Jul 2, 2009 12:20 am US/Eastern
Possible Cancer Cluster Gets National Attention
WELLINGTON (CBS4 I-TEAM) ―
Jennifer Dunsford is a mother desperate to find out why her six-year-old son Garrett developed a brain tumor. She also wants to know why neighbors have been coming up ill as well.
Most of her son's tumor has been surgically removed. The root of surgery runs from her child's ear to the tip-top of his head.
"It was such a nightmare because he began to deteriorate so quickly," she told
CBS4 Chief I-Team Investigator Michele Gillen from her Palm Beach home.
"The question is, is there a cluster? We just want to know." She's worried about a potential cluster of cancer cases; Wednesday, her questions received national attention from US Senator Bill Nelson, who flew to South Florida.
It all began with Garrett's treatment at Miami Children's Hospital. The visit ultimately led his mom to discover that four other children living within minutes of her house were also suffering from brain tumors, even brain cancer. Frighteningly, that was just the beginning.
"The hair on my hair would stand on edge every time I learned of another case," she explained to Gillen. Dunsford took on the role of investigator along with a devoted family.
Within months, the worried mom compiled a list of some 40 families potentially affected. Now, she is calling upon the Florida Department of Health to initiate a health study. "It's been crazy." Dunsford described having to quickly compile data on all residents who have brain tumors or brain cancer; making things more hectic, she has been asked by the state to note all cancer cases.
Speaking before some two hundred family members today gathered at Wellington Regional Medical Center, a concerned Senator Nelson told the crowd he has alerted the President to concerns of the neighborhood and asked that that resources from the Centers for Disease Control be tapped if necessary.
"Thank you for alerting us to your concerns," the Senator expressed to the worried parents, promising to assist in whatever way possible to see if there is a causal connection or some clue as to why so many children and adults may indeed be getting sick.
"It's gut wrenching. It tears your heart out," Nelson said, of listening to the families affected. "Eighteen families came to the table all have some form of cancer and most of the cases were brain cancer and all of these families live within a two mile radius. That is no coincidence."
Jennifer Dunsford suspects water might be to blame. She said all residents in the Acreage own their own wells. Other suspicions focus on pesticides sprayed at nearby orange groves.
Dunsford is praying the cancer cases cease and her son, Garrett, continues to recover.
"Every day we wonder is Garrett's tumor gonna grow?" she said. "Cause it's still in there. Is it gonna grow? Could it turn cancerous? Is there something he's being exposed to here that could make that happen?"
CBS4's Carey Codd Contributed To This Report
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