colonia high school brain cancer

Immediately I knew exactly what I was looking at. 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. His wife was similarly diagnosed with an abnormally large AN tumor, and his sister was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), which has an incident rate of 30 out of every 1 million people, Lupiano explained in a Facebook post that he has been updating since March 7. His wife was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, and his sister was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. And it is also great news for all former students.". Were all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. The school has stayed open because there's no evidenced or discernible threat at this point, parents have said district officials told them, citing reports from local, state and federal investigators. The question is why? Over 122 people connected to Colonia High School were found to have brain tumors. McCormac and Lupiano are waiting to hear back from the EPA. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. "It was clearly alarming enough that it merited further attention and I just helped him get that attention. The program will take real-time measurements of radiation inside and outside the building, the town said. More than 100 primary brain tumors have now been linked to people who graduated or taught at Colonia High. Woodbridge Mayor John McCormack told the outlet that his office initiated conversations with the Woodbridge Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease Registry about opening investigations into potential radiation exposure stemming from the high school's campus. Market data provided by Factset. But he made a promise to his late sister that he would find out. "It's too important. More recently, a 1999 graduate died in 2016 of a head/neck tumor, while a 1998 graduate was diagnosed in 2014 with astrocytoma, a cancer of the brain stem. Only 72 of the suspected cancer clusters were confirmed to have an increased incidence of cancer within the cluster. I will uncover the truth.. 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. The last case was a while ago, like 2000," Kapadia said. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). His condition was rare, but he was successfully treated. 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. Al Lupiano first sent public nearly two months ago about concerns of a cancer cluster related to Colonia 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. . While benign, treatment can leave victims with hearing loss, trouble balancing, and several other serious symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. 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. Why is the cancer that killed John McCain so deadly? 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The four-year high school has more than 1,300 students. Please enter valid email address to continue. You can also see how much the average bill changed from 2020. The onset of brain tumors in more than one hundred people who attended or worked at Colonia High School in New Jersey has continued to baffle experts. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The announcement comes on the heels of the development that a New Jersey man who graduated from the high school that he believes is linked to a mysterious cluster of brain tumors dating back decades -- and to his own diagnosis -- says he's gotten a New York City-based foundation signed on to offer free brain scans to people in the community who may not otherwise have access. LaTourette said during the press conference every possible link to cancer was tested. But some parents didnt seem convinced, according to NJ.com. Whittington a board-certified MD in California claimed several of the brain tumors developed by ex-Colonia High staff and students are glioblastoma multiforme an aggressive cancer which spreads to brain tissue. Last summer, Lupiano's wife and now-deceased sister were diagnosed with rare brain tumors on the same day. This is only one of many, many tests that can be performed. His sister Angela Decillis. ", Rick Rickman is the news assistant at New Jersey 101.5. "I will not rest until I have answers," the 50-year-old told NJ.com. Frequently, in hazmat, you never find it in the first shot," Lupiano said. or redistributed. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. More than 120 people who attended Colonia High School in New Jersey have been diagnosed with brain tumors. "The rates are actually consistent in New Jersey with the United States," McGreevy said. Ultimately, if it isnt a radiation source that is causing these illnesses, Lupiano says other tests can be done to pinpoint a cause. 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. "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?" Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old. Lupiano began counting how many people associated with the town were effected. In other words, they will need to prove by statistical analysis that more Colonia staff and graduates developed brain cancer than people with their same characteristics (age, sex, location) over the same time. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address Two weeks from now, if we dont hear anything from the federal agencies, theres going to be a lot of yelling and screaming, and the parents are going to run out of patience, he said. 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. during the press conference posted on the townships Youtube page. 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. In a mysterious story, a man from New Jersey named Al Lupiano found out that 100 people with uncommon cancers were linked to Woodbridge Township School District, Colonia High School. In less than six weeks, Lupiano says, he has gathered the names of 94 people connected with the school who have developed brain tumors. There has been plenty of inventions and history made in New Jersey. 