For a better-informed future. 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). Lupiano said he has had meetings with county, state and federal agencies, which he said in a March 25 post "are going well.". Dangerous drunk driving in South Brunswick, NJ cops nearly hit, Perth Amboy, NJ super rebukes teachers union for urging student walkout, Student walkout, protest planned after Perth Amboy NJ fifth-grader stabbed, Driver flees on foot after crash kills East Windsor, NJ mom, NJ man giving massages groped women at Plainsboro gym, cops say, Perth Amboy after school stabbing leaves 11-year-old hurt, child in custody, As NJ councilwoman is laid to rest, many questions about her execution-style slaying, New Brunswick, NJ burglar repeatedly confronted by residents, Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and EEO Report. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. And he said New Jerseys Department of Health has been similarly noncommittal. We're just doing it," said Mayor John E. McCormac. His sister had recently died of cancer. In 1999 when Lupiano was 27, he too was diagnosed with a large acoustic neuroma on the left side of his brain. For an interactive map version. Reports claim that more than 60 former students and staff of Colonia High School have been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called . The states Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette backed up the mayors declaration the school was safe. Check the photos below. She died on Feb. 17, 2022, at 44 years old. Its not air. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Despite the number of possible cases, officials say they must first determine if there is any scientific evidentiary connection between the school grounds and the brain tumors. "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. . 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Head trauma could put people at higher risk of brain cancer, Actress beaten by stranger, diagnosed with brain tumor and run over by car, My wife thought she had baby brain it was deadly cancer, My face is melting off due to a rare disease, Chill Hip hop 37(932007) 212soundworks, American Association of Neurological Surgeons. "The rates are actually consistent in New Jersey with the United States," McGreevy said. Advertisement. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. But he made a promise to his late sister that he would find out. New York, Lupianowould liketheir investigators to come in over spring break so that students are not disturbed. Unlike lab experiments, which can be tightly controlled, epidemiology and public health studies are often based on observations; as such, the answers can be incomplete or unsatisfying, Platz said. The work will be done in cooperation with Woodbridge School District. Woodbridge officials are now trying to determine an underlying cause for the disease. Why is the cancer that killed John McCain so deadly? "We thank Mayor McCormac [sic] and the local residents for raising these concerns and we ask for patience as we pursue the science to try to identify answers," the statement reads. The Township of Woodbridge, in cooperation with the Woodbridge Township School District, has taken the proactive initiative to contract with T&M and Cabrera Services, Inc., a nationally recognized radiological and environmental remediation company, to engage their team of environmentalists to begin collecting data at Colonia High School, the town said in a statement. More than 100 former Colonia High School students and staff over a 30-year period have been diagnosed with cancer and local parents say the information they're getting on the investigation. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. 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. But Lupiano has so far came across 102 people who passed through the school between 1975 and 2000 have all suffered from the same type of brain cancer. Even though the cluster cases ended almost two decades ago, Lupiano appears as determined as ever to uncover the cause -- and he understands that parents who send their kids to school there now may have some concerns despite what officials tell them. World News Posted by Amit Chaturvedi Updated: April 15, 2022 12:33 pm IST. Exterior shots of Colonia High School in Colonia, NJ on Thursday, April 7, 2022. "Her four children are potentially being exposed to the same thing that killed their mother. They were very appreciative that we reached out to them but they were not interested in getting involved, and they kept trying to pass it off, and saying they will have to do research and get back to you, he said, referring to the New Jersey agency. Legal Statement. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Concerns were raised by Al Lupiano, a 1989 graduate of Colonia High School, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor along with his wife Michele and sister Angela DeCillis, both of whom had. Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist, began investigating Colonia High School in Woodbridge when he realized several people who attended the school had rare tumors just like he had. "We're all concerned, and we all want to get to the bottom of this. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. If we dont find anything, we have to start looking at other potential candidates, whether its chemicals or something in the soil or air. Shehad been dealing with hearing loss for several years. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, But how will officials figure out if a true cancer cluster exists or if the cases are simply a coincidence? Angela M. DeCillis, a Colonia High School graduate, Class of '95. I dont think this is the end of the story. Thats 100 people with their life forever changed. I will not rest until I have answers, Lupiano, 50, declared in an interview with NJ.com and the Star-Ledger on Thursday. After seeing a social media post from Lupiano earlier this month, concerned residents reached out to Mayor John McCormac. On Tuesday after a public push by Lupiano local officials approved an emergency probe of the school. 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. Market data provided by Factset. "I'm getting reports of whole blocks in and around the neighborhood, that they call themselves 'Cancer Alley,'" Lupiano said. More than 100 people who graduated from Colonia High School have developed brain cancer. Al Lupiano graduated from the Middlesex County school in 1989. "I talked to him a little bit and learned about what he had been working on," McCormactoldNew Jersey 101.5. Since starting his research, Lupiano said that number has increased to about 90 people, including about 10 who were school staff members, some who worked in the cafeteria and others from the athletic department. McCormac and Lupiano are waiting to hear back from the EPA. 'I will not rest until I . In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. Outdoors, radon disperses rapidly and, generally, is not a health issue. The analysis took several weeks. (Gosselin Funeral Home) In August 2021, DeCillis received her diagnosis of Grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, rare, and deadly form of brain cancer. 