When a former student at Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, realized that he, his wife and his sister all had brain tumors, he wondered if something about their high. A Colonia High School alum said he found 107 people with brain tumors who went to or worked at the school. His sister succumbed to brain cancer. The sample was collected using a laboratory-prepared hexane wipe and placed in a pre-cleaned, laboratory-provided jar, with a screw-on lid. Lupiano also lost his younger sister to the disease in February at the age of 44, the outlet continued. They were diagnosed on the same day last summer. Friday, April 22, 2022. How many people do we mean here? Both sisters were graduates of Colonia High School. The action (should) be undertaken immediately, due to high exceedances of the State and Federal regulatory standards for PCBs and pesticides, as well as the fact that PCBs and chlordane inhalation may be occurring by students and staff, Komorek stated in a letter to district officials. Thanks to social media, Lupiano found a total of 104 former students and faculty with brain tumors - about half are cancerous. Township officials have posted the radiological reports on the township website at www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us. Dr. Gracelyn Santos | gsantos@siadvance.com. His wife. Lupiano says that most of the people on his list were at the high school prior to 1997. 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. Nsikan was previously at National Geographic where he worked as a science editor, overseeing its COVID-19 coverage in addition to other topics in science, health and technology. But we'd love to be able to rule out the school.". The sudden death of his sister led Lupiano on a research mission about the rare brain tumors. It's not air. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Others are benign and very slow-growing that are going to use a different kind of treatment altogether. ", First Patch report: Brain Tumor Link To Colonia High School 'Credible,' Town's Mayor Says, Get great local news about YOUR town and state. Environmental engineers have been testing for radiation at Colonia High School in New Jersey after reports that over 100 former students and staff members were diagnosed with brain tumors. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. We have to really take a look at it," said Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac. 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. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. The mother of two Colonia High students who believed not enough environmental testing was done in the aftermath of reports of a possible brain tumor cluster connected to the school told NJ Advance . Over 1,300 cases have been reported of people getting sick after eating the Lucky Charms cereal. $4 Million Settlement Mass Torts $203 Million Class Action Financial Services $75 Million Class Action Mass Torts $200 Million Class Action Jason Wisinski, who lost his wife and sister-in-law, both Colonia High alumnae, to primary malignant brain tumors at the age of 38, became one of many convinced that a cluster a. Hill: Brain tumors, relative to other types of cancer, are typically rare but can be very lethal. Lupiano was diagnosed with a rare and abnormally large brain tumour Acoustic Neuroma (AN) in 1999 when he was just 27 years old. Qualifications: Current and valid New Jersey Registered Nurse license is required. McCormac says last Saturday, environmentalists placed random canisters inside the school to collect air samples. The couple's neurologist was baffled. 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. All rights reserved (About Us). It's not something in soil," Lupiano said to CBS News. A graduate as recent as 2014 was found to have a primary brain tumor. Newsweek has reached out to Colonia High School and McCormac. All Rights Reserved. In 1999, when he was just 27, Al. 3 min read. A stock photo shows medical workers looking at a brain scan or brain scans. 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 TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey in 1989. I made a promise to my sister while she was dying that if something did this to us, I will find out what did it, Lupiano says. They said it was about a one in a billion odds. And today we now stand at 117 individuals with primary brain tumors, and another 70 with very rare cancers.". Rohit Ranjan. "When I started looking into it, I quickly amassed 15 of our classmates with these rare brain tumors," he told NewsNation. 94 people from Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey are part of a cancer cluster of still unknown origin. "I went on Facebook on March 7, and I asked for the people on Facebook to help me find others. Listed on 2023-03-02. Image: Unsplash. Primary brain tumors are tumors that originate in the brain, as opposed to secondary tumors which start somewhere else and then spread to the brain. In presenting her findings, Komorek urged the district to share her findings with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Is the school built on some kind of a dumpsite? ', Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily. A A. She said she collected a dust sample from the top of the stall in a womens bathroom inside Colonia on Aug. 30, then sent it to a state-certified laboratory in Mountainside for testing. Hochul deflects when asked about 'good cause' eviction bill, Judge: Former coach's discrimination lawsuit against New York Giants and NFL can proceed, Supreme Court justices pour water on NYs push to save mob-busting seaport watchdog, NJ Legislature OKs bill to make landlords, sellers warn residents about past floods. 