At the time, the medium lifespan for her type of tumor was 18 months. The environmental testing is expected to last a month. Correction 04/26/2022 9.51 a.m. 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. Unfortunately, it turned out to be stage 4 glioblastoma. Brain cancer is relatively rare but very dangerous. This is also great news for all former students who attended and staff to work at CHS since it opened back in 1968., McCormac said they sympathize with anyone who has experienced brain tumors and brain cancers, especially those who lost loved ones to the terrible disease, but there is no cause-and-effect relation between those illnesses and the buildings or grounds at CHS.. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Thanks to social media, Lupiano found a total of 104 former students and faculty with brain tumors - about half are cancerous. 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. All Rights Reserved. I don't trust anyone who says that nuclear plant was safe. What I find alarming is theres truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors and thats ionizing radiation. As a concerned uncle and community member, I pray we find nothing, Lupiano says. Al Lupiano has found 107 people with primary brain tumors who all attended or worked at Colonia High School. Im optimistic that when all is said and done, we will have a definitive link of what caused this to happen to all of us and Im hopeful that we can take that knowledge and prevent it from ever happening again.. Google Maps. The video has been viewed more than 3 million times.Whittington believes that the Colonia High School students and staff have developed glioblastoma multiforme, a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor that invades the nearby brain tissue. 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. Nearly 100 people attending a single high school in New Jersey have developed rare forms of brain cancer. 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. Immediate action from our State and Federal agencies is warranted, Lupiano said. Both sisters graduated from Colonia High School, just like Al Lupiano in 1989, his wife Michelle in 1991, and his sister, Angela Decillis in 1995. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. "That started setting off bells and whistles in my head.". Almost 100 people from the very same New Jersey high school have all developed brain tumors. Some are the most awful worst kinds of brain cancer. 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. He emphasized that there's no need for residents in the community to go get emergency cancer imaging scans immediately. After discovering 94 former students and staff from Colonia High School which was built in 1967 had been diagnosed with rare brain tumors, Dr. Joseph Massimino, superintendent of . As the school remains open during the investigation, some students are concerned. I will uncover the truth," Lupiano said to NJ.com. 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. Our sister station WABC-TV has reached out to the EPA for comment. Whittington believes that the Colonia High School students and staff have developed glioblastoma multiforme, a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor that invades the nearby brain tissue. More than 100 people who graduated from Colonia High School have developed brain cancer. Unfortunately, hers was terminal, and she died in February. The school campus is just under 12 miles from the Middlesex Sampling Plant, which was used to crush, cry, store, package and ship uranium ore during the development of the atomic bomb under direction from the Manhattan Project, the outlet continued. 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. The probe was the result of concerns about a possible brain tumor cluster linked to graduates and staff from Colonia High, a school of about 1,300 students in Middlesex County. They all attended or worked at Colonia High School most of them during the years of 1972 to 2000. The statewide graduation rate fell slightly, from 91% in 2019-20 to 90.6%. Woodbridge Mayor John McCormick lives just a few blocks from the high school. He added that the Environmental Protection Agency has gotten involved in the investigation. ", ALSO READ | Onlookers urged police to charge into TX school: 'Go in there! We contacted the author of the post, former student and former resident Al Lupiano, and offered to help, McCormac said. The testers are specifically testing for radon levels in the air after 1989 Colonia High School grad Al Lupiano proposed this theory that he found an unusually high number of brain. Dr. Marc Siegel discusses brain tumors that emerged among former Colonia High School students on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.' Local and federal environmental agencies say they are assisting. I could go on. Robert Miller The investigation was jumpstarted after it was discovered more 122 people once connected to. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. Lupiano says that most of the people on his list were at the high school prior to 1997. Massimino sent the same statement to NJ Advance Media Monday. Three of the victims are Al Lupiano, his wife Michelle, and his sister Angele Decillis. "They are working with the Township to review the test findings and prepare a course of action if necessary.". A cluster of over 100 rare brain tumors in the past 30 years sparks a health inspection at Colonia High School in New Jersey. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. ', Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. Doctor/Physician. What treatments are available for the afflicted? 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 . At the time of the CBS interview in late March, Lupiano claimed to have confirmed 65 cases of rare brain tumors, all affecting people who either attended or worked at Colonia High School. I pray we find answers. CHS is the one link of all three of them. Please consider subscribing to NJ.com. Lupiano said the rarity of the brain tumors raised concerns of the neurologist they shared since they all grew up in relatively the same neighborhood. Lupiano has confirmed that he will not stop until he finds out what has happened here over the years at Colonia High School. Two hours later, we received information that my wife also had a primary brain tumor, Lupiano said. Qualifications: Current and valid New Jersey Registered Nurse license is required. 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 is presently working with local officials to address the situation. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. "What I find alarming is there's truly only one environmental link to primary brain tumors and that's ionizing radiation, said Lupiano. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Lupiano is still looking for any and all Colonia High School alumni to come forward. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. His wife and sister found out on the same day last August - two hours apart. 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. Its not something in soil. When it didnt happen, Komorek who earned a joint degree in environmental science from Rutgers and New Jersey Institute of Technology and specializes in air, ground water and soil contamination took matters into her own hands. After nearly 100 people who attended the same New Jersey high school developed rare brain tumors, an alumnus and cancer survivor is demanding answers. Jason Wisinksi lost his wife Janice 10 years ago to an inoperable brain tumor called Anaplastic Astrocytoma. "My wife was awesome, and I think about her every day - I talk to her all the time," Wisinski said. What would you do if you went to the doctor, you arent feeling well, asked Matthew DeCillis, whose wife, Angela, died from a brain tumor in February. Stanmyre: Right now, the number this week is up to 117 people who have been found to have a primary brain tumor of some sorts, according to data from Al Lupiano, who is the Colonia graduate who has kind of spearheaded all of this. Whittington a board-certified MD in California claimed several of the brain tumors developed by ex-Colonia High staff and students are glioblastoma multiforme an aggressive cancer. Exterior shots of Colonia High School in Colonia, NJ on Thursday, April 7, 2022. United States Department of Environmental Protection. 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. 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. "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. 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. Jumpstarted after it was discovered more 122 people once connected to news.. 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