The sample was collected using a laboratory-prepared hexane wipe and placed in a pre-cleaned, laboratory-provided jar, with a screw-on lid. Hill: Brain tumors, relative to other types of cancer, are typically rare but can be very lethal. Middlesex County's Colonia High School, located in Woodbridge, has made national headlines in recent weeks after over 100 former students and faculty were found to have been diagnosed with. Sneak Peek At Woodbridge Mayor's Mailer Urging 'Yes' Vote On March 14, Woodbridge Woman Writes Her 2nd Fiction Novel, Critically Praised, Perth Amboy Outerbridge Crossing Crash Blocks Lane Tuesday: DOT, NJ Camp Fairs at Menlo Park Mall Mar 4, 2023 - FREE to Attend (12-3PM), 2023 Spring Garden Tea Party Gift Auction, Raisin, The Tony-Winning Best Musical - Second Incredible Week, Johns Crazy Socks Enters the Wholesale Channel so Retail Stores Can Sell Our Socks, Protect Your Home from Ticks with Yard Guard from Viking Pest, The Doobie Brothers Play In New Brunswick July 8,9, Highest NJ Property Taxes: See Where Your Town Ranks On New List, Person Shot During Police Encounter At South Jersey Rest Stop: AG. I know so many people who have ailments and cancer specifically who lived near there. Lupiano has spearheaded a public push for answers after he started a Facebook group focused on former Colonia students and the rare brain cancer, the outlet noted. "My wife fought like crazy. Massimino sent the same statement to NJ Advance Media Monday. "100as of midnight Sunday 4/10, I recorded the 100th case of someone having a primary brain tumor," Lupiano wrote on Facebook last Monday, April 11. Al Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 1999. A stock photo shows medical workers looking at a brain scan or brain scans. His wife graduated in 1991. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. These tumors are even more rare occurring in 10 out of 1,000,000 individuals.. $4 Million Settlement Mass Torts $203 Million Class Action Financial Services $75 Million Class Action Mass Torts $200 Million Class Action Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. ET: The spelling of Michele DeCillis has been corrected. My MIL died of lung cancer. Some are incredibly aggressive forms of cancer that need very aggressive forms of treatment. A video posted on TikTok video by Dr. Joe Whittington, a board-certified doctor in California gave this issue much needed public attention. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). ', * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts, AccuWeather: AM showers before a mild afternoon, Extra Time: Breaking down massive NYC, NYPD settlement, Teammate facing charges in crash that killed local UGA player. Lupianos 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. "They are working with the Township to review the test findings and prepare a course of action if necessary.". 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Al Lupiano revealed he had a brain tumor 20 years ago, before his wife had one and so did his sister - who died in February aged just 44. Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac told WABC that the situation was "alarming because there are just so many people with a tumormalignant or benign, and it's serious.". This all came to fruition in August of last year, and it just startled Lupiano. "I had recalled two family friends, the Black sisters, had also passed of these brain tumors," Lupiano said. Three weeks later, Komorek collected a caulk sample from a northern exterior wall of the school and sent it to another state-certified lab in Fairfield. How did this incident come to light in the first place? The testing was prompted after township officials learned of various social media posts related to several instances of brain tumors and brain cancer among students and faculty of CHS from . Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. WOODBRIDGE Levels of radiation in and around Colonia High School were found to be consistent with typical background levels of radiation found in New Jersey and no further testing is warranted. Over 1,300 cases have been reported of people getting sick after eating the Lucky Charms cereal. My list quickly started multiplyingit all seemed to be linked back to the high school. Colonia High School graduateAl Lupiano talks to @KatyTurNBC about gathering names of over 80 individuals with rare brain tumors who attended the school. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. While generally only life threatening if left untreated, radiation and surgical removal typically leaves individuals with numerous debilitations including chronic headaches, balance issues, fatigue, deafness, slurred speech, inability to blink, and facial paralysis (to name only a few), and that assumes it doesnt begin to regrow in the future. Colonia High School is now the. His wife. Thanks to social media, Lupiano found a total of 104 former students and faculty with brain tumors - about half are cancerous. Just simple math in my head having a husband and wife with this tumor, which arent related and then to have my sister with a blastoma, I knew something was wrong, Lupiano says. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is among 94 former students and staff from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, who have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Both had graduated from Colonia High School, the news outlet reported. "We're going to test and hope we find nothing," McCormac previously said. There could be a real problem here, and our residents deserve to know if there are any dangers, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac said, according to the outlet. A total of 104 former students and faculty with brain tumors responded to a Facebook post. The testing was prompted after township officials learned of various social media posts related to several instances of brain tumors and brain cancer among students and faculty of CHS from approximately 1975-99. Its not air. Before National Geographic, he worked for more than four years at PBS NewsHour, where he co-created anaward-winning video series named ScienceScope. After nearly 100 people who attended the same New Jersey high school developed rare brain tumors, an alumnus and cancer survivor is demanding answers. He said, What are the odds of this? It's exceeding one in a billion that three people this closely tied together would all have brain tumors. The 50-year-old claims the diseases could be traced. Phil Murphy was asked by reporters for his thoughts on the possible brain cancer cluster at Colonia High. Advertisement. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is among 94 former students and staff from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, who have been diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Sign up for Patch emails: https://patch.com/subscribe Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com, this resolution approved at their April 5 meeting, Brain Tumor Link To Colonia High School 'Credible,' Town's Mayor Says. His name is on it, along with his wife and late sister. Pictured, a stock image of a brain scan. A New Jersey town is planning to conduct environmental testing at Colonia High School after a resident discovered dozens of people connected to the school had developed rare brain tumors. Theyve placed canisters inside the school. COLONIA, N.J. - Radiation tests are being done at Colonia High School in New Jersey after more than 100 people were diagnosed with rare brain tumors. COLONIA, New Jersey (WABC) -- An investigation into the possible link between a Central New Jersey school and cases of brain cancer found no radiological hazards that warranted further investigation, the district superintendent said Thursday. Are you a Colonia High School graduate that has been diagnosed with a brain tumor? He has contacted: Mayor McCormac confirmed these details yesterday to PEOPLE Magazine. Komorek was so alarmed by the findings that she decided to pull her daughters out of Colonia this week and enroll them in another Woodbridge high school, per the districts transfer policy. She also requested the district embark on additional environmental testing. The city of Woodbridge, NJ is conducting an investigation after more than 100 former students and staff at the local Colonia High School were found to have developed brain . Print |. At that time, I only had 15 people on the list, and I decided after grieving for a few weeksit was time now to go public and ask people to help me.. 2023 New York Public Radio. Lupiano says that most of the people on his list were at the high school prior to 1997. Federal agencies are also assisting in the investigation. "My wife was awesome, and I think about her every day, I talk to her all the time," Wisinski said. ", First Patch report: Brain Tumor Link To Colonia High School 'Credible,' Town's Mayor Says, Get great local news about YOUR town and state. BSN or must obtain within 3 years. "It's certainly concerning because the rate of primary brain tumors is certainly higher than what we would expect in the general population," said Dr. Arif Kamal, Chief Patient Officer at the American Cancer Society. Mystery as 100 people. Youre 98.6, youre fine, go home. Lupiano, an environmental scientist, began researching the matter and reaching out to people on Facebook who had attended the school and been diagnosed with primary brain tumors. Superintendent Joseph Massiminio the district worked with representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the state Department of Health, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Disease Control, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to discuss the matter, and that national firms T&M Associates and Cabrera Services were tasked with collecting data and conducting the necessary tests. WOODBRIDGE - Work is underway to create a portal for people with ties to Colonia High School who have developed brain tumors to share information with the New Jersey Department of Health. Dr. Gracelyn Santos | gsantos@siadvance.com. Fortunately one of the survivors is an environmentalscientist Al Lupiano, who is bringing attention to this and he is relentlessly looking for answers. 