I have been a painter for the last 12 years. Over that time I have used some pretty strong chemicals. I have sprayed some of them, and as hard as you try not to breath them into your body there is no way to be completely be safe. I believe this is where my cancer came from. I guess I'm going to have to find another line of work. I wonder if I could limit my work and not spray or use oil based paints, or should I not even take that chance. I know I should find something else. Does anyone know anything about paint and cancer?

Im sorry to hear you may not be able to return to your regular career. Im also sorry that I do not know about the correlation between paint chemicals/fumes and cancer risks. It probably would be best to have a long chat with your doctor. You may need to see a couple about this before you will come across one who is knowledgeable about this.

Wishing you all the best with getting back to working again.

You would need to know the specific chemicals first and then consult the MSDS for that chemical. However, even though you see it may be carcinogenic there is no guarantee it caused your cancer. Other than HPV I don't know of any clear "proof" as to cause and effect.

You could continue your profession provided you are physically able. You may want to consider a ventilator filtration type device for added protection.

I also inhaled some very toxic solvent that caused industrial pneumonia and lung bleeding for weeks back in 1973 as well as working with unventilated MEK at an aircraft instrument company. I wondered when I was diagnosed but I know it would only be a guess on my part.

Hi Calhoun:
My professional career was in the field of oil field safety. We used a lot of rather nasty chemicals, both paints and solvents. We had a very aggressive respiratory protection program, which for most paints and solvents required the use of positive pressure, full faced, forced air ventilation with protection for both lungs and eyes. Of course, that makes the job much harder to do as you have to set up compressors (upwind) and maintain hoses and masks and a whole host of other equipment. Using all that equipment is never easy, but on a hot summer day it becomes real easy to say screw it, take it off and just try to hold your breath.

What I have found occurs in most small scale, privately owned painting businesses is a much less aggressive attempt at respiratory protection. I have actually seen painters spray oil based paints and solvents with no mask at all. I was 100+ feet away and the fumes were making me dizzy, I can't even imagine what they were doing to the painter.

So, when you say you tried to not inhale the fumes, how aggressive was your protection program. Did your exposure have anything to do with your cancer, I won't even try to guess.

But, my real question to you is, IF you return to painting, how aggressive will your respiratory protection efforts be. To do it right is both difficult and expensive. How competitive can you be if you have to charge more to cover cost if your competition uses no respiratory protection at all.

After cancer your immune system will be compromised for awhile. If you decide to get back into painting you will need a top notch protection program and one that you NEVER stray from.

Good luck with your choice.

Tony

Thanks for all the great advice. Maybe it's time for me to find another line of work, but if I decide to stay in this line of work I will definetly protect myself as best as possible. Thanks again.