Millions of Vets Got Health Care and Benefits Under the PACT Act. Thousands Left Out Want the Same Chance.

Julie Akey was just 46 when she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that she describes as an "old man's disease," typically diagnosed in those 65 and older.

The news shocked the former Army linguist. She had no family history of the relatively uncommon disease.

While searching for a potential cause, Akey learned that a location where she once lived, Fort Ord, California, was designated a Superfund site in 1991 by the Environmental Protection Agency for extensive contamination of its soil and groundwater. Even today, parts of the former installation are so polluted, they can't be redeveloped.