Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in . Brain tumor concerns prompt petition for remote learning at Colonia HS, graduates or staff members with brain tumors, Former Woodbridge, N.J. resident says 65 people who either attended or worked at Colonia High School have had rare brain tumors. Reports claim that more than 60 former students and staff of Colonia High School have been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called . 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. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. The announcement comes on the heels of the development that a New Jersey man who graduated from the high school that he believes is linked to a mysterious cluster of brain tumors dating back decades -- and to his own diagnosis -- says he's gotten a New York City-based foundation signed on to offer free brain scans to people in the community who may not otherwise have access. Colonia graduate Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist, was the first to sound the alarm about the potential cluster. (Google Maps). Updated on: April 26, 2022 / 8:21 AM There could be a real problem here, and our residents deserve to know if there are any dangers, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said in a statement. I will not rest until I have answers, Lupiano, 50, declared in an interview with NJ.com and the Star-Ledger on Thursday. All these photos are from AP and Getty publications, meaning they were used in a magazine or newspaper. Immediately I knew exactly what I was looking at. All are awaiting results from the radiation testing at the school before deciding how to get involved and proceed with the investigation. "We absolutely have concerns, the Democrat told NJ.com. (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. Many more came forward after the posting, and by Thursday, the number had grown to 103, Lupiano told NJ Spotlight News. In 1999, at age 27, he was diagnosed with a large, benign brain tumor called an acoustic neuroma. Lupiano and McCormac have spoken to officials with the state Department of Health and thefederalAgency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Asking them to be patient for several more weeks is unacceptable. His wife was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, and his sister was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. 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. According to agency estimates, about 21,000 people die each year from radon-related lung cancer. While benign, treatment can leave victims with hearing loss, trouble balancing, and several other serious symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. T&M Associates of Middletown and its team of environmentalists are scheduled to begin collecting data at the high school this weekend by placing radon canisters throughout the building to collect air samples, according to township officials. This is definitely not normal," the mayor further said in the statement. 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. But in 2021, his wife and sister, also. But doubts that the tumor cases represent a cancer cluster are unwarranted, said Lupiano, who predicted strong protests in the Woodbridge community if state and federal authorities dont start a formal investigation soon. "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. "Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor," Lupiano said. / CBS News. The diagnoses include several types of primary brain tumors, including cancerous forms like glioblastoma and noncancerous yet debilitating masses such as acoustic neuromas, haemangioblastomas and meningiomas., Brain tumors at colonia high school. 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. 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. PROMISING CANCER VACCINE IN THE WORKS UTILIZING SIMILAR MRNA TECHNOLOGY THAT COMBATS COVID: DUKE RESEARCHERS. (Exposure to certain types of radiation can increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.) . 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. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, I make $80k selling nudes to pay for cancer treatment men love bald look, Jimmy Carters niece says former president still has some time in him, Experts say youve been storing potatoes wrong this whole time and shut down cancer rumors, Joe Exotics doctors suspect he has bladder cancer but hes refusing treatment: report. Lupiano's quest for information took him to Facebook last month, and that list of people who went to or worked at Colonia High School - and have a primary brain tumor - is now closing in on 100 cases. Platz expects that public health officials will look for specific overlaps in timing and tumor type. He just needs a place. This is how New Jersey saw the world from 1940-to 1980. WOODBRIDGE TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, . Parent Edyta Komorek said she and other parents are thinking about transferring their kids to another district. NJ high school linked to mystery cancer cases. 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. Knowing about the numbers we are talking about here, I think this meets every definition of what a cancer cluster looks like, he said. He went on to recover from the disease. We've received your submission. You can reach him at [email protected]. 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. But some parents didnt seem convinced, according to NJ.com. To find something like this is a significant discovery, Dr. Sumul Raval, one of New Jerseys top neuro-oncologists, told the outlet. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. "It seems like in a little over a 20-year period to have 65 people on a list is somewhat alarming, it's quite alarming," said the mayor, who lives blocks away from Colonia High School, but added the link only appears to pertain to people who attended or worked at the high school. ", Colonia High School entrance. For an interactive map version. Find your municipality in this alphabetical list to see how its average property tax bill for 2021 compares to others. Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect, CDC warns drug-resistant stomach bug a "serious public health threat". In 1999 when Lupiano was 27, he too was diagnosed with a large acoustic neuroma on the left side of his brain. All rights reserved. A look back: Al Lupiano was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a . 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. Were all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. While the exact number of former faculty and staff diagnosed with glioblastoma is not precisely known, the cancer is exceedingly rare. Print |. Updated on: May 4, 2022 / 11:30 PM 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. The Anti-Defamation League said the phrase at the center of the question was popularized as a trolling campaign by members of 4chan a notorious anonymous message board and was adopted by . In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. Any finding that an outbreak of cancer in a specific location warrants the label cluster would rely on the elimination of possible causes that include the age of patients, the type of cancer, and how the number of cases compares with the incidence of the disease in the general population, they said. Woodbridge officials are now trying to determine an underlying cause for the disease. Its not contaminated water. Phillips had surgery to remove the tumor on March 3 and entered physical, occupational and speech therapy soon after. "It was clearly alarming enough that it merited further attention and I just helped him get that attention. Hours after Deciliis got her diagnosis, Lupiano's wife Michelereceived similar news. Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift. She worked for 16 years to help other rising nurses at Rutgers and RWJ Barnabas Health. The brain tumor cases, appearing over a thirty-year period, are a significant medical mystery that has caused alarm for experts. / CBS New York. Michele M. Vercoski, a partner of McCune Law Group, is investigating the potential link between the rare brain tumor and many former Colonia High School students out of the MLG's office in Newark, New Jersey. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills at least 36, injures some 85, Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak, House select committee hearing paints China as a strategic antagonist, JetBlue flight forced to abort landing in close call at Logan Airport, Three officers shot, standoff follows in Kansas City, Mo., police say, Vanessa Bryant, family settles claims over Kobe crash site photos for $28.5M, Bald eagle couple lays new egg after losing eaglets two years in a row. 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. First published on May 4, 2022 / 10:52 PM. World News Posted by Amit Chaturvedi Updated: April 15, 2022 12:33 pm IST. 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. Patients would be injected with a small bead the size of a pinhead - and this bead would act as a "factory," secreting a protein that gets the body's white blood cells to destroy the tumor and fight cancer. 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. You can also see how much the average bill changed from 2020. He had developed 'rare' brain tumor some 20 years ago. 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. 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