Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Jon Lester No Hits Cancer While Tumor Cluster Hits Cameron, Missouri? ~ by Legal Pub Update 6-28-08


Cancer takes a baseball theme. Jon Lester has inspired many by returning to the majors after battling cancer. Yesterday, Lester no hit the disease by pitching a no hitter for the Boston Red Sox in a 7-0 defeat of Kansas City. The 24-year-old lefty's no hitter was the first one since Clay Buchholz pitched one last September. Lester allowed only two base runners, a walk and an error. Catcher Jason Varitek has now caught a record four no hitters in his career. You might say the catcher's success is a pattern or a statistical cluster. At the same time, apparently a potential cluster consisting of 12 brain tumors may have "hit" Cameron, Missouri.
KMBC reporter, Kelly Eckerman broke a story that more than a dozen brain tumors have been diagnosed in seven months in Cameron, Missouri. By most statisticians, this is considered a cluster. (12 people out of a town with a population of 6,500 is thought to be statistically significant.) Steve Helms is one of the individuals recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. "... how many other people are walking around and have it and don't even know it," Helms wonders. Helms developed headaches and could not sleep. A CAT scan revealed two brain tumors. A large one the size of a half dollar was surgically removed. The other tumor is inoperable because it is too close to the brain stem. Helms and his family have apparently decided to stop drinking city water until they get some answers.

Jessica Hammer's eight year old son Austin also fell ill with a tumor. He is now being treated at St. Jude's Hospital in Memphis. Pharmacist Steve Erickson shared his concerns,
"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? 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."

Not surprisingly, many in the town don't want the cancer cluster theory to be publicized. Others hope someone can intervene and tell town residents why the recent increase in brain tumors. Doctors report "cancerous" tumors to the Health Department by law. Fortunately, most of the tumors in Cameron are benign. As a result, there are no official agency statistics. So what do all of the victims appear to have in common? It is believed that all of the diagnosed victims regularly drank city water. However, they also all ate food and breathed air so that in itself does not establish causation. Nevertheless, a local reservoir which serves as a source of drinking water, may be a good place to begin an investigation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may choose to look at any possible runoff near the reservoir and any possible contamination from nearby livestock.

An insulation manufacturer used to be located on the edge of town. That is a possible source worth investigating as is investigation into local use of pesticide use and other chemicals. The city is not jumping to any conclusions and neither should readers of Legal Pub. It may be just an anomaly or an unexplained cluster. But the city will look into it. Apparently, the city clerk is one of those recently diagnosed with some sort of brain tumor. The Department of Natural Resources has collected air, water and soil samples.

Perhaps it is time fro Cameron to bring in Jon Lester as a reliever. Based on his past performance, one can expect that he can set cancer down swinging once again.

Update 6-28-08: Apparently, State regulators will examine Rockwool Industries former manufacturing plant as a possible source of environmental contaminants. Whether that caused the tumors is not known, but it is felt to be a good starting point for the investigation. The plant apparently produced fiber insulation at one time but closed down over twenty years ago. The city bought the building and leased it from 1992 to 2003 to Midwest Hanger. Midwest made coat hangers. The plan to investigate this site was discussed recently at a community meeting. Apparently, 11 area residents have been afflicted with tumors since 2002. Stay tuned. Nothing is for certain yet!


Update 7-4-08: Fundraiser for Cameron Victims? Legal Pub received an email from a St. Joseph reporter, Nancy Hull which is worth sharing:
Hi, I write for the regional newspaper that covers Cameron, Missouri - the St. Joseph News-Press in St. Joseph, Missouri.
I saw your comment here ... and am wondering what kind of response you've received about the idea for a fundraiser for the people of Cameron. Is anything in the works? Just curious.

Thank you. Nancy

For those interested in helping the unfortunate folks in Cameron (including Jon Lester) it would be great if you would contact the web site: stjoenews-press.com or email Nancy at nancyhull@npgco.com

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for Jon. Scary. Real scary for Cameron!

Shell

Anonymous said...

Great accomplishment on the no hit.

Ralph

Anonymous said...

I hope it is not from cattle poop. I hear that is a good way to get ecoli infection.

It's probably just because sh*t happens!

Anonymous said...

This is more than sh*t happens. This is a potentially serious epidemic!

Anonymous said...

This is more than sh*t happens. This is a potentially serious epidemic!

Anonymous said...

Cute title ugly story for the poor residents of Cameron, Mo.

Anonymous said...

Kelly is sizzling!

Anonymous said...

A lot of scared people right now.

Legal Pub said...

Fear is

false
evidence
appearing
real.

I would encourage people not to panic. Wait until the scientist identify the potential problems and then correct the problems. It could all be a coincidence.

Ms Calabaza said...

The first story was so heartwarming, good for him! As for the citizens of this town, God bless them I hope it's just coincidence but I doubt it

Anonymous said...

I'm ready to move!!!!!
I hate this town!

Cameron Resident

Anonymous said...

Cancer is real serious stuff! Really.

Anonymous said...

Hey folks. Buy some bottled water, give up cigarettes and reduce your smoking. Otherwise wait until they find out what it is.

12 out of 6900 is still a small amount. (.17% is not even close to being 1%.) Hang in there.

Anonymous said...

Fox reports that they think it is water related contamination. What is there proof?

Anonymous said...

Let's ask John Lester to do a fund raising appearance for Cameron Missouri to help pay for independent, fair testing of the Cameron water supply, etc.

Anonymous said...

Amen Anonymous!!!!

Legal Pub said...

Jon Lester, where are you? The town of Cameron could use your help for a fund raiser. Please get in touch with Legal Pub at:

legalpub@legalpub.net

Perhaps a fundraiser could help the poor people of Cameron!

Anonymous said...

It takes too long to investigate the sources of these cancer clusters!

Anonymous said...

The 12 tumor cases are BENIGN tumors, not cancer. Re-read the original news article at KMBC.com

Anonymous said...

tumors are tumors. Tumors often start benign and become cancerous. Furthermore, any tumor, whether benign or otherwise cause problems when they are in the brain.

Anonymous said...

Benign or not, tumors are scary. I live in Cameron, and have had zero answers. No one in Cameron is getting answers, and no one is jumping to conclusions either.

I have had headaches daily since living here. And I have two children. We are very scared.

By the way, I don't think Jon Lester is the answer to our serious problems.

Anonymous said...

Whether benign or not, there are people here in this town fighting for their lives as we speak. I live here and know the people that are affected by this, so unless you know what your talking about it's probably best not to say anything.

Anonymous said...

Cameron resident has a good point. Furthermore,there is no such thing as a benign tumor in the brain with benign being defined as not harmful. Are the growths cancerous? Some are and some are not. The exact medical histories are not released. There are believed to be more than 12 "benign" tumor cases.

The cause is unknown at this point. What is known, is that there is a genuine need for independent testing.

As for Jon Lester, a fund raiser could help pay for some independent testing so that a solution can be reached.

Person of concern

Viper said...

Hope they get to the bottom of this one. Tumors may not be malignant yet, but that does not mean they are harmless!

Anonymous said...

The EPA swings, and a miss. Struck em out!

Anonymous said...

Yeah there is definitely cause for concern as we lost a very wonderful member of our community due to the so-called benign tumors today.

Anonymous said...

Cameron resident, you are so right! No such thing as a benign tumor. It may be precancerous in the staging but that means very little.

Take the advice offered earlier:

drink bottled water

give up cigarettes

eat fruits and vegatables grown elsewhere!

Keep us posted!

Ginny

Anonymous said...

Headaches could just be from Obama and Hillary b*tching so much!

Anonymous said...

Don't forget to eat your vegetables...

This sucks!

Anonymous said...

Hey Cameron Resident


Any updates?

Legal Pub said...

Update 7-4-08: Fundraiser for Cameron Victims? Legal Pub received an email from a St. Joseph reporter, Nancy Hull which is worth sharing:
Hi, I write for the regional newspaper that covers Cameron, Missouri - the St. Joseph News-Press in St. Joseph, Missouri.
I saw your comment here ... and am wondering what kind of response you've received about the idea for a fundraiser for the people of Cameron. Is anything in the works? Just curious.

Thank you. Nancy

For those interested in helping the unfortunate folks in Cameron (including Jon Lester) it would be great if you would contact the web site: stjoenews-press.com or email Nancy at nancyhull@npgco.com

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what happened to Rockwool? Was the company bought out or sold to a larger company??

Anonymous said...

Anonymous maybe you should check the dictionary! It doesn't matter if a tumor is malignant or benign. Cancer is the uncontrolled replication of cells...period. Whether it is from an internal or external is the question. But it is CANCER

Anonymous said...

Forget the semantics and discover the source of the problem.

Anonymous said...

benign is still bad as it can cause seizures and interruption of brain function.

Doc

Anonymous said...

Still pulling for Jon.

Anonymous said...

It is my first message here, so I would like to say hallo to all of you! It is unquestionably comfort to be adjacent to your community!

Anonymous said...

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