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. McCormac, who lives three blocks from Colonia High School,is not yet convinced of a link. But as the study continues, a number of people in the community are looking for some kind of reassurance. The states Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette backed up the mayors declaration the school was safe. According to the Mayo Clinic, an Acoustic Neuroma is a slow-growing tumor that is found on the primary nerve that . World News Posted by Amit Chaturvedi Updated: April 15, 2022 12:33 pm IST. (For example, smoking increases a person's risk of lung cancer.). "The sooner we can get them to listen to us, the sooner we can do something.". In a joint statement to CBS News, the New Jersey Department of Health and the state's Department of Environmental Protection said the agencies "are aware of the concerns raised by local residents, particularly as they relate to Colonia High School, and are partnering with Mayor McCormac and Woodbridge Township to better understand the issue and determine whether any relevant environmental exposure concerns are present at the site.". Until then, he knew of 15 former Colonia attendees who had been diagnosed with brain tumors. Lupiano's familiarity comes from his own experience. "I'm getting reports of whole blocks in and around the neighborhood, that they call themselves 'Cancer Alley,'" Lupiano said. 100 stories of shock and disbelief with the diagnosis. "Colonia is not a mega high school. In 1999, at age 27, he was diagnosed with a large, benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. The EPA says that inhaling radon for a long time increases your risk of lung cancer. That's what makes the numbers staggering," says Lupiano. READ MORE: Former Woodbridge, N.J. resident says 65 people who either attended or worked at Colonia High School have had rare brain tumors. 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. WOODBRIDGE TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, . New York, NY 10036. 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.". 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. Colonia High School Officials conduct a radiological survey on the school's baseball field. Phil Murphy, whose administration has also been pushed to get more involved, recently described the tumor cluster as disturbing but echoed Woodbridge Township officials in stressing it was too soon to make definitive conclusions about the cause. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano tells NBC4 New . After his sister's death in February, Lupiano became convinced of a link between the Colonia. Like 6 Comments |. Michele M. Vercoski, a partner of McCune Law Group, is investigating the potential link between the rare brain tumor and many former Colonia High School students out of the MLG's office in Newark, New Jersey. 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. Researchers need to ask themselves, for example, whether an apparent cluster could reflect the fact that many cancer victims are older, or whether their tumors may have been caused by radiation that was used to cure some other illness, he said. Just three of these clusters were linked to a possible exposure, and only one had a clear cause. 89. 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. The cause hasn't been discovered yet, but some researchers suspect . He's now among the many calling on the town, state and federal government to do more. "If there's a unique exposure, we would expect a unique cancer type," Platz said. Age, exposure to radiation and family history are all risk factors. "To say he was concerned when he discovered all three of us grew up in the same neighborhood is an understatement. While not technically cancer, these brain tumors can grow and become life-threatening if left untreated. I pray we find answers(as of 18:00 4/11, the list stands at 102 individuals). Al Lupiano, 50, began investigating his alma matter of Colonia High School in Woodbridge, N.J. after his sister died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive and malignant brain tumor. "As previously stated, there is basically one medically proven cause of rare brain tumors like ours radiation," he wrote. His wife Michelle graduated in 1991. WOODBRIDGE A New Jersey man is on amission to find a link between rare braintumors inmore than 60 graduates and former staff at Colonia High School, including his wife and late sister. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. NEW JERSEY - A New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking more than 100. Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world. ", NEWS: Piscataway man convicted of exploiting daughters college peers after moving into dorm. Unlike lab experiments, which can be tightly controlled, epidemiology and public health studies are often based on observations; as such, the answers can be incomplete or unsatisfying, Platz said. Jason Wisinski, who lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to . According to MyCentralJersey.com, the issue stems from legal concerns over the potential risk of offering a medical procedure with which municipal officials have no experience. She worked for 16 years to help other rising nurses at Rutgers and RWJ Barnabas Health. "I have full faith they will get to the bottom of this and they will figure out what is going on," she previously told News 4. A 2012 study in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology demonstrates how tricky it can be to confirm a cancer cluster. Published on Apr 08, 2022 Al Lupiano and his wife, Michele, at their home in Jamesburg,. Lupiano also spoke with CBS News on Thursday, saying he now believes ionizing radiation must be responsible for the health issues. All these photos are from AP and Getty publications, meaning they were used in a magazine or newspaper. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. But in 2021, his wife and sister, also. 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. 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. In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. 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. 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. They have a lot more resources at their disposal. On Tuesday after a public push by Lupiano local officials approved an emergency probe of the school. COLONIA, N.J. -- There is a growing push to go back to remote learning at one New Jersey high school, but not because of COVID fears. Phillips had surgery to remove the tumor on March 3 and entered physical, occupational and speech therapy soon after. A colonia high school brain cancer between the Colonia grow and become life-threatening If left untreated therapy. Apparently linking more than 100 primary brain tumors and it is also news. And only one had a clear cause people in the same neighborhood is an understatement a while ago, 2000..., you never find it in the first shot, '' the told! Of rare brain tumors for 16 years to help other rising nurses at Rutgers RWJ... Who graduated or taught at Colonia High School in woodbridge Township, the... 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