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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. For people who graduated recently, the chances of having cancer now is much lower than those in their 70s and 80s, he said. "Her four children are potentially being exposed to the same thing that killed their mother. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. 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. "Colonia is not a mega high school. That's when Lupiano started looking into the connection. Lupiano began counting how many people associated with the town were effected. 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.". "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. It is the type of brain tumor that Arizona Sen. John McCain died from in 2018. More than 100 graduates of a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors over the past 30 years, prompting concern that there might be a connection between the school and the tumor cases. A majority of former students of Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a rare brain tumour. 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. Discussions with that doctor about the rarity of three family members all being diagnosed with brain tumors led to Lupiano's quest for more research because radiation exposure is a well-documented cause of brain tumors. And I know that wears on my brother-in-law, it wears on my parents. "As previously stated, there is basically one medically proven cause of rare brain tumors like ours radiation," he wrote. 'I will not rest until I . According to NJ Spotlight News, McCormac has been contacted by at least five agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Jersey Department of Health. 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. Like 6 Comments |. After the testing ends, Lupiano said he and his supporters will be looking for a commitment by federal authorities for a conclusive investigation into whether something in the schools environment caused the brain tumors. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com. A copy of Lupianos list, with the names and phone numbers of victims redacted, includes some who, like Lupiano himself, graduated decades ago. More than 120 people who attended Colonia High School in New Jersey have been diagnosed with brain tumors. Parent Edyta Komorek said she and other parents are thinking about transferring their kids to another district. The cause hasn't been discovered yet, but some researchers suspect . Victim No. A A. "I will not rest until I have answers," the 50-year-old told NJ.com. T&M Associates already started conducting historic site research to obtain records related to the school's construction in1967 to today. Updated on: May 4, 2022 / 11:30 PM (Al Lupiano). The same day his sister was diagnosed, his wife, Michele, a 1991 Colonia High School graduate, was diagnosed with a large acoustic neuroma, a rare brain tumor which is life-threatening if left untreated. 100 families having to be told the terrible news. She holds a bachelor's degree in biotechnology from theUniversity of Kentucky and master's degrees in food technology from Aarhus University and journalism from New York University. 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"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. NY 10036. 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. Among the others diagnosed with brain cancer was Lupianos younger sister, who passed away from the disease in February at the age of 44. Platz expects that public health officials will look for specific overlaps in timing and tumor type. Its way too early to call it a cancer cluster, said Dr. Joseph Landolfi, chief medical officer at JFK Medical Center in Edison, and its director of neuro-oncology. / CBS News. The school district's superintendent, Dr. Joseph Massimino, said in March that he was waiting to hear from the environmental agencies on next steps. Since . He initially found 15 people, allColonia High School graduates from around 1975 to 1995, had them, he said. 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. The number of reported victims has been growing since Al Lupiano, a former student in the 1980s and a cancer victim himself, appealed for names in a Facebook post on March 7. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Rob Laumbach, a Rutgers University professor of public health. 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. "It's too important. The Department of Health will work with the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry and will conduct a public health assessment and evaluate the potential for health effects. In early March, Al Lupiano, 50, of Jamesburg, a 1989 Colonia High School graduate, posted on Facebook that his 44-year-old sister, Angela DeCillis, a 1995 Colonia High School graduate,died inFebruary from a rare,highly aggressive malignant glioma brain tumor on the left side of her brain, that had been diagnosed in August 2021. The mayorsays only the experts are qualifiedto make an actionable connection between the cases and CHS. The disturbing development came to the fore after one of the former students Al Lupiano - a cancer survivor - decided to untangle the mystery. So far, more than 2,000 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding, in part, students return to remote learning. In 1999, when he was just 27, Al Lupiano. Out of roughly 10,000 people, having more than five dozen cases of brain tumors and cancers is far above the average. 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. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano tells NBC4 New . A Colonia High School alum said he found 107 people with brain tumors who went to or worked at the school. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. "We can get in there today and take air, water and soil samples and have results back the same day," Lupiano said. 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. The issue became national headline in the United States after CBS News aired a story on it. Advertisement. 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. McCormac, who lives three blocks from Colonia High School,is not yet convinced of a link. Since last August, Lupiano has spent countless hours trying to find other people linked to CHS with primary brain cancers. LaTourette said during the press conference every possible link to cancer was tested. There is one well documented cause of brain tumors radiation exposure," he continued. Legal Statement. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, glioblastoma has an incidence of3.21 per 100,000. 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. Cancer diagnosis: Detection, testing and research, Parasite found in cat poop linked to higher brain cancer risk in humans, Once-dreaded poliovirus could treat brain cancer. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. Shehad been dealing with hearing loss for several years. 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, and is also great news for all former students who attended and staff who worked at Colonia High School.. He's identifiedat least 65 people, including graduates and former staff who walked the halls of CHS from 1975 to 1995. 