Mystery as more than 100 people at same New Jersey high school get rare brain cancer: Survivor demands answers after he, his wife and sister who died all fell sick
- Students and staff who either attended or worked at a school in New Jersey all had rare brain tumors - glioblastoma multiforme — an aggressive cancer
- According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, glioblastoma is normally extremely rare with an incidence of 3.21 per 100,000
- Link was uncovered by a former resident of student of Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township
- After Al Lupiano, 50, was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer in 2002, so too was his wife and sister who died last month
- Put out a plea for more people to come forward resulting in 102 cases so far
- The vast majority of those who have developed brain tumors 'graduated between 1975 and 2000
- Lupiano believes some form of ionizing radiation may be in the soil at the grounds of the school where it was built in the 1960s to be the cause
The apparent link was uncovered by a former student of the Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey after Al Lupiano, now 50, suffered a supposedly 'rare' brain tumor some 20 years ago.
He initially thought nothing of it until his wife was diagnosed with the exact same form of glioblastoma followed by his sister who also came down with the aggressive tumor, eventually taking her life last month.
- Al Lupiano, 50, and his wife, Michele, both attended Colonia High School in New Jersey together and both have rare brain tumors
Lupiano, an environmental scientist, decided to post about his experiences on Facebook, convinced there was something that linked his sister's untimely death with his and his wife's experiences.
Woodbridge officials are now looking further into the matter to try and determine an underlying cause.
- Lupiano's 44-year-old younger sister, Angela DeCillis, passed away in March. His wife, Michele is seen, right
- Lupiano vowed to his sister that he would uncover the cause of the tumors
During his research to uncover the truth, he initially began with a small pool of patients but as the numbers grew, he noticed that those suffering had either worked or attended the same high school.
'I started doing some research and the three became five, the five became seven, the seven became 15,' Al Lupiano said.
'Fast forward to August of last year. My sister received the news she had a primary brain tumor, herself. Unfortunately, it turned out to be stage 4 glioblastoma. Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor,' Mr Lupiano told CBS News.
Lupiano's 44-year-old younger sister, Angela DeCillis, passed away in March which spurred on this latest drive to find out more. He promised on her deathbed to uncover the truth behind the terrible disease.
'I will not rest until I have answers. I will uncover the truth', he vowed to NJ.com.
- So far, 102 people who attended the school or worked there have had cancerous tumors
His inbox was flooded with replies.
The vast majority of those who have developed brain tumors 'graduated between 1975 and 2000 although there is one case as recently as 2014.
'What I find alarming is there's truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors and that's ionizing radiation. It's not contaminated water. It's not air. It's not something in soil. It's not something done to us due to bad habits,' Lupiano said.
Lupiano attempted to find out what was in the school's location before its construction.
- 'What I find alarming is there's truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors and that's ionizing radiation. It's not contaminated water. It's not air. It's not something in soil. It's not something done to us due to bad habits,' Lupiano, pictured, said
The state's Department of Health, Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry are all now investigating the cases.
The diagnoses from the more than 100 people who have made contact with Lupiano include 'several types of primary brain tumors, including cancerous forms like glioblastoma and noncancerous yet debilitating masses such as acoustic neuromas, haemangioblastomas and meningiomas.'
'To find something like this … is a significant discovery,' said Dr. Sumul Raval to NJ.com.
- Lupiano believes that some contaminated soil that was removed from a nearby site used to build an atomic bomb may have been dumped in grounds where the school was built
'There could be a real problem here, and our residents deserve to know if there are any dangers,' McCormick said. 'We're all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. This is definitely not normal.
'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,' McCormick added.
'I'm a lifelong resident here. I raised my family here. So the health and safety of our students is of paramount importance to me,' district superintendent, Dr Joseph Massimo said.
Lupiano has so far shared one theory, telling NJ Spotlight News that the school was located 12 miles from the Middlesex Sampling Plant which was used to crush, dry, store, package and ship uranium ore for the development of the atomic bomb.
He alleges that some of the contaminated soil was remove from the site after it shut down in 1967 - the same year Colonia High School was built.
Lupiano wonders if some of the contaminated soil might have somehow ended up on the school grounds.
Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...are-brain-tumors-Al-Lupiano-Colonia-High.html
