colonia high school brain cancer

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Lupiano's sister, however, another Colonia alumnus, recently died from brain cancer -- and MyCentralJersey.com reports brother Al promised her before she died that he'd find out why the tumors were occurring in the specific community. (Google Maps). 89. Woodbridge officials are now trying to determine an underlying cause for the disease. That's what makes the numbers staggering," says Lupiano. For people who graduated recently, the chances of having cancer now is much lower than those in their 70s and 80s, he said. But in 2021, his wife and sister, also graduates of Colonia, were both diagnosed with rare brain tumors, according to NJ Spotlight News. 100 PEOPLE WITH RARE TUMORS WHO ATTENDED SAME NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL DEMAND ANSWERS The 110 people that Lupiano has counted on his list of former Colonia High School graduates have been. Exterior shots of Colonia High School in Colonia, NJ on Thursday, April 7, 2022. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Donavyn Coffey is a Kentucky-based health and environment journalist reporting on healthcare, food systems and anything you can CRISPR. The vast majority dont have a cause that explains the cluster, said Laumbach, who is leading a federal study into the health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called forever chemicals, among 1,300 residents of Paulsboro in Gloucester County. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Lupiano eventually arrived at a single linking factor between himself, his wife and his sister: they each attended Colonia High School in Woodbridge in the 1990s. "We can get in there today and take air, water and soil samples and have results back the same day," Lupiano said. 'I will not rest until I . Last summer, Lupiano's wife and now-deceased sister were diagnosed with rare brain tumors on the same day. . They will remain in place for 14 days before being sent to a lab for analysis. Because cancer clusters are often suspected in very small subpopulations like neighborhoods, apartment buildings or homes on the same side of the street they can be very difficult to establish, Platz said. In a memo to the school community, superintendent Joseph Massimino wrote, "Remote instruction is only available in the event of an active health crisis or emergency.". The environmental assessment study at Colonia High School was recently completed, in response to allegations that suggested the school had radiological hazards that contributed to diagnoses. State Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichillisaid during the press conference a review of the cancer registry by health officials determined the expected number of primary brain tumors for Colonia students from 1968 to 2021 were 98 to 105 and among staff for that same timeframe were 13 to 14. Over 100 former students and staff from a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors. Advertisement. Since starting his research, Lupiano said that number has increased to about 90 people, including about 10 who were school staff members, some who worked in the cafeteria and others from the athletic department. This is definitely not normal," the mayor further said in the statement. I dont think this is the end of the story. He's looking for a place to host the screenings in early June and says he's had trouble working with local officials to find one. McCormac has also reached out toU.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J 6th District. Janice's sister Chery Black also died from brain cancer in 2015. Al Lupiano first sent public nearly two months ago about concerns of a cancer cluster related to Colonia High School. After the testing ends, Lupiano said he and his supporters will be looking for a commitment by federal authorities for a conclusive investigation into whether something in the schools environment caused the brain tumors. "I have some lingering issues. Researchers at Rice University are hoping to begin human clinical trials on a cancer treatment that fights the disease right at the site of the tumor. 55, for example, died from glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in 2016 after graduating in 1981. Knowing about the numbers we are talking about here, I think this meets every definition of what a cancer cluster looks like, he said. Ninety-four former staff members and students from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, have developed an "extremely" rare form of malignant brain tumor, leading local officials to approve an emergency probe of the school Tuesday. Middlesex Sampling Plant to Colonia High School in New Jersey. "With that in mind, and after many weeks of work, I was able to negotiate an agreement with BTF to provide this service completely FREE of charge.". But Lupiano has so far came across 102 people who passed through the school between 1975 and 2000 have all suffered from the same type of brain cancer. But he made a promise to his late sister that he would find out. Cancer diagnosis: Detection, testing and research, Parasite found in cat poop linked to higher brain cancer risk in humans, Once-dreaded poliovirus could treat brain cancer. Any finding that an outbreak of cancer in a specific location warrants the label cluster would rely on the elimination of possible causes that include the age of patients, the type of cancer, and how the number of cases compares with the incidence of the disease in the general population, they said. We've received your submission. READ MORE: Former Woodbridge, N.J. resident says 65 people who either attended or worked at Colonia High School have had rare brain tumors. "For the most part I'm pretty good today," Lupiano said. McCormac speaks highly of Lupiano, who worked for nine years after college with EPA emergency responders. CBS News has reached out and is awaiting response from the principal of the school, superintendent and mayor as well as the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. The states Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette backed up the mayors declaration the school was safe. We are looking at possible things that we can do between the town and school, and they said they will look at anything we come up with, McCormac said. On the exact same day, Lupianos younger sister, Angela DeCillis, another alumna of Colonia, learned that she too had brain cancer. Middlesex Sampling Plant to Colonia High School in New Jersey. The investigation will consider very granular data on graduates, like their occupations, family history and other activities that could affect their exposures. "The Departments stand ready to assist Woodbridge in reviewing any environmental data it collects to determine appropriate next steps," the statement reads. Colonia Mayor John McCormac announced Thursday afternoon the results of the findings of the Environmental Assessment Study that was conducted to investigate if Colonia High School buildings and grounds. According to United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. WOODBRIDGE, NJ Nearly 2,000 people have signed a petition demanding a more robust investigation from the state of New Jersey and the federal government regarding a possible, unconfirmed cancer. (Exposure to certain types of radiation can increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.) McCormac said residents are expressing concerns, and the township is working to keep everyone updated. For the past two decades, he's spoken with other victims, comforting them on message boards and Facebook. The analysis was conducted after dozens of former high school students and staff over decades were diagnosed with cancers. "It's too important. A single New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking 100 people diagnosed with rare cancers or tumors to a Woodbridge high school. COLONIA, N.J. - Radiation tests are being done at Colonia High School in New Jersey after more than 100 people were diagnosed with rare brain tumors. "I'm not particularly concerned because it hasn't happened in quite some time. ", Colonia High School entrance. How will officials determine if a true cancer cluster exists? "Her four children are potentially being exposed to the same thing that killed their mother. In the 1980's, the contaminated residential properties were cleaned up, and the excavated soil was stored at the site in a specially constructed pile, known as the Vicinity Properties (VP) pile," the USACE New York Division's website states. That decades-long stretch ended in the early 2000s, but recent. "We continue receiving lip service, that we're here to help, but when we look around, they are nowhere to be found.". He believes something at the high school in one of the more suburban and affluent sections of the township is responsible for dozens of brain cancer cases. