100 people with rare cancers who attended same NJ high school demand answers

[libertybele]

100 people with rare cancers who attended same NJ high school demand answers

A single New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking 100 people diagnosed with rare cancers to a Woodbridge high school.

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). Last summer, Lupiano's wife and now-deceased sister were diagnosed with rare forms of brain cancer on the same day. 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.

"Their neurologist, who has been recognized as a global leader in neurosurgery by the World Federation of Neurological Societies, has treated and been involved with tens of thousands of brain tumors in his career. 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 head…according to him, the odds are maybe 1 in a BILLION," Lupiano said.
Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. ...........

https://www.foxnews.com/us/colonia-high-school-rare-cancer-link

[Gefn]

So sad.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s anywhere else in Woodbridge. I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants in that township.

[libertybele]

So sad.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s anywhere else in Woodbridge. I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants in that township.

Good question.  My guess is it has to do with water brought into the high school or contamination of materials used to build the school. 

Hopefully there will be some answers and not a cover up.  This reminds me of the movie Erin Brockovich.

[libertybele]

@Gefn -- more information

EPA aware of Colonia High School brain tumor cluster NJ man uncovered: 'I have a really bad feeling'

Local and federal environmental agencies say they are assisting the town of Woodbridge, New Jersey, in its investigation into more than 100 graduates of the same high school that have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors.

(video @ link)

https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-jersey-colonia-high-school-cancer-investigations-epa

[Gefn]

Thanks @libertybele



Before Covid I would be in that neck of the woods several times a year. There are two malls near there-Woodbridge and Menlo Park, and I like shopping at both.

Theres a Rainforest Cafe in one and a Johnny Rockets in the other as well. My inner child likes both restaurants

[libertybele]

Thanks @libertybele



Before Covid I would be in that neck of the woods several times a year. There are two malls near there-Woodbridge and Menlo Park, and I like shopping at both.

Theres a Rainforest Cafe in one and a Johnny Rockets in the other as well. My inner child likes both restaurants

We have a Rainforest Cafe on the other coast -- yes, it's kind of a fun restaurant @Gefn

[sneakypete]

My memory ain't what it used to be thanks to Chemo,but wasn't the whole state of NJ known to be a chemical dump site back in the 60's?

Seems like I even remember comedians making fun of them over it on tv.

[Smokin Joe]

So sad.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s anywhere else in Woodbridge. I’ve eaten in a lot of restaurants in that township.

Not sure. There are 114 superfund sites in NJ, the closest to Woodbridge are 5 miles away (to the northesast) and 7 miles to the southeast. Further investigation would/could reveal other commonalities these folks have that are to the exclusion of the students there who did not get cancer, and possibly reveal if those sites were involved or the presence of something else that they all had in common to the exclusion of their classmates. (another, unmarked dump or unknown exposure vector).

FYI, here's the link to an interactive map of such sites in NJ. https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live Keep in mind that these are known and recognized problem sites and don't include unknown or unreported sites.

A little more info on current (and legacy) problem sites: https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2020/03/epa-njs-toxic-chemical-waste-increased-half-million-pounds-in-2018/