hear from you again!
The more stories like yours that I hear, the more I’m convinced that black mold can in fact cause serious health conditions, especially when your condition improved while away in both instances (when you went on vacation, and when you got rid of the mold).
I’m sorry to hear about the Leukemia, but glad you got the situation taken care of.
To answer your questions…
I’m don’t know of mold actually causing cancer, but that’s not to say it isn’t possible. While I’m not a medical expert, I recently did an interview with Dr. Andrew Campbell. He’s one of four specialists in the country who works specifically with victims of black mold.
You may want to contact him via his website at imunotoxicology.com. He’s also the one you’d want to speak with about the possibility of getting into the field so you can help others.
There are many ways to get involved, and I’m sure you could find some avenue.
I have to say that it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for me!
As far as training, a great place to start is at the ascr.org website.
This is a certifying body that provides training and certification for the industry.
I hope this helps, and good luck in your ventures. Be sure to stay in touch.