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. WOODBRIDGE TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey in 1989. 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. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. McCormac speaks highly of Lupiano, who worked for nine years after college with EPA emergency responders. 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. 94 people from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey are part of a cancer cluster of still unknown origin. Colonia High School is now the subject of radiation detecting research. All rights reserved, mysterious cluster of brain tumors dating back decades, He's looking for a place to host the screenings in early June, NJ Parents Demand Swifter Action in School Cancer Probe After 100+ Brain Tumors Diagnosed, Cancer Cluster Probe at NJ HS Underway After 100+ Diagnosed With Brain Tumors, Next Winter Storm May Bring Even More Snow to NYC Area This Week: What to Know, 4 Ferraris Stolen on Long Island in Service Center Heist. She died on Feb. 17, 2022, at 44 years old. 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.. Last month, McCormac and Superintendent of Schools Joseph Massimino became aware of health-related concerns reported on social media about a potential connection between Colonia High School and graduates who developed brain tumors. Further explanation of what occurred at that high school over these decades of people being in the building, Lupiano told Fox News Digital. Fortunately one of the survivors is an environmental scientist Al Lupiano, who is bringing attention to this and he is . The community suspects a cancer cluster, and would like it investigated, and I think thats a very reasonable request. Starting this weekend, various radiological assessments will be conducted across the schools 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon. Since starting his research, Lupiano said that number has increased to about 90 people, including about 10 who were school staff members, some who worked in the cafeteria and others from the athletic department. To find something like this is a significant discovery, Dr. Sumul Raval, one of New Jerseys top neuro-oncologists, told the outlet. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. By April 11, he had heard from more than 100 former Colonia High School attendees who had been diagnosed with rare tumors and cancers. 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. 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. Colonia Mayor John McCormac announced Thursday afternoon the results of the findings of the Environmental Assessment Study that was conducted to investigate if Colonia High School buildings and grounds. 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. His wife and sister both got it. In 1999 when Lupiano was 27, he too was diagnosed with a large acoustic neuroma on the left side of his brain. Last year, his wife who also attended Colonia was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. The cancer was diagnosed years after these students graduated or worked at Colonia High School in Woodbridge. Al Lupiano is a Colonia High School graduate and environmental scientist who was diagnosed with a benign 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). Legal Statement. He said the site was vacant land until the school was built in 1967,so he believes there is little chance anything was in the ground before then, but if there is anything on site, it could have come from fill during the construction phase. PROMISING CANCER VACCINE IN THE WORKS UTILIZING SIMILAR MRNA TECHNOLOGY THAT COMBATS COVID: DUKE RESEARCHERS. 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. The health department also looked at brain cancer rates for Colonia High School and compared them to rates of brain cancer throughout New Jersey and the United States. "This approach of calculating the expected number was done to provide context to . But the growing number of victims both alive and dead on the list dont constitute the evidence that public health experts need to determine that Colonia is a cancer cluster, said Dr. I still dont know what Im going to do with my kids, Komorek told NJ.com. On the exact same day, Lupianos younger sister, Angela DeCillis, another alumna of Colonia, learned that she too had brain cancer. 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 1999, at age 27, he was diagnosed with a large, benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. We have no records 55 years ago.". Thats 100 people with their life forever changed. 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. But Lupiano was not initially sure that the high school was a link to the similar yet rare brain tumor cases until he made a request on Facebook for others who attended Colonia to reach out to him personally. 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. Working that out takes time, Platz 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. He, his wife and sister were among those who were diagnosed with brain tumors. Last summer, Lupiano's wife and now-deceased sister were diagnosed with rare brain tumors on the same day. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. "The sooner we can get them to listen to us, the sooner we can do something.". Today, Colonia enrolls approximately 1,300 students, with many said to be anxious about the possible cancer cluster. 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. 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. 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. My wife had a 30-millimeter acoustic neuroma," Lupiano said. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The canisters do not poseany danger and do not emit any substance, and are routinely used in homes, businesses and schools to collect radon measurements, township officials said. He had developed 'rare' brain tumor some 20 years ago. The authorities will be conducting radiological assessments across the school's 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon. Middlesex Sampling Plant to Colonia High School in New Jersey. Hours after Deciliis got her diagnosis, Lupiano's wife Michelereceived similar news. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired UK, Popular Science and Youth Today, among others. This is only one of many, many tests that can be performed. LOS ANGELES (AP) More than a week after Tom Sizemore suffered a brain aneurysm, a representative says the actor's family is "now deciding end of life matters." "Today, doctors informed . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. A former Woodbridge man has identified 84 Colonia High School alumni and former staffers with rare brain tumors and wants health officials to investigate. katherine noelle wyman; cape breton post obituaries 2022. location symbol text in word; list of female jockeys australia; mike conley house columbus ohio address You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! "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. "They're the only ones with the authority to do something," Lupiano told CBS2's Kevin Rincon. "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. Cancer cluster who also attended Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a brain... 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