After seeing a social media post from Lupiano earlier this month, concerned residents reached out to Mayor John McCormac. That decades-long stretch ended in the early 2000s, but recent. "When I looked at the email and I saw the data I just dropped. "I'm not particularly concerned because it hasn't happened in quite some time. His sister had recently died of cancer. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired UK, Popular Science and Youth Today, among others. Thats 100 people with their life forever changed. Colonia High School in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. 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. There are noeasily available records from the land before CHS was built in 1967, according to McCormac. 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. According to American Association of Neurological Surgeons, glioblastoma is normally extremely rare with an incidence of 3.21 per 100,000 people. 100 stories of shock and disbelief with the diagnosis. The department declined to comment for this story. While the exact number of former faculty and staff diagnosed with glioblastoma is not precisely known, the cancer is exceedingly rare. 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. An environmental study of Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey that took place after 94 former students and staff developed brain tumors found no evidence of "cancer . Now, he's gone public with the suggestion that Colonia could be one such site. A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. But where? 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 . What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors, and thats ionizing radiation, he declared. We do not believe that there is cause for any further testing, he said. I have a really bad feeling were going to find contamination beyond the high school. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. 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. You can also see how much the average bill changed from 2020. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. Im doing this not only for my wife, my sister my nieces are currently in the school but this deserves further understanding. How will officials determine if a true cancer cluster exists? Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story. NJ high school linked to mystery cancer cases. 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.". 94 people from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey are part of a cancer cluster of still unknown origin. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. A former Woodbridge man has identified 84 Colonia High School alumni and former staffers with rare brain tumors and wants health officials to investigate. I am being told Lupiano, who graduated from the school in 1989, himself was diagnosed 20 years ago and said he still suffers lingering issues, CBS New York reports. 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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. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. She too died last month. More: 'It can't be a coincidence': Colonia High School community probes mysterious cancer cases. ", Colonia High School entrance. 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 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. All rights reserved. And it is also great news for all former students.". "We absolutely have concerns, the Democrat told NJ.com. Dangerous drunk driving in South Brunswick, NJ cops nearly hit, Perth Amboy, NJ super rebukes teachers union for urging student walkout, Student walkout, protest planned after Perth Amboy NJ fifth-grader stabbed, Driver flees on foot after crash kills East Windsor, NJ mom, NJ man giving massages groped women at Plainsboro gym, cops say, Perth Amboy after school stabbing leaves 11-year-old hurt, child in custody, As NJ councilwoman is laid to rest, many questions about her execution-style slaying, New Brunswick, NJ burglar repeatedly confronted by residents, Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and EEO Report. ", 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. The discovery of the possible link between the school and the brain tumors is so new that it hasn't yet been verified by any agency, and the testing being done there is just part of the effort to figure out the true extent of the problem. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com. The gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. NBCLX storyteller Peter Hull walks you through the research. And in March 2022, a few weeks after his sister's death due to her malignant tumor, Lupiano posted his findings to Facebook in search of more patients. DeCillis's four teenage daughters attend Colonia schools in Woodbridge. Find your municipality in this alphabetical list to see how its average property tax bill for 2021 compares to others. He believes something at the high school in one of the more suburban and affluent sections of the township is responsible for dozens of brain cancer cases. 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. 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. More than 100 people who graduated from Colonia High School have developed brain cancer. The township announced results of an investigation. A majority of former students of Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a rare brain tumour. 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. "Colonia is not a mega high school. Advocates for an official investigation into fears of a "cancer cluster" at the Middlesex County high school say there are parallels to the notorious water system contamination in the Ocean County town that was blamed for more than 130 cases of childhood cancer in the 1990s. "To say he was concerned when he discovered all three of us grew up in the same neighborhood is an understatement. "The sooner we can get them to listen to us, the sooner we can do something.". He died 15 years ago from brain cancer. 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. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. 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. 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. Why is the cancer that killed John McCain so deadly? 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. Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? COLONIA, N.J. (WCBS 880) A New Jersey town is planning to conduct environmental testing at a high school after dozens of alumni and others connected to the institution developed rare brain tumors. But public health experts are cautioning against deeming the tumor cases a "cancer cluster" just yet. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. NEW JERSEY - A New Jersey man has uncovered a medical mystery apparently linking more than 100. 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. 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. Out of roughly 10,000 people, having more than five dozen cases of brain tumors and cancers is far above the average. 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. Support our nonprofit newsroom. To find something like this is a significant discovery, Dr. Sumul Raval, one of New Jerseys top neuro-oncologists, told the outlet. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. 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. T&M Associates already started conducting historic site research to obtain records related to the school's construction in1967 to today. Email tips toaudrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants. Jason Wisinski, who lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to . Legal Statement. Its overwhelming. 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. Parents like Dawn Genoni are willing to wait for that critical update. 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. "If there's a unique exposure, we would expect a unique cancer type," Platz said. A 2012 study in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology demonstrates how tricky it can be to confirm a cancer cluster. Al Lupiano graduated from the Middlesex County school in 1989. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. It can seem connected, when in reality, cancer is quite common and people are simply noticing this fact. More than 100 former Colonia High School students and staff over a 30-year period have been diagnosed with cancer and local parents say the information they're getting on the investigation. 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. But public health experts are cautioning against deeming the tumor cases a cancer cluster just yet. On the exact same day, Lupianos younger sister, Angela DeCillis, another alumna of Colonia, learned that she too had brain cancer. Rather than looking at all central nervous system cancers over 30 years, investigators will likely look at rates of specific types of brain tumors and how long after high school these tumors developed, she said. The program will take real-time measurements of radiation inside and outside the building, the town said. Its not something in soil. Over 100 former students and staff from a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors. Victim No. He's identifiedat least 65 people, including graduates and former staff who walked the halls of CHS from 1975 to 1995. For an interactive map version. Published on Apr 08, 2022 Al Lupiano and his wife, Michele, at their home in Jamesburg,. LaTourette said during the press conference every possible link to cancer was tested. After his sister passed away, Lupiano wrote a lengthy Facebook post as well as an article in a local newspaper in March, asking for people in the area for help in reporting cases of brain tumors. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. The township and school district have had discussions and meetings with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the state Department of Health, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Rep. Frank Pallones office. The cause hasn't been discovered yet, but some researchers suspect . Please enter valid email address to continue. Shehad been dealing with hearing loss for several years. Views expressed by our advertisers and sponsors are their own, and are not endorsed by NJ Spotlight News. But in 2021, his wife and sister, also. 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. If it's an ongoing issue, we may have to go through this all over again in 10 to 20 years. (Google Maps). 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. That's what makes the numbers staggering," says Lupiano. "I started doing some research and the three became five, the five became seven, the seven became 15," he told CBS News York. A mystery in Colonia 94 people from 1 N.J. high school developed brain tumors. In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. "Al has presented enough evidence that warrants further attention, but we have to rely on the experts to draw their conclusions.". On Tuesday after a public push by Lupiano local officials approved an emergency probe of the school. (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. 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