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Teen's cancer uncovers a mystery in one North Carolina town: Why here?

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  perrie-halpern  •  4 years ago  •  4 comments

Teen's cancer uncovers a mystery in one North Carolina town: Why here?
Two ZIP codes in Mooresville, North Carolina, have seen a higher than expected rate of thyroid cancer. Susan Wind, whose daughter was diagnosed in 2017, believes a connection is out there.

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sixpick
Professor Quiet
1  sixpick    4 years ago

Unfortunately, investigations into cancer clusters have a poor outcome.  The people living in areas where this particular investigation is being performed are much more affluent than most in this county and probably are receiving the best medical care and medical tests. 

I read the fastest growing cancer in the United States is thyroid cancer and the cause is less known than just about any other cancer.  It is also one of the least deadly cancers, if you think living without a thyroid gland paints a pretty picture.  I guess it's better than death, but it is said thyroid cancer could be caused by anything from increase in obesity to better diagnostics of the disease.

Here's an