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. The environmental engineering firm T+M Associates was. To his knowledge, there was nothing remotely dangerous at the site. 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Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. My wife had a 30-millimeter acoustic neuroma," Lupiano said. (Exposure to certain types of radiation can increase the risk of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.) One parent told the outlet she doesnt think the probe did enough testing because it didnt take water or soil samples. He initially found 15 people, allColonia High School graduates from around 1975 to 1995, had them, he said. 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. Last month, McCormac and Superintendent of Schools Joseph Massimino became aware of health-related concerns reported on social media about a potential connection between Colonia High School and graduates who developed brain tumors. Both Lupiano, 50, and his wife Michele, 49, who is also a Colonia graduate, have acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor. 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. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. But brain . Meanwhile, the TikTok video sparked panic and a range of conspiracy-theory style comments, with people claiming mold, toxic waste, asbestos and nearby cellphone towers could all be causing the cluster. 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. Mitesh Kapadia moved right next to Colonia High just a few years ago. Please enter valid email address to continue. Since . Lupiano said his teamdealt withanti-terrorism work, radioactive materials, and chemical and biological agents. The community suspects a cancer cluster, and would like it investigated, and I think thats a very reasonable request. 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. "They're the only ones with the authority to do something," Lupiano told CBS2's Kevin Rincon. On the exact same day, Lupianos younger sister, Angela DeCillis, another alumna of Colonia, learned that she too had brain cancer. A A. ", In an earlier update, Lupiano said many of those who reached out to him about their brain tumor or cancer cases "are former CHS teachers and staff members who didnt live in Colonia, they just worked in the school. Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In early March, Al Lupiano, 50, of Jamesburg, a 1989 Colonia High School graduate, posted on Facebook that his 44-year-old sister, Angela DeCillis, a 1995 Colonia High School graduate,died inFebruary from a rare,highly aggressive malignant glioma brain tumor on the left side of her brain, that had been diagnosed in August 2021. The cancer was diagnosed years after these students graduated or worked at Colonia High School in Woodbridge. While benign, treatment can leave victims with hearing loss, trouble balancing, and several other serious symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic. 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. Lupiano was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in the late 1990s, at the age of 27. 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. 55, for example, died from glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in 2016 after graduating in 1981. (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. Market data provided by Factset. But public health experts are cautioning against deeming the tumor cases a cancer cluster just yet. Email tips toaudrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants. "The only thing that could have happened, potentially, was fill that was brought in during construction. State Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichillisaid during the press conference a review of the cancer registry by health officials determined the expected number of primary brain tumors for Colonia students from 1968 to 2021 were 98 to 105 and among staff for that same timeframe were 13 to 14. Ultimately, if it isnt a radiation source that is causing these illnesses, Lupiano says other tests can be done to pinpoint a cause. Over 100 former students and staff from a New Jersey high school have been diagnosed with brain tumors. Environmental scientist Al Lupiano is. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. His wife, Michelle, who also attended Colonia high, got a benign diagnosis as well, though the two came 20 years apart. Because I dont think its right to say theres no threat to teachers and students if you didnt take a single soil or groundwater sample.. The environmental assessment study at Colonia High School was recently completed, in response to allegations that suggested the school had radiological hazards that contributed to diagnoses. during the press conference posted on the townships Youtube page. A majority of former students of Colonia High School developed glioblastoma, a rare brain tumour. A man investigating his former high school in New Jersey says he has counted 115 people who attended or worked there have had a rare brain tumor. Parents like Dawn Genoni are willing to wait for that critical update. What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors, and thats ionizing radiation, he declared. WOODBRIDGE TWP., New Jersey -- Al Lupiano graduated from Colonia High School in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey in 1989. The vast majority dont have a cause that explains the cluster, said Laumbach, who is leading a federal study into the health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called forever chemicals, among 1,300 residents of Paulsboro in Gloucester County. Schools Brain Tumor Link To Colonia High School 'Credible,' Town's Mayor Says A scientist's theory that a contaminant at the Woodbridge school is linked to 65 rare brain tumors is being taken . You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com. They will remain in place for 14 days before being sent to a lab for analysis. DeCillis passed away at the age of 44 from a rare form of brain cancer. "As previously stated, there is basically one medically proven cause of rare brain tumors like ours radiation," he wrote. The authorities will be conducting radiological assessments across the school's 28-acre campus, including the testing of indoor air samples for radon. Public health experts will look at the rate of brain cancer cases and investigate potential causes. Find your municipality in this alphabetical list to see how its average property tax bill for 2021 compares to others. Heres how it works. His wife graduated in 1991. Immediately I knew exactly what I was looking at. Lupiano's familiarity comes from his own experience. We have no records 55 years ago.". "Colonia is not a mega high school. Last month, he started a Facebook group asking locals whether they knew of any other people associated with the school who had been stricken by similar diagnoses. Phil Murphy, whose administration has also been pushed to get more involved, recently described the tumor cluster as disturbing but echoed Woodbridge Township officials in stressing it was too soon to make definitive conclusions about the cause. The four-year high school has more than 1,300 students. 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