A common question is what caused my brain cancer. The only known thing that could lead to this would be radiation exposure, which I never had prior to my radiation treatments this past fall. There is not a genetic factor for this condition. Unfortunately it seems that even less is known about brain cancer than other forms of cancer. Something I’ve recently become interested in is reports of cancer clusters.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there is a less than 1% chance of developing brain cancer. For those that fall in that rare percentage, what in the world is causing this? It’s interesting because I know of a couple other people in my area who have had brain tumors and radiation as well. It makes you wonder if that is just coincidence or not. My coworker said something that resonated with me: I don’t know if it’s just because it’s more on my radar now, but I feel like I keep hearing of people with brain cancer. I’ve had the same thought before. Am I just noticing it more now that it’s relevant to me, or is the prevalence increasing?
Cancer cluster
In New Jersey at Colonia High School there has been over 100 students over the years who have reported developing brain tumors, half of which were cancerous. In one family that graduated between 1989 and 1995, 3 family members all developed brain cancer after high school. I recommend reading the article on this – it’s pretty interesting. An environmental assessment study checked for radiation and did not find any dangerous levels of radiation at the school. Based on that they determined no further investigation was needed. However, they didn’t even test the air. They only checked for radiation.
An environmental scientist named Edyta Komorek conducted her own study. She took her own 4 samples (dust, caulk, and 2 soil samples) to an outside lab. The study found 3 pesticides that are known carcinogens – chlordane, heptachlor, and heptachlor epoxide. The findings from the study indicated potential cancer-causing compounds that exceed EPA standards.
She said the findings showed levels of potentially cancer-causing compounds exceeding EPA standards. Based on this conclusion, I hope this raises awareness and pushes for additional testing, including air testing. If there really is a less than 1% chance of developing brain cancer, something is definitely wrong if you have over 100 people with this condition that went to the same exact school.
Investigating cancer clusters
Concerns of potential cancer clusters should be reported to your state and local health departments as they primarily investigate these reports. Other agencies like the CDC and EPA might get involved as well. While it is rare that cancer clusters turn out to be linked to a specific substance in the environment, it’s still important to investigate thoroughly. Researchers at NCI are constantly conducting studies to evaluate trends and frequencies with cancer.
Causes
I believe that there’s many factors at play when it comes to my brain tumor, and same with other cancer diagnoses. So much of what we ingest is truthfully not meant for the human body. Our bodies can’t properly process these foods. I learned while reading the Whole30 book that what you eat impacts more than you would even think it does. Gut health is so important and definitely isn’t something I’ve prioritized in my life.
That’s just one of many possible contributing factors. The United States has one of the highest cancer rates in the world. Sudan has the lowest cancer rate in the world with only 95.7 out of 100,000 cases. There are many factors that contribute to varying cancer rates by country. Healthcare access, exposure, risk factors, and prevention strategies – these all can contribute to cancer rates. In more developed countries the prevalence of cancer is often higher, but the mortality rate is higher in the less developed countries. This could be due to people having longer lives due to health care, longer exposure to risk factors, ingestion of more unhealthy foods, etc.
It’s enough to make me think twice about how I treat my body 😉
♡ Hailey
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