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. I don't trust anyone who says that nuclear plant was safe. This is terrific news for current students of Colonia High School (CHS) and their parents who worried about their safety along with current staff members, Mayor John E. McCormac said. I didnt feel that my kids were safe there until actual soil, groundwater and air samples were collected and nobody wanted to do it.. 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. 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. He made a public plea on Facebook to anyone from the school who was diagnosed with primary brain tumors. They said they took your temperature. He shared a 2020 Emmy for the PBS NewsHour series Stopping a Killer Pandemic and in 2019 received a George FosterPeabodyAwardfor the PBS NewsHour series The Plastic Problem. Nsikan has also worked for NPR, Science News Magazine, Science Magazine, KUSP Central Coast Public Radio, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and as a writer at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University. 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. That is what Al Lupiano, Colonia High School (CHS) Class of 1989, wants to find out after . Massimino said in the memo the district has contacted our environmental consultants, the Health Department of the Township of Woodbridge, and Township Officials to review the information. He also said the township shared the information with the State Department of Environmental Protection and the State Department of Health.. Job specializations: Healthcare. She made it five years.". Obviously, everyone's praying and hoping for the best," said Colonia High School junior Julia Pagnozzi. Is it a cancer cluster or just a coincidence? "There's lots and lots of people calling me, saying, 'Look, I didn't go to the high school, but I live a mile away, and we call our block cancer alley,'" he told Fox News. Scott Faytok | For NJ Advance Media. My MIL died of lung cancer. The Daily Caller | 1775 Eye Street NW | Suite 1150-290 | Washington, DC 20006, (RELATED: Video Shows Man Repeatedly Running Over Woman With SUV After Minor Incident). There's a vast array of treatments, but again, we're dealing with so many different types of primary brain tumors here that they're all treated very differently. Colonia High School A cluster of brain tumors and cancer in people associated with a single New Jersey high school is causing concern. Earlier this spring . Environmental engineering firm T+M Associates has been contracted by the township to test for radiation on the grounds of the high school, which was built in 1967. Lupiano was diagnosed with glioblastoma (brain cancer) when he was 27 years old, about 25 years ago. "I had told my sister from the very beginning that there was too much of a coincidence that me, my wife and her all have the same tumor," Lupiano 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. Lupiano, his wife and his sister all Colonia High grads were all diagnosed with rare brain tumors. Additionally, T&M Associates has begun conducting historic site research to obtain any and all necessary records related to the construction of Colonia High School when it was built in 1967, through to the present. "I had told my sister from the very beginning that there was too much of a coincidence that me, my wife and her all have the same tumor," he said. Alumni links 65 rare brain tumor cases to NJ high school, investigation launched. On March 29, 2022, Lupiano wrote an article in a local newsletter, asking for help to identify people who developed the brain tumors, to collect data to plan further steps for answers to a probably cause. Several types of primary brain tumors, including cancerous forms like glioblastoma and noncancerous yet debilitating masses such as acoustic neuromas, haemangioblastomas and meningiomas, have been diagnosed, according to the outlet. He said he is specifically looking for anyone who graduated from or attend Colonia High School from approximately 1975 to 1995. Woodbridge will not get preliminary test results until after this Saturday, April 23, said Hagerty. On the National Cancer Institutes list of 27 common afflictions, tumors in the brain and nervous system rank 19th in terms of case rate but 5th-lowest in terms of the chances of survival. Colonia High School was reportedly the common denominator among those suffering from the tumors Credit: CBS NEW YORK Al Lupiano, speaking to CBS2, said the rare brain tumors were discovered in people who attended Colonia High School. A total of 104 former students and faculty with brain tumors responded to a Facebook post. He is presently working with local officials to address the situation. "I had recalled two family friends, the Black sisters, had also passed of these brain tumors," Lupiano said. 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. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. An alumnus of Colonia High School in Woodbridege, N.J. is investigating his former high school, claiming he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there to have had a rare brain tumor, according to CBS News. And there are many different forms of these cancers. His sister Angela Decillis graduated in 1995. Lupiano said he started searching for instances of Colonia High graduates having brain tumors and was stunned to discover 15 people in total, with two newly discovered cases pending further . All three were diagnosed with a brain tumor. 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 . Before National Geographic, he worked for more than four years at PBS NewsHour, where he co-created anaward-winning video series named ScienceScope. "That's something that we take very seriously. The brain tumor cases, appearing over a thirty-year period, are a significant medical mystery that has caused alarm for experts. He co-created anaward-winning video series named ScienceScope a pre-cleaned, laboratory-provided jar, with a screw-on.... Tumors responded to a Facebook post using a laboratory-prepared hexane wipe and placed a. 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