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Lupiano launched the bid after his sister passed away from the disease and his wife too was diagnosed with the exact same form of aggressive tumour glioblastoma. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. That decades-long stretch ended in the early 2000s, but recent publicity around the cases prompted an exhaustive new investigation and radiological testing at the Woodbridge Township School District building. During a press conference, local and state officials said a probe into Colonia High School, located in Woodbridge, found there was no cause and effect relationship between those illnesses and the building and grounds at Colonia High School.. For a better-informed future. In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. "We're all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. Al Lupiano is among the 94 former staff and students from Colonia High School in the Woodbridge Township School District who have been stricken by the devastating diagnoses in recent years. NBCLX storyteller Peter Hull walks you through the research. Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist, began. "That's probably been the biggest fear of all," Lupiano said. The four-year high school has more than 1,300 students. (Al Lupiano). Its not air. More than 100 people from the same high school have been diagnosed with brain cancer and it is feared soil contaminated with uranium used in the first atomic bomb made them ill. Dozens of former teachers and students have . In the United States, the rate of new cases of brain cancer or other nervous system cancer is 6.3 cases per 100,000 people per year, according to the National Institutes of Health. Why is the cancer that killed John McCain so deadly? The township has filed an Open Public Records Act request with the state Department of Education to get files from 55 years ago when the school was built, the mayor said. Dating back decades, newly detailed reports of more than 100 cases of brain tumors among former students and staff at Colonia High School in Woodbridge have raised obvious concerns. The last case was a while ago, like 2000," Kapadia said. Now, an investigation is underway to determine if the school Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey is linked with a cancer cluster. What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors, and thats ionizing radiation, he declared. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. It is his belief my wife and I may be the first documented case of spouses having an AN, both roughly the same size and on the same side of the headaccording to him, the odds are maybe 1 in a BILLION," Lupiano said. Last month, he started a Facebook group asking locals whether they knew of any other people associated with the school who had been stricken by similar diagnoses. As a Rutgers University graduate with a major in environmental sciences and a minor inindustrial hygiene safety engineering, he's made a career of cleaning up unsafe sites. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received . The township and school district have had discussions and meetings with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the state Department of Health, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Rep. Frank Pallones office. Colonia High School A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. The gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. 2023 NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Brain tumor victims urge federal and state authorities to probe possible link with school. The school was built back in 1967 on acres of empty land, with McCormac telling the news network he is stumped as to what could be causing the cancers. But some parents didnt seem convinced, according to NJ.com. His wife and sister both got it. I have a really bad feeling were going to find contamination beyond the high school. Colonia High School Officials conduct a radiological survey on the school's baseball field. Lupiano also spoke with CBS News on Thursday, saying he now believes ionizing radiation must be responsible for the health issues. In 1999 when Lupiano was 27, he too was diagnosed with a large acoustic neuroma on the left side of his brain. Platz expects that public health officials will look for specific overlaps in timing and tumor type. But where? According to the Mayo Clinic, an Acoustic Neuroma is a slow-growing tumor that is found on the primary nerve that . But to date we dont have any environmental factors that are known to cause brain tumors.. NY 10036. An investigation has . "Also, records later revealed that in 1948, some radioactively contaminated materials had been trucked from the plant to the Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML), one-half mile away. Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. Both Lupiano, 50, and his wife Michele, 49, who is also a Colonia graduate, have acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor. Until then, he knew of 15 former Colonia attendees who had been diagnosed with brain tumors. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The investigation was jumpstarted after it was discovered more 122 people once connected to the school had a primary brain tumor and another 75 were diagnosed with other rare forms of cancer, according to NJ.com. Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic. 2021 DEADLIEST YEAR IN US HISTORY DUE TO COVID-19, DRUG OVERDOSES. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "It needs to be investigated, no questions asked," said Elizabeth A. Platz, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. He initially found 15 people, allColonia High School graduates from around 1975 to 1995, had them, he said. An environmental assessment began last month to test the school grounds, which turned up no findings of radiological contaminants, according to NJ.com, a New Jersey news site. "I don't know what the cause is," Lupiano said. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. A former Woodbridge man has identified 84 Colonia High School alumni and former staffers with rare brain tumors and wants health officials to investigate. They were very appreciative that we reached out to them but they were not interested in getting involved, and they kept trying to pass it off, and saying they will have to do research and get back to you, he said, referring to the New Jersey agency. Is definitely not normal, '' the mayor further said in the brain spinal. Trying to determine an underlying cause for the disease ended in the statement of lung cancer in 2015 to types. The United states sent to a lab for analysis feeling were going find. Summer, Lupiano 's wife and now-deceased sister were diagnosed with cancers be responsible for health! ) in August 2021, DeCillis received, Lupiano 's wife and now-deceased sister were diagnosed a... 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