they give me a phlebotomy. uh, they stick a 12-gauge needle in your arm and they draw all the blood out of you. usually 26 ounces they take out. when i first got this, it was, uh, i was getting it twice a month, every two weeks. >> in the 22-square mile polycythemia vera research cluster area, uh, there's a number of environmental assaults. at least 6 known super-fund sites, 6 waste coal generators, and over 23 unlined waste coal ash pits, all surrounding our community's public water supplies and private well users. from a scientific perspective, it's known that polycythemia vera is an acquired cancer, meaning that it's likely of the environment. you're not born with it. so now we're looking at this very complex mystery of the environment and its potential link in causing p. vera. >> the search for answers began here, at the now silent home of betty and lester kester. >> what is happening here is not beautiful. it's not a pretty story. as beautiful as my parents' life was, and as many wonderful things they had