Calling all Warminster....
Cancer deaths to be probed
By SARAH LARSON
The Intelligencer
The state Health Department has opened an investigation into cases of brain cancer in Warminster.
Dr. Gene Weinberg, the state's cancer epidemiologist, said Monday he would begin gathering information on children with brain cancer in the township. The investigation comes after an Intelligencer article detailing Carmen and Glenn Fister's search for answers in the death of their son, Richard.
Richard died Jan. 27 at the age of 13 of an aggressive form of brain cancer.
He is the third known Warminster child to die of brain cancer in the past year and a half.
An 11-year-old boy died Jan. 18 of a brain tumor, and a 10-year-old girl who lived just one street over from the Fisters died in November 2004.
An investigation into childhood cancer is relatively rare in Pennsylvania. Of the 50 or so epidemiological investigations Weinberg's office does each year, he estimated only a “very small proportion” involve cancer affecting children.
Carmen Fister said Monday she was happy the state has decided to examine the cases.
“I think it needs to be done. Obviously, this is what we were hoping for,” she said. “My hope is that it's nothing. But at least by looking into this, I won't have that "I wonder what went wrong' feeling hanging over our heads.”
The father of the other boy who died said he prefers not to comment publicly until the investigation is further along.
Other people in Warminster welcomed the state's investigation.
Elaine Donnelly lives on Victoria Road. When her 26-year-old son developed kidney cancer late last year, she started walking through the neighborhood, knocking on doors and asking about cancer.
“I was surprised at all the different types of cancers around here,” said Donnelly, who has run a hair salon on County Line Road for years.
She said she found common cancers, such as of the breast, prostate and lung, and another case of kidney cancer in a neighborhood child, along with a case of leukemia.
Weinberg said his investigation would concentrate only on brain tumors - at least for now.
“We may wind up dealing with 19 different clusters, and we have to keep our focus here,” he said. “Not that we're not sympathetic to the other cases, but we have to take one investigation at a time.”
Weinberg's investigation will focus on brain tumors in people younger than age 25.
He has requested information from the state's cancer registry for all brain tumors diagnosed in young people in the Warminster ZIP code between 1993 and 2004.
It takes about 15 months for diagnoses to work their way through the registry's data-entry process, he said, so he also will accept reports from doctors or families for tumors diagnosed in the past two years.
Once he has the case information, he said he would look at the tumors by type and by geography and compare them to standard cancer rates for the state.
The goal is to determine whether incidents of brain cancer in young people are statistically higher in Warminster than elsewhere, he said.
Weinberg said it would likely take at least four weeks to do that part of the investigation.
Even if the state is able to say whether cancer is occurring at a higher than normal rate, it still may not be able to find out why.
“The cause of this particular type is essentially unknown,” Weinberg said. “That's not to say I won't look further. I, as much as anyone, would like to be able to say, as much as possible, whether it speaks for or against an environmental cause.”
As for the Fisters, Carmen said the investigation will help her, her husband, Glenn, and their daughter, Rachel, heal, no matter what it turns up.
“I tried to save Rich. It didn't work. But maybe, somehow, something can be accomplished, whether it's putting people's minds at ease or finding a problem and fixing it.”
To report a case of brain cancer in a person younger than 25 from Warminster in the past two years, call Dr. Gene Weinberg, cancer epidemiologist at the state Health Department, at (717) 346-3285.
By SARAH LARSON
The Intelligencer
The state Health Department has opened an investigation into cases of brain cancer in Warminster.
Dr. Gene Weinberg, the state's cancer epidemiologist, said Monday he would begin gathering information on children with brain cancer in the township. The investigation comes after an Intelligencer article detailing Carmen and Glenn Fister's search for answers in the death of their son, Richard.
Richard died Jan. 27 at the age of 13 of an aggressive form of brain cancer.
He is the third known Warminster child to die of brain cancer in the past year and a half.
An 11-year-old boy died Jan. 18 of a brain tumor, and a 10-year-old girl who lived just one street over from the Fisters died in November 2004.
An investigation into childhood cancer is relatively rare in Pennsylvania. Of the 50 or so epidemiological investigations Weinberg's office does each year, he estimated only a “very small proportion” involve cancer affecting children.
Carmen Fister said Monday she was happy the state has decided to examine the cases.
“I think it needs to be done. Obviously, this is what we were hoping for,” she said. “My hope is that it's nothing. But at least by looking into this, I won't have that "I wonder what went wrong' feeling hanging over our heads.”
The father of the other boy who died said he prefers not to comment publicly until the investigation is further along.
Other people in Warminster welcomed the state's investigation.
Elaine Donnelly lives on Victoria Road. When her 26-year-old son developed kidney cancer late last year, she started walking through the neighborhood, knocking on doors and asking about cancer.
“I was surprised at all the different types of cancers around here,” said Donnelly, who has run a hair salon on County Line Road for years.
She said she found common cancers, such as of the breast, prostate and lung, and another case of kidney cancer in a neighborhood child, along with a case of leukemia.
Weinberg said his investigation would concentrate only on brain tumors - at least for now.
“We may wind up dealing with 19 different clusters, and we have to keep our focus here,” he said. “Not that we're not sympathetic to the other cases, but we have to take one investigation at a time.”
Weinberg's investigation will focus on brain tumors in people younger than age 25.
He has requested information from the state's cancer registry for all brain tumors diagnosed in young people in the Warminster ZIP code between 1993 and 2004.
It takes about 15 months for diagnoses to work their way through the registry's data-entry process, he said, so he also will accept reports from doctors or families for tumors diagnosed in the past two years.
Once he has the case information, he said he would look at the tumors by type and by geography and compare them to standard cancer rates for the state.
The goal is to determine whether incidents of brain cancer in young people are statistically higher in Warminster than elsewhere, he said.
Weinberg said it would likely take at least four weeks to do that part of the investigation.
Even if the state is able to say whether cancer is occurring at a higher than normal rate, it still may not be able to find out why.
“The cause of this particular type is essentially unknown,” Weinberg said. “That's not to say I won't look further. I, as much as anyone, would like to be able to say, as much as possible, whether it speaks for or against an environmental cause.”
As for the Fisters, Carmen said the investigation will help her, her husband, Glenn, and their daughter, Rachel, heal, no matter what it turns up.
“I tried to save Rich. It didn't work. But maybe, somehow, something can be accomplished, whether it's putting people's minds at ease or finding a problem and fixing it.”
To report a case of brain cancer in a person younger than 25 from Warminster in the past two years, call Dr. Gene Weinberg, cancer epidemiologist at the state Health Department, at (717) 346-3285.