100 former NJ high school students . This is definitely not normal.. Woodbridge will not get preliminary test results until after this Saturday, April 23, said Hagerty. NJ cluster of brain cancer prompts investigation, We rely on your support to make local news available to all, Astoria pool will be closed this summer for renovations: Parks, Gov. The township announced results of an investigation. They are also both graduates of Colonia High School. Al Lupiano, a graduate of the high school, believes there's a link between Colonia High School and brain tumors diagnosed in 108 people over a period of three decades, ending in the early 2000s. If you are an alumni or staff member of Colonia High School and have developed a brain tumor, contact MLG today! What treatments are available for the afflicted? The institute predicts about 290,000 people will develop breast cancer in 2022 compared to 25,000 for brain cancer. A scientist and mother is demanding answers after tests she conducted found cancer-causing toxins and materials were present at the school where more than 100 former students have since been. I could go on. Jupiter and Venus appear to 'kiss' in the sky, Belvidere Jeep assembly plant shut down indefinitely, Chicago Weather: Cloudy and much cooler Thursday. What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors and thats ionizing radiation. So, would you take us through what is known so far about this cluster? Friday, April 22, 2022. The testing actually started April 9, and testers have been seen walking around Colonia High School, taking air samples to test for radiation, said Woodbridge town spokesman John Hagerty. He said he is specifically looking for anyone who graduated from or attend Colonia High School from approximately 1975 to 1995. ", "Just the sheer numbers of cases he's found is staggering," McCormac continued. "What I find alarming is there's truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors and that's ionizing radiation, said Lupiano. The pool is getting a new liner, gutter and deck, along with new filtration systems. "I am beyond pleased to announce that after an extensive field investigation that included assessing the classrooms, school building materials, and the entire 28 acres of the Colonia High School campus, no radiological hazards were identified that warrant further investigation," he wrote in a letter to families. Lupiano, an environmental scientist and industrial engineer, picked up on a trend. Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily. Listed on 2023-03-02. Stanmyre joined WNYC's Morning Edition host Michael Hill to explain the latest on these cases and what the investigation could entail. Is it a cancer cluster or a coincidence? The lists, which are sorted by county and include a separate list for charter schools, also include a second graduation rate, which excludes students whose special education IEPs allow them to qualify for diplomas despite not meeting typical coursework and attendance requirements. Its not something in soil. It motivated Lupiano to create a Facebook group to determine if there were more Colonia High School alumni had developed brain tumors or other conditions. There may need to be other steps taken. The brain tumor cases, appearing over a thirty-year period, are a significant medical mystery that has caused alarm for experts. Lupiano's sister, Angela, died on February 17 from Glioblastoma Multiforme or GBM. All three were diagnosed with a brain tumor. Woodbridge Township has contracted environmental engineering firm T&M Associates to carry out radiation tests at Colonia High School to investigate a possible link between the school and the reported brain tumors, according to New York news outlet WABC. And today we now stand at 117 individuals with primary brain tumors, and another 70 with very rare cancers.". I had stage 4 cancer. Lupiano has confirmed that he will not stop until he finds out what has happened here over the years at Colonia High School. ", ALSO READ | Onlookers urged police to charge into TX school: 'Go in there! As of Thursday, Lupiano said he has confirmed 65 cases of people with rare brain tumors and they all are either Colonia High School graduates or had worked there, he says. (RELATED: Video Shows Man Repeatedly Running Over Woman With SUV After Minor Incident). National Cancer Institutes list of 27 common afflictions. The couple's neurologist was baffled. Since March . All rights reserved. If you were affected or have a tumor or rare cancer, I need your assistance," his Facebook post read. A cluster of over 100 rare brain tumors in the past 30 years sparks a health inspection at Colonia High School in New Jersey. 100 PEOPLE WITH RARE TUMORS WHO ATTENDED SAME NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL DEMAND ANSWERS The 110 people that Lupiano has counted on his list of former Colonia High School graduates have been. The governor wont be embracing the bill despised by landlords and supported by tenant advocates. 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. This all began last year when Al Lupiano made a startling discovery. 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 . Lupiano's sister passed away in February, 2022 at the young age of 44. Since . Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Obviously, everyone's praying and hoping for the best," said Colonia High School junior Julia Pagnozzi. The investigation started earlier this year after a stunning number of cancer cases in people who had a connection to the school. I pray we find answers. There have been some outlier cases. Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor, said Lupiano. We have to really take a look at it," said Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac. 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