Charlie Wolf should be dead, but six years later, he's still fighting for aid

By Laura Frank, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 22, 2008 at midnight

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Javier Manzano © The Rocky

Charlie Wolf, who has been diagnosed with aggressive glioma brain cancer and myelodysplastic syndrome, undergoes radiation treatment for his tumors at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood.

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Charlie Wolf says he has beaten the odds twice.

First by surviving six years with brain cancer that was supposed to have killed him in six months. Second, by living to see a check from the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.

The first, he says he did with sheer will and the help of his family. The second took that and more.

The compensation program is, by law, supposed to be claimant-friendly. In signing the law to aid nuclear weapons workers who fell ill, or the families of those who died from their jobs, President Bill Clinton said in 2000 that the program should be "compassionate, fair and timely" and that the government should help ill workers with their claims and "ensure that this program minimizes the administrative burden on workers and their survivors."

But to finally receive even part of the compensation that Wolf believed he deserved, he needed the help of a lawyer, a scientist, a doctor, his Congressman and even his insurance company to overcome hurdles in the program.

And like the fight for his life, the fight for compensation continues.

The compensation program has two parts. It took Wolf 4 1/2 years to prove that he qualified for compensation under the part that covers toxic exposure. He is still fighting to prove that he qualifies under the part that covers radiation damage.

Wolf said he believes that his brain cancer is linked to 20 years of working as a manager at nuclear weapons sites, including Rocky Flats near Denver; Savannah River, in Aiken, S.C., and Fernald, near Cincinnati.

"I will keep fighting for the rest of my life," the 49-year-old engineer said.

Wolf said he keeps himself going to help other workers who don't have access to the kinds of professional help he has had: "I'm doing it for them."

SURVIVING THE BUREAUCRACY

2002: Errors discovered in official records of past work

June 10. Wolf is diagnosed with aggressive glioma brain cancer at age 43. Doctors give him six months to live.

Sept. 12. Wolf files for compensation with the U.S. Department of Labor. He is told he should have an answer to his claim within months.

October. Government scientists begin radiation dose reconstruction to estimate how much radiation Wolf's body likely absorbed during his career. Like many other claimants, some of Wolf's records appear to be faulty. Some show Wolf being monitored for radiation at Rocky Flats nearly a year after he left the site; others show him working at Fernald nearly a year after he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

2003: Evidence produced but never investigated

June 10. Wolf beats his original prognosis and survives his first year with brain cancer, a year filled with chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

July. DOL asks Wolf for specific forms of each radioactive element to which he was exposed over his career. He provides a list of co-workers who could help. None is ever contacted.

2004: Bone marrow transplant; pressed by NIOSH for details

April. Wolf's bone marrow fails, and he is diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. His doctor says it is likely from work exposures.

May. Wolf undergoes a bone-marrow transplant from his brother.

June 10. Wolf survives second year with brain cancer.

Aug. 19. After nearly two years, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) completes Wolf's dose reconstruction. Wolf is asked repeatedly to provide more evidence for his claim.

Sept. 3. DOL receives Wolf's dose reconstruction report from NIOSH.

Dec. 30. DOL denies Wolf's claim, saying that his brain cancer likely was not caused by radioactive exposures at work.

2005: After 2-year wait for rejection, 30 days to respond

Jan. 22. Wolf files for reconsideration.

Feb. 10. Program officials give him 30 days to submit new evidence. He and his family already had begun compiling evidence after his December denial.

March 17. Request to reconsider is rejected. Wolf never receives notice of this.

June 10. Wolf survives third year with brain cancer.

2006: Government doctor cites WebMD as source in denial

Jan. 6. Wolf learns of rejection, files again for compensation, this time for both radiation damage and toxic-exposure damage.

May. DOL asks for evidence of toxic exposure.

June 10. Wolf survives fourth year with brain cancer.

Aug. 2. Wolf's toxic-exposure claim is referred to a doctor hired by the government.

Aug. 7. Government doctor says that Wolf's cancer was not job-related. Wolf later learns that the doctor was actually a cardiologist, not a cancer or brain expert, who took three hours — at $300 an hour — to decide there was not sufficient evidence to prove a job link. One of the doctor's sources: WebMD, a Web site geared to patients.

Aug. 15. DOL asks for more details on toxic exposure.

Aug. 18. Wolf's brain tumor returns.

Aug. 26. He sends 25 more pages of evidence to DOL.

Sept. 22. Wolf learns that DOL will deny his toxic-exposure claim.

Oct. 18. He requests a hearing before program officials to argue his claim.

Nov. 1. Wolf calls Denver attorney Bill Brady for help. Few attorneys take such cases because the law limits attorney fees to 5-10 percent of the award. Brady eventually was paid $25,000 of his $100,000 bill. Brady donated the rest.

2007: Testimony of own doctors leads to approval

Jan. 24. Hearing in Denver. Dr. Edward Arenson, a top brain cancer expert, testifies: "When you see a young man (with a) relatively uncommon tumor who is otherwise perfectly healthy, has a history of exposure to something that we know causes the disease ... as well as an associated condition — bone marrow failure — which is also known to be caused by radiation, combine that with the fact that I see another patient in my rather small practice who has exactly the same disease, having worked at the same place, there is no question in my mind that there's an association."

Dr. Jim Ruttenber, a physician and scientist who had found increased rates of brain cancer among Rocky Flats workers, testifies that Wolf did the same kind of job found linked to increased risk of brain cancer.

March 6. Wolf's case again sent to DOL doctor, this time with a list of more than 30 toxic substances he could have been exposed to during his career.

March 13. Government doctor now agrees it was "at least as likely as not" that Wolf's exposures caused his cancer, adding that "there is insufficient evidence to suggest an alternate" cause.

March 22. Because Wolf is considered completely impaired, his toxic-exposure claim is approved for the full $250,000 allowable. (Claimants are paid $2,500 for every percent of impairment they suffer.)

March 26. Wolf asks that his radiation damage claim be reconsidered a third time. He cites studies showing links between radiation and brain cancer. His case file is now more than 2-feet thick with documents that he has found and submitted.

June 10. Wolf survives fifth year with brain cancer.

2008: New dose estimates dramatically lower

Jan. 4. Wolf's compensation also includes payment of medical bills related to his brain cancer. Having spent 11/2 years organizing thousands of pages of bills from 93 medical providers, Wolf's wife, Kathy, with the help of paralegal Julie Kronenberger, sends DOL a 430-page electronic spreadsheet outlining what medical bills should be covered by the compensation program.

March 5. NIOSH calculates a new dose reconstruction, dramatically different from his previous estimate.

March 28. DOL approves the new dose reconstruction.

March 31. Wolf receives his new dose reconstruction report. Previous estimate said that Wolf's brain received a very precise-sounding 47.498 rems of radiation; the new estimate: less than 3.338 rems. DOL also said it found no documentation of one cancer Wolf claimed: myelodysplastic syndrome, which is his bone-marrow failure. It is clear that DOL is going to deny his claim again, but he has not yet received any official notice.

April 24. DOL denies more than $4,000 in medical bills for incorrect coding. Wolf is hopes that his insurance company, Aetna, will help him determine the correct codes, as the company has done in the past.

May 8. During his 49th MRI procedure, Wolf learns that the brain tumor has returned. He begins daily radiation treatments.

June 10. Wolf survives sixth year with brain cancer.

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