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. ", In an earlier update, Lupiano said many of those who reached out to him about their brain tumor or cancer cases "are former CHS teachers and staff members who didnt live in Colonia, they just worked in the school. Updated on: May 4, 2022 / 11:30 PM The brain tumor cases, appearing over a thirty-year period, are a significant medical mystery that has caused alarm for experts. McCormack said the town wants local and federal involvement in the investigation. We're just doing it," said Mayor John E. McCormac. "We're all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. Patients would be injected with a small bead the size of a pinhead - and this bead would act as a "factory," secreting a protein that gets the body's white blood cells to destroy the tumor and fight cancer. New York, Its not something done to us due to bad habits.. He thinks the cases stem from contaminated soil, but there's no data to prove that at this point. Both Lupiano, 50, and his wife Michele, 49, who is also a Colonia graduate, have acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor. Even though the cluster cases ended almost two decades ago, Lupiano appears as determined as ever to uncover the cause -- and he understands that parents who send their kids to school there now may have some concerns despite what officials tell them. Rather than looking at all central nervous system cancers over 30 years, investigators will likely look at rates of specific types of brain tumors and how long after high school these tumors developed, she said. This is definitely not normal," the mayor further said in the statement. A majority of former students of Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a rare brain tumour. To confirm a true cancer cluster, epidemiologists must establish that there's a greater number of cancer cases than would be expected in a given population, based on their specific characteristics such as age, sex and geography, at a given time, Platz said. It "was an entry point for African uranium ores known as pitchblende" that were "imported for use in the nations early atomic energy program, were assayed at the Middlesex Sampling Plant and then shipped to other sites for processing," according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York Division. More: 'It can't be a coincidence': Colonia High School community probes mysterious cancer cases. Many more came forward after the posting, and by Thursday, the number had grown to 103, Lupiano told NJ Spotlight News. I'm still helping him get more attention.". Views expressed by our advertisers and sponsors are their own, and are not endorsed by NJ Spotlight News. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Head trauma could put people at higher risk of brain cancer, Actress beaten by stranger, diagnosed with brain tumor and run over by car, My wife thought she had baby brain it was deadly cancer, My face is melting off due to a rare disease, Chill Hip hop 37(932007) 212soundworks, American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Make no mistake when the department believes that people are at risk we act and immediately so, he told media members. Rob Laumbach, a Rutgers University professor of public health. 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. (Google Maps). Without analyzing the data herself, Platz said shes not able to estimate how many of the 15,000 people who have gone through Colonia High in the past 30 years would need to have developed cancer for it to be considered a cluster. Its not something in soil. "They're the only ones with the authority to do something," Lupiano told CBS2's Kevin Rincon. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. But doubts that the tumor cases represent a cancer cluster are unwarranted, said Lupiano, who predicted strong protests in the Woodbridge community if state and federal authorities dont start a formal investigation soon. McCormac has also reached out toU.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J 6th District. His wife graduated in 1991. The disturbing development came to the fore after one of the former students Al Lupiano - a cancer survivor - decided to untangle the mystery. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com. 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.. The school district's superintendent, Dr. Joseph Massimino, said in March that he was waiting to hear from the environmental agencies on next steps. Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? Lupiano also spoke with CBS News on Thursday, saying he now believes ionizing radiation must be responsible for the health issues. More than 100 primary brain tumors have now been linked to people who graduated or taught at Colonia High. Last year, his wife who also attended Colonia was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. A look back: Al Lupiano was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a . "Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor," Lupiano said. For now, radiation levels in and around the school are being monitored in a two-week test that began on April 9 by a private contractor hired by the municipality. A man investigating his former high school in New Jersey says he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there have had a rare brain tumor. "It seems like in a little over a 20-year period to have 65 people on a list is somewhat alarming, it's quite alarming," said the mayor, who lives blocks away from Colonia High School, but added the link only appears to pertain to people who attended or worked at the high school. 2021 DEADLIEST YEAR IN US HISTORY DUE TO COVID-19, DRUG OVERDOSES. Starting this weekend, various radiological assessments will be conducted across the schools 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon. Legal Statement. While benign, treatment can leave victims with hearing loss, trouble balancing, and several other serious symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. For the past two decades, he's spoken with other victims, comforting them on message boards and Facebook. 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. 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. / CBS News. An MRI revealed Michele had a 30-millimeter acoustic neuroma, another raretype of brain tumor that develops on the nerves leading to the inner ear. "The Departments stand ready to assist Woodbridge in reviewing any environmental data it collects to determine appropriate next steps," the statement reads. Market data provided by Factset. Laumbach argued that thousands of suspected cancer clusters throughout the country dont meet federal government standards for that designation even if they are investigated by public health experts. "I talked to him a little bit and learned about what he had been working on," McCormactoldNew Jersey 101.5. He initially found 15 people, allColonia High School graduates from around 1975 to 1995, had them, he said. Lupiano is an environmental scientist who tested ground samples for toxins over the course of his career and suggested that the school's grounds could be contaminated, according to NJ Spotlight News. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 2023 NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Brain tumor victims urge federal and state authorities to probe possible link with school. According to the National Cancer Institute, "cases of cancer can appear to cluster even when there is no connection among them." While not technically cancer, these brain tumors can grow and become life-threatening if left untreated. (Exposure to certain types of radiation can increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.) Fortunately one of the survivors is an environmental scientist Al Lupiano, who is bringing attention to this and he is . And it is also great news for all former students.". All are awaiting results from the radiation testing at the school before deciding how to get involved and proceed with the investigation. The environmental engineering firm T+M Associates was. Victim No. Very few achieve the label, but one of them is Toms River, where the rate of childhood cancers surged in the 1990s after the towns drinking water was contaminated with toxic chemicals from two waste dumps. Check the photos below. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! The authorities will be conducting radiological assessments across the school's 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon. Many of the former staff and teachers included in the total lived outside Woodbridge Township making the high school, so far, the only clear link. 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. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. His sister Angela Decillis. 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. 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. Gov. For the Lupianos, they believe the chances of all three of them having tumors on the left sides of their brains were too high to be a coincidence. Lupiano also suggested a potential link between Colonia High School and a Middlesex, New Jersey, sampling plant in his interview with NJ Spotlight. A man investigating his former high school in New Jersey says he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there have had a rare brain tumor. (Google Maps). Colonia High School Costello-Greiner Funeral Home - Woodbridge Sunday, January 1, 2023 Add Photos Add a Memory Sandra Wilson Sandra Wilson was born to Sarah Wilson and James Bradley on November. Thats 100 people with their life forever changed. Immediate action from our State and Federal agencies is warranted," Lupiano said. In April, Woodbridge approved environmental testing at the school, but those results won't be made available until the end of June. Heres how it works. Public health experts will look at the rate of brain cancer cases and investigate potential causes. The diagnoses include several types of primary brain tumors, including cancerous forms like glioblastoma and noncancerous yet debilitating masses such as acoustic neuromas, haemangioblastomas and meningiomas., Brain tumors at colonia high school. Today, Colonia enrolls approximately 1,300 students, with many said to be anxious about the possible cancer cluster. In a post Saturday, Lupiano said a radiological team that was looking for radiation and radon concluded their search. Woodbridge officials are now trying to determine an underlying cause for the disease. McCormac said residents are expressing concerns, and the township is working to keep everyone updated. She too died last month. McCormac speaks highly of Lupiano, who worked for nine years after college with EPA emergency responders. 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