colonia high school brain cancer
Lupiano's quest for information took him to Facebook last month, and that list of people who went to or worked at Colonia High School - and have a primary brain tumor - is now closing in on 100 cases. His wife Michelle graduated in 1991. Platz expects that public health officials will look for specific overlaps in timing and tumor type. Janice's sister Chery Black also died from brain cancer in 2015. But he made a promise to his late sister that he would find out. "It's too important. I pray we find answers(as of 18:00 4/11, the list stands at 102 individuals). All are awaiting results from the radiation testing at the school before deciding how to get involved and proceed with the investigation. 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. 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. 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. Mystery as 100 people associated with . Colonia High School (Google Maps) Middlesex County's Colonia High School, located in Woodbridge, has made national headlines in recent weeks after over 100 former students and faculty. 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. But as the study continues, a number of people in the community are looking for some kind of reassurance. COLONIA, New Jersey (WABC) -- Two environmentalists are using a GPS to test for radiation on the grounds of Colonia High School. His sister died from it in February. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. also a graduate of the high school, died recently from brain cancer. (For example, smoking increases a person's risk of lung cancer.). How will officials determine if a true cancer cluster exists? We do not believe that there is cause for any further testing, he said. At the end of the study we are either going to know if there is a problem linked to radiation or not, he said. 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. 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. One parent told the outlet she doesnt think the probe did enough testing because it didnt take water or soil samples. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. He went on to recover from the disease. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. 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. 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. I dont think this is the end of the story. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. 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. 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. "I dont know that we know enough yet to be definitive in terms of causation, et cetera.". 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. And over the last 18 years, Lupiano has worked forMarine Spill Response Corp. 4/24 UPDATE: The radiological team charged with looking for both radiation and radon has concluded. 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 The township has approved an emergency contract of $221,350 for an engineering firm to conduct radiological assessments at Colonia High School, following a 1989 graduate's research indicating a possible link between the school and brain tumor cases among former students and staff. "The Departments stand ready to assist Woodbridge in reviewing any environmental data it collects to determine appropriate next steps," the statement reads. Now, he's gone public with the suggestion that Colonia could be one such site. "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. 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 August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. Today, Colonia enrolls approximately 1,300 students, with many said to be anxious about the possible cancer cluster. 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Colonia High School A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors, and thats ionizing radiation, he declared. The four-year high school has more than 1,300 students. "However, I still think we need to expedite the next phase of testing including water, soil, and air, to determine if more than one contaminant is present," he said. "That's probably been the biggest fear of all," Lupiano said. He had developed 'rare' brain tumor some 20 years ago. "I started doing some research and the three became five, the five became seven, the seven became 15," he told CBS News York. 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. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. Knowing about the numbers we are talking about here, I think this meets every definition of what a cancer cluster looks like, he said. A A. "But I understand why anyone would be concerned. 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. The states Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette backed up the mayors declaration the school was safe. "The only thing that could have happened, potentially, was fill that was brought in during construction. Lupiano said his teamdealt withanti-terrorism work, radioactive materials, and chemical and biological agents. Its not air. Former Colonia High School student Al Lupiano first decided to investigate when both his wife and his sister were diagnosed with brain tumors, two decades after he himself had suffered from. Middlesex Sampling Plant to Colonia High School in New Jersey. 94 people from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey are part of a cancer cluster of still unknown origin. 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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. "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. There has been plenty of inventions and history made in New Jersey. The plant then "decontaminated to the standards in effect at the time," though "overlooked during decontamination were traces of radioactive materials that had been carried offsite over the years by wind and rain to yards of neighboring homes," the USACE New York Division said on its website. 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. But in 2021, his wife and sister, also graduates of Colonia, were both diagnosed with rare brain tumors, according to NJ Spotlight News. 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. "They're the only ones with the authority to do something," Lupiano told CBS2's Kevin Rincon. 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. 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. "For the most part I'm pretty good today," Lupiano said. Landolfi and others said theres not enough evidence to support fears that the illnesses were caused by exposure to high levels of radiation, with one theory that the cause may have been a rock containing uranium used in a science lab. 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. .. Advertisement .. Over 100 Former Students, Staff Of New Jersey School Get Rare Cancer, Probe Launched, S Jaishankar's "Firm" Reply To UK Minister Who Raised BBC Tax Row: Sources, Nithyananda's 'Republic Of Kailasa' At UN Meet. But where? The analysis took several weeks. It is now one of the hottest topics to be discussed on TikTok. 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.. 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. For anothertwo decades, he held similar jobs withbig companies including Lockheed Martin. Its not something done to us due to bad habits.. According to United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. NJ high school linked to mystery cancer cases. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! READ MORE: Former Woodbridge, N.J. resident says 65 people who either attended or worked at Colonia High School have had rare brain tumors. In April, Woodbridge approved environmental testing at the school, but those results won't be made available until the end of June. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. No one knows why. 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). Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old. 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. In a statement to CBS News, Lupiano said he is "anxiously awaiting the results of the two-week-long radiological survey which concluded this weekend" and he anticipates he will receive the results in weeks. You can also see how much the average bill changed from 2020. It is the type of brain tumor that Arizona Sen. John McCain died from in 2018. (Al Lupiano), "[A]s of midnight Sunday 4/10, I recorded the 100th case of someone having a primary brain tumor," Luapiano said in an update on his Faceboook post. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano tells NBC4 New . 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. WOODBRIDGE - The township has approved an emergency contract of $221,350 for an engineering firm to conduct radiological assessments at Colonia High School, following a 1989 graduate's. In 1999, at age 27, he was diagnosed with a large, benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. An investigation into a possible brain cancer cluster found no evidence a New Jersey school was the cause of tumors diagnosed in former students, officials declared Thursday. A mystery in Colonia 94 people from 1 N.J. high school developed brain tumors. The study was to see if the area possibly had radiological contaminants that would contribute to diagnoses of brain cancers and other central nervous system tumors or disorders among these alumni, teachers and current students. 100 stories of shock and disbelief with the diagnosis. Rob Laumbach, a Rutgers University professor of public health. Thats 100 people with their life forever changed. Please enter valid email address to continue. The work will be done in cooperation with Woodbridge School District. Both his wife and sister were assigned the same doctor for treatment. The issue became national headline in the United States after CBS News aired a story on it. 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. Lupiano was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in the late 1990s, at the age of 27. And he said New Jerseys Department of Health has been similarly noncommittal. 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. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. We have no records 55 years ago.". Colonia graduate Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist, was the first to sound the alarm about the potential cluster. NBCLX storyteller Peter Hull walks you through the research. His sister had recently died of cancer. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. A copy of Lupianos list, with the names and phone numbers of victims redacted, includes some who, like Lupiano himself, graduated decades ago. And we don't have the same major risk factors for brain cancer as we do for common cancer types, Platz said. Lupiano also suggested a potential link between Colonia High School and a Middlesex, New Jersey, sampling plant in his interview with NJ Spotlight. A look back: Al Lupiano was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a . 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Tumor some 20 years ago. `` common cancer types, platz said tumor in 1999 he! 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Is cause for any further testing, he held similar jobs withbig companies including Lockheed Martin to get and!, live events, and thats ionizing radiation, he declared radioactive materials, chemical! For common cancer types, platz said a story on it results from the radiation testing at the,! '' and abnormally large brain tumor some 20 years ago. `` done in cooperation Woodbridge! Back: Al Lupiano was diagnosed with Acoustic Neuroma one environmental link primary... Angela M. DeCillis, a to his late sister that he would out! Materials, and exclusive reporting s sister Chery Black also died from in 2018 Woodbridge school District the... May not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed and sister...