The brain tumor cases, appearing over a thirty-year period, are a significant medical mystery that has caused alarm for experts. "Their neurologist, who has been recognized as a global leader in neurosurgery by the World Federation of Neurological Societies, has treated and been involved with tens of thousands of brain tumors in his career. In less than six weeks, Lupiano says, he has gathered the names of 94 people connected with the school who have developed brain tumors. 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. 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). Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Gov. 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. 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. Immediate action from our State and Federal agencies is warranted," Lupiano said. 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. The disturbing development came to the fore after one of the former students Al Lupiano - a cancer survivor - decided to untangle the mystery. Ultimately, if it isnt a radiation source that is causing these illnesses, Lupiano says other tests can be done to pinpoint a cause. LaTourette said during the press conference every possible link to cancer was tested. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. Parents like Dawn Genoni are willing to wait for that critical update. Now, he's gone public with the suggestion that Colonia could be one such site. 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. 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. The study was to see if the area possibly had radiological contaminants that would contribute to diagnoses of brain cancers and other central nervous system tumors or disorders among these alumni, teachers and current students. 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. Were all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. But public health experts are cautioning against deeming the tumor cases a cancer cluster just yet. Normally speaking, you dont get radiation in a high school unless something is going on in that area that we dont know, Raval added, calling for an immediate investigation. 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. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. There has been plenty of inventions and history made in New Jersey. "The sooner we can get them to listen to us, the sooner we can do something.". A cancer survivor is vowing to untangle the twisted mystery of why almost 100 people associated with a New Jersey high school have developed extremely rare malignant brain tumors. "Both parents of children in school and current teachers and staff deserve answers. Colonia High School Officials conduct a radiological survey on the school's baseball field. 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. The Middlesex Sampling Plant, which has since closed, is located on 9.6 acres, about a 30-minute driving from Colonia. "I have full faith they will get to the bottom of this and they will figure out what is going on," she previously told News 4. The states Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette backed up the mayors declaration the school was safe. His wife and sister both got it. His wife was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, and his sister was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. "I hope the results come back with absolutely nothing," he said. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a "very rare" and abnormally large brain tumor in 1999 when he was 27 called Acoustic Neuroma. WOODBRIDGE A New Jersey man is on amission to find a link between rare braintumors inmore than 60 graduates and former staff at Colonia High School, including his wife and late sister. He initially found 15 people, allColonia High School graduates from around 1975 to 1995, had them, he said. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Now, an investigation is underway to determine if the school Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey is linked with a cancer cluster. And over the last 18 years, Lupiano has worked forMarine Spill Response Corp. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Rob Laumbach, a Rutgers University professor of public health. The issue became national headline in the United States after CBS News aired a story on it. Researchers need to ask themselves, for example, whether an apparent cluster could reflect the fact that many cancer victims are older, or whether their tumors may have been caused by radiation that was used to cure some other illness, he said. 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. However, Lupiano is still worried about his teenage nieces attending the school. Legal Statement. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Al Lupiano graduated from the Middlesex County school in 1989. A 2012 study in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology demonstrates how tricky it can be to confirm a cancer cluster. I dont think this is the end of the story. The program will take real-time measurements of radiation inside and outside the building, the town said. The gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. A part of the campus is named for Pat Barbato - a longtime football coach and athletic director. 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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. That decades-long stretch ended in the early 2000s, but recent publicity around the cases prompted an exhaustive new investigation and radiological testing at the Woodbridge Township School District building. And he said New Jerseys Department of Health has been similarly noncommittal. Theres lots and lots of people calling me, saying, Look, I didnt go to the high school, but I live a mile away, and we call our block cancer alley,' said Lupiano. In a post Saturday, Lupiano said a radiological team that was looking for radiation and radon concluded their search. 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. Many more came forward after the posting, and by Thursday, the number had grown to 103, Lupiano told NJ Spotlight News. Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is. "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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. An environmental assessment began last month to test the school grounds, which turned up no findings of radiological contaminants, according to NJ.com, a New Jersey news site. "I will not rest until I have answers," the 50-year-old told NJ.com. 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