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. His wife, Michelle, who also attended Colonia high, got a benign diagnosis as well, though the two came 20 years apart. 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. "For the most part I'm pretty good today," Lupiano said. Al Lupiano first sent public nearly two months ago about concerns of a cancer cluster related to Colonia High School. Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old. We are looking at possible things that we can do between the town and school, and they said they will look at anything we come up with, McCormac said. 'I will not rest until I . DeCillis's four teenage daughters attend Colonia schools in Woodbridge. The mayorsays only the experts are qualifiedto make an actionable connection between the cases and CHS. 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 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. 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 in New Jersey has seen more than 100 students and staff diagnosed with cancer over the last 30 years. 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. An investigation has been launched after more than 100 people who attended a high school in New Jersey appeared to contract a rare cancer. I have a really bad feeling were going to find contamination beyond the high school. For the past two decades, he's spoken with other victims, comforting them on message boards and Facebook. We have no records 55 years ago.". She died on Feb. 17, 2022, at 44 years old. His condition was rare, but he was successfully treated. It may be that once someone is diagnosed with cancer, they are more likely to take note of other cancer diagnoses or more likely to have conversations about cancer and realize their connections to other cancer patients, Platz said. The vast majority of those who have developed brain tumors graduated between 1975 and 2000, although outliers have come as recently as a 2014 graduate, according to the Star-Ledger. The issue became national headline in the United States after CBS News aired a story on it. He has continued to update followers on social media and on Thursday, said the list stood at 115 people who had either malignant or benign 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. 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 disturbing development came to the fore after one of the former students Al Lupiano - a cancer survivor - decided to untangle the mystery. His wife and sister both got it. COLONIA, New Jersey (WABC) -- Two environmentalists are using a GPS to test for radiation on the grounds of Colonia High School. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. "If there's a unique exposure, we would expect a unique cancer type," Platz said. An investigation has . 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. For the Lupianos, they believe the chances of all three of them having tumors on the left sides of their brains were too high to be a coincidence. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. Calls are growing for state and federal authorities to look into why more than 100 people have been diagnosed with brain tumors since attending the school as students, faculty or staff in past decades. Colonia High School Officials conduct a radiological survey on the school's baseball field. The chances of one person gettingacoustic neuroma are roughly 1 in 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. For now, radiation levels in and around the school are being monitored in a two-week test that began on April 9 by a private contractor hired by the municipality. I will uncover the truth.. The city of Woodbridge says it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for testing at a school that graduated roughly 15,000 people over the last 30 years. More than 100 people from the same high school have been diagnosed with brain cancer and it is feared soil contaminated with uranium used in the first atomic bomb made them ill. 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. "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. "They're the only ones with the authority to do something," Lupiano told CBS2's Kevin Rincon. New York, 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. 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. Its overwhelming. 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. 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. Gov. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is. 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. Shehad been dealing with hearing loss for several years. 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. / CBS New York. during the press conference posted on the townships Youtube page. 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. For anothertwo decades, he held similar jobs withbig companies including Lockheed Martin. His sister Angela Decillis. Robert Miller The investigation was jumpstarted after it was discovered more 122 people once connected to. Only 72 of the suspected cancer clusters were confirmed to have an increased incidence of cancer within the cluster. That's when Lupiano started looking into the connection. "We thank Mayor McCormac [sic] and the local residents for raising these concerns and we ask for patience as we pursue the science to try to identify answers," the statement reads. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. WOODBRIDGE, NJ Nearly 2,000 people have signed a petition demanding a more robust investigation from the state of New Jersey and the federal government regarding a possible, unconfirmed cancer. McCormac said he was very concerned to learn of the possible link. Victim No. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He says if there is something going on, he worries about all of the people that would be impacted. Twentyyears earlier, he was also diagnosed with an aggressive 36-millimeter acoustic neuroma. 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. 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. The cancer was diagnosed years after these students graduated or worked at Colonia High School in Woodbridge. "The only thing that could have happened, potentially, was fill that was brought in during construction. Woodbridge Mayor John McCormick told CBS New York the school, which was built in 1967, was built on "virgin land" in the woods. According to the National Cancer Institute, "cases of cancer can appear to cluster even when there is no connection among them." Dozens of former teachers and students have . 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. He thinks the cases stem from contaminated soil, but there's no data to prove that at this point. Many more came forward after the posting, and by Thursday, the number had grown to 103, Lupiano told NJ Spotlight News. It is now one of the hottest topics to be discussed on TikTok. A part of the campus is named for Pat Barbato - a longtime football coach and athletic director. Woodbridge officials are now trying to determine an underlying cause for the disease. 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. They have a lot more resources at their disposal. NY 10036. A former Woodbridge man has identified 84 Colonia High School alumni and former staffers with rare brain tumors and wants health officials to investigate. 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. 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The results from the environmental study that was conducted at a New Jersey high school campus enveloped in a brain tumor cluster mystery among graduates and workers at the school revealed no traces of radioactivity were found in the school. According to Fox News, there have been instances of both malignant and benign brain tumors being discovered in former Colonia High School attendees. Very few achieve the label, but one of them is Toms River, where the rate of childhood cancers surged in the 1990s after the towns drinking water was contaminated with toxic chemicals from two waste dumps. And I know that wears on my brother-in-law, it wears on my parents. "I have some lingering issues. This is definitely not normal.. After his sister's death in February, Lupiano became convinced of a link between the Colonia. McCormac speaks highly of Lupiano, who worked for nine years after college with EPA emergency responders. America today woke up to the news that brain cancer has been detected in more than 100 former students at a New Jersey high school. On the exact same day, Lupianos younger sister, Angela DeCillis, another alumna of Colonia, learned that she too had brain cancer. ", NEWS: Piscataway man convicted of exploiting daughters college peers after moving into dorm. But just because there is an investigation does not necessarily mean there's a cancer cluster, Platz told Live Science. Since last August, Lupiano has spent countless hours trying to find other people linked to CHS with primary brain cancers. Lupiano was diagnosed in 1999 with a benign tumor known as Acoustic Neuroma. Exterior shots of Colonia High School in Colonia, NJ on Thursday, April 7, 2022. The analysis was conducted after dozens of former high school students and staff over decades were diagnosed with cancers. Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. Print |. He just needs a place. While benign, treatment can leave victims with hearing loss, trouble balancing, and several other serious symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. All are awaiting results from the radiation testing at the school before deciding how to get involved and proceed with the investigation. According to United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. His sister died from it in February. Im doing this not only for my wife, my sister my nieces are currently in the school but this deserves further understanding. Email tips toaudrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. She died on Feb. 17, 2022, at 44 years old. Colonia High School is now the subject of radiation detecting. 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