If we dont find anything, we have to start looking at other potential candidates, whether its chemicals or something in the soil or air. His wife, Michelle, who also attended Colonia high, got a benign diagnosis as well, though the two came 20 years apart. "It's too important. 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. Since the initial post, Lupiano has published a list of 115 people who attended or worked at Colonia and were diagnosed with a primary brain tumor, according to news reports. A majority of former students of Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a rare brain tumour. And it is also great news for all former students.". 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. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. 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. He alleges that some contaminated soil was removed from the site when it closed down in 1967 the same year Colonia High School was built. Concerns were raised by Al Lupiano, a 1989 graduate of Colonia High School, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor along with his wife Michele and sister Angela DeCillis, both of whom had. WOODBRIDGE TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, . But brain . Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. Lupiano says he has a solution, that he's negotiated with the Manhattan-based Brain Tumor Foundation to provide free MRI brain screenings to anyone who may want one. After his sisters death in February, Lupiano became convinced of a link between the Colonia campus and the brain cancers that he, his wife and his sister had developed. The investigation will consider very granular data on graduates, like their occupations, family history and other activities that could affect their exposures. Reports claim that more than 60 former students and staff of Colonia High School have been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called . But where? An investigation has been launched after more than 100 people who attended a high school in New Jersey appeared to contract a rare cancer. Its not something done to us due to bad habits.. 89. I will not rest until I have answers, Lupiano, 50, declared in an interview with NJ.com and the Star-Ledger on Thursday. 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. T&M Associates of Middletown and its team of environmentalists are scheduled to begin collecting data at the high school this weekend by placing radon canisters throughout the building to collect air samples, according to township officials. 2021 DEADLIEST YEAR IN US HISTORY DUE TO COVID-19, DRUG OVERDOSES. The plant received uranium, thorium and beryllium ores between the 1940s and 1967, which is the same year Colonia High School was built. One former student at Colonia High School who developed a 'rare' brain tumor over 20 years ago and survived having cancer is looking to uncover the cause. Lupiano said. Related: The 10 deadliest cancers, and why there's no cure. Over 100 former students and staff from a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors. His wife graduated in 1991. The EPA says that inhaling radon for a long time increases your risk of lung cancer. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. Normally speaking, you dont get radiation in a high school unless something is going on in that area that we dont know, Raval added, calling for an immediate investigation. "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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Meanwhile, the TikTok video sparked panic and a range of conspiracy-theory style comments, with people claiming mold, toxic waste, asbestos and nearby cellphone towers could all be causing the cluster. "That's probably been the biggest fear of all," Lupiano said. Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, I make $80k selling nudes to pay for cancer treatment men love bald look, Jimmy Carters niece says former president still has some time in him, Experts say youve been storing potatoes wrong this whole time and shut down cancer rumors, Joe Exotics doctors suspect he has bladder cancer but hes refusing treatment: report. "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.". Lupiano said he has had meetings with county, state and federal agencies, which he said in a March 25 post "are going well.". Initially, he found 15 people who attended the high school and were diagnosed with a primary brain tumor, meaning a tumor that originates in the brain, according to NBC Today. McCormac has also reached out toU.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J 6th District. NEW JERSEY - A New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking more than 100. "While we have not yet determined if any contaminant is present, the only link up to this point is that everyone spent a significant amount of time at the school," Lupiano wrote in his Facebook post. Like 6 Comments |. While not technically cancer, these brain tumors can grow and become life-threatening if left untreated. 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. 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. Despite the number of possible cases, officials say they must first determine if there is any scientific evidentiary connection between the school grounds and the brain tumors. 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. Colonia High School A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. "Her four children are potentially being exposed to the same thing that killed their mother. Dozens of former teachers and students have . The states Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette backed up the mayors declaration the school was safe. Nearly 100 people attending a single high school in New Jersey have developed rare forms of brain cancer. Were all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. But public health experts are cautioning against deeming the tumor cases a cancer cluster just yet. "Al has presented enough evidence that warrants further attention, but we have to rely on the experts to draw their conclusions.". Its overwhelming. The mayor has reached out to the state Department of Health, Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry, according to CBS New York. McCormac and Lupiano are waiting to hear back from the EPA. "If I was a parent with a child in the school, I'd be literally sick to my stomach thinking, is my child at risk right this second?" He accused the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry of being unresponsive to his calls for a formal probe. And all three were diagnosed with rare forms of brain cancers or tumors on the left side of their brains. Gov. 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. Al Lupiano graduated from the Middlesex County school in 1989. A 2012 study in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology demonstrates how tricky it can be to confirm a cancer cluster. The township announced results of an investigation. To his knowledge, there was nothing remotely dangerous at the site. If it's an ongoing issue, we may have to go through this all over again in 10 to 20 years. "Today we are very happy to announce that our extensive testing for both radon and radiation, in the interior and exterior, of the school produced no evidence of any cancer-causing hazards that warrant further investigation," McCormac said. Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Colonia High School in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. At the time of the CBS interview in late March, Lupiano claimed to have confirmed 65 cases of rare brain tumors, all affecting people who either attended or worked at Colonia High School. All these photos are from AP and Getty publications, meaning they were used in a magazine or newspaper. Lupiano also suggested a potential link between Colonia High School and a Middlesex, New Jersey, sampling plant in his interview with NJ Spotlight. Shehad been dealing with hearing loss for several years. Age, exposure to radiation and family history are all risk factors. It's the largest oil spill cleanup company in the United States. Jon Hurdle, a freelance writer who regularly reports on water and other environmental issues, is part of the NJ Spotlight COVID-19 reporting team. He has continued to update followers on social media and on Thursday, said the list stood at 115 people who had either malignant or benign tumors. The Township of Woodbridge, in cooperation with the Woodbridge Township School District, has taken the proactive initiative to contract with T&M and Cabrera Services, Inc., a nationally recognized radiological and environmental remediation company, to engage their team of environmentalists to begin collecting data at Colonia High School, the town said in a statement. 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. 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. "We got the state and federal agencies involved, and we're starting some testing of the grounds and the air this weekend," McCormac said. The brain tumor cases, appearing over a thirty-year period, are a significant medical mystery that has caused alarm for experts. 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. After seeing a social media post from Lupiano earlier this month, concerned residents reached out to Mayor John McCormac. "But I understand why anyone would be concerned. 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. "This is terrific news for the current students of Colonia High School and their parents who worried about their safety, along with current staff members. "The sooner we can get them to listen to us, the sooner we can do something.". In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. Published on Apr 08, 2022 Al Lupiano and his wife, Michele, at their home in Jamesburg,. Among the others diagnosed with brain cancer was Lupianos younger sister, who passed away from the disease in February at the age of 44. There has been plenty of inventions and history made in New Jersey. And he said New Jerseys Department of Health has been similarly noncommittal. "Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor," Lupiano said. "It was clearly alarming enough that it merited further attention and I just helped him get that attention. 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. "As previously stated, there is basically one medically proven cause of rare brain tumors like ours radiation," he wrote. The devoted brother promised his sister on her deathbed that he would get to the bottom of what was causing the apparent cancer cluster at Colonia High. He had developed 'rare' brain tumor some 20 years ago. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. Earlier this year, Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist and Colonia High School graduate, discovered more than 115 people who spent time at the school had a rare brain tumor. In 1999, when he was just 27, Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor for someone his age called Acoustic Neuroma (AN). If no link is found with the high school specifically, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, said other potential points of connection in the township will be explored, according to NBC Today. Heres how it works. The gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. 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. More than 100 former Colonia High School students and staff have been diagnosed with brain cancer over a 30-year period. Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas has the latest as 100+ have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The city of Woodbridge says it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for testing at a school that graduated roughly 15,000 people over the last 30 years. The community suspects a cancer cluster, and would like it investigated, and I think thats a very reasonable request. Since . But just because there is an investigation does not necessarily mean there's a cancer cluster, Platz told Live Science. Until then, he knew of 15 former Colonia attendees who had been diagnosed with brain tumors. 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. 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.. "I'm not particularly concerned because it hasn't happened in quite some time. And over the last 18 years, Lupiano has worked forMarine Spill Response Corp. McCormac, who lives three blocks from Colonia High School,is not yet convinced of a link. And it's not just the school that could be at risk. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. "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. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills at least 36, injures some 85, Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak, House select committee hearing paints China as a strategic antagonist, JetBlue flight forced to abort landing in close call at Logan Airport, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Bald eagle couple lays new egg after losing eaglets two years in a row. My wife had a 30-millimeter acoustic neuroma," Lupiano said. 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 last case was a while ago, like 2000," Kapadia said. 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. But to date we dont have any environmental factors that are known to cause brain tumors.. Parent Edyta Komorek said she and other parents are thinking about transferring their kids to another district. Robert Miller The investigation was jumpstarted after it was discovered more 122 people once connected to. 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. T&M Associates already started conducting historic site research to obtain records related to the school's construction in1967 to today. Theres lots and lots of people calling me, saying, Look, I didnt go to the high school, but I live a mile away, and we call our block cancer alley,' said Lupiano. Out of roughly 10,000 people, having more than five dozen cases of brain tumors and cancers is far above the average. Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? Back in March, Colonia High graduate Al Lupiano posted his theory about possible links between brain tumors diagnoses among 1990s and early 2000s graduates of Colonia High and since then, he gathered the names of at least 110 grads with brain tumors, according to Fox News Digital. "I talked to him a little bit and learned about what he had been working on," McCormactoldNew Jersey 101.5. But public health experts are cautioning against deeming the tumor cases a "cancer cluster" just yet. Janice's sister Chery Black also died from brain cancer in 2015. Market data provided by Factset. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. It may be that once someone is diagnosed with cancer, they are more likely to take note of other cancer diagnoses or more likely to have conversations about cancer and realize their connections to other cancer patients, Platz said. Updated on: May 4, 2022 / 11:30 PM Mitesh Kapadia moved right next to Colonia High just a few years ago. Make no mistake when the department believes that people are at risk we act and immediately so, he told media members. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. The chances of one person gettingacoustic neuroma are roughly 1 in 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Updated on: April 26, 2022 / 8:21 AM 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. 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