Town Sees Cluster of Brain Tumor Cases

MID is this close to you?

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Town Sees Cluster of Brain Tumor Cases


CAMERON, Mo. -- More than a dozen brain tumors have been diagnosed in seven months ago in the town of Cameron, KMBC's Kelly Eckerman reported.

It did not take long for word to spread in the town of 6,500.

Steve Helms was diagnosed just weeks ago, and suddenly friends were telling him they had a brain tumor, too.

"What is your greatest concern right now?" Eckerman asked Helms.

"Dying. That's my greatest concern, and how many other people are walking around and have it and don't even know it," Helms said.

Helms said he had headaches and could not sleep. A CAT scan revealed two brain tumors. One, which was a large as a half dollar, was removed immediately. The other tumor lies too close to the brain stem to be removed.

Until they get some answers, Helms said he and his family no longer drink city water.

"In this town, and there are a dozen in six months, something doesn't add up," Helms said.

Symptoms have varied. Headaches were common. For others it was sinus or hearing problems.

Austin, 8, had headaches, too. One morning he fell and started vomiting.

At the hospital, Austin's mother was not prepared for what doctors were about to tell her.

"She said she was sorry to have to tell me, but he had a mass that they didn't know what it was," Jessica Hammer said. "They weren't able to remove the tumor. They did what they call a limited surgery, which was just draining the tumor. I wonder all the time if there was something I could have done."

Austin is now being treated at St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis.

One of the first to become alarmed was pharmacist Steve Erickson. Erickson said he knows most of the families in town and immediately realized something was very wrong.

"You take the first victim, you take the second victim and you look at each other and you say, 'Whoa! What do we have in common?'" said Erickson. "Then you add the third one and the fourth one. I'm sure if I was one of the diagnosed, I would not think it was coincidence. Thank God."

Eckerman reported that residents don't want to give their town a bad name, and some made it clear they do not want this story told. But most are beyond keeping it a secret. Some residents want someone to take a hard look at what is happening and make it stop.

"Just find out where it's coming from and get it fixed. It's hard telling how many people are walking around, have tumors in their head and don't even know it. They will know eventually," Helms said.

"If you have 12 broken legs on a 1-mile stretch, you might think there's something wrong with the road on your 1-mile stretch," Erickson said.

Doctors are only required to report cancerous brain tumors to the Health Department. Most of the tumors in Cameron are large, but benign. So there is no official agency collecting the data.

Drinking water is one thing all of those diagnosed have in common. That is why a local reservoir, a source of the drinking water, will likely be one focus of the investigation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will look at any possible runoff near the reservoir and any possibility of contamination from a nearby hog farm. The CDC asked about manufacturing in the area past and present. Insulation used to be produced at a plant on the outskirts of town. Investigators will also look at pesticide use and the combination of chemicals that might be present, and anything those diagnosed with brain tumors have in common.

Cameron's city manager said the city is not jumping to any conclusions, saying maybe it is just an anomaly or an unexplained cluster. But he said the city is fully aware of what he called the recent "flurry" of brain-tumor cases. He said the city clerk is one of those diagnosed.

In the last few days, the Department of Natural Resources had a crew out collecting air, water and soil samples.

Eckerman said that she has been in contact with the majority of people who have come forward with a brain tumor in Cameron or their loved ones. Some are still recovering from brain surgery. Some have had setbacks. Two residents who wanted to tell their stories on camera are back in the hospital and were not able to talk.

http://www.kmbc.com/health/16330197/detail.html

No, not really, its up the other side of Kansas City, maybe 4 hours north of me. I wonder if there are a lot of cell phone towers in the area?

Me, too. Here in Portland (barely getting news coverage--witness 75,000 people, largest gathering attending any political rally/ Obama rally, not getting but a 10-15- second coverage) coverage about micro-wave cancer-causing "things" has gotten massive coverage. These waves come from everything that makes nano-size waves, from cell phones, computerized kitchen appliances, air-conditioners, tv/computer monitors, security camera systems, etc., etc., etc.. We create remarkable technical bots (like satellites) that do their job well, but we forgot to develope retrieval methods for taking them out of the sky when they no longer work. They still emit dangerous radio/micro/magnetic waves into our atmosphere, BY THE THOUSANDS!!!) When will we stop killing ourselves, after we're dead?

When will we stop killing ourselves, after we're dead?

that sounds like a good time. You are so right Wild Dove, we get bombared by EMF's from everywhere.

And here we all sit in front of one of the worst offenders!!! LOL

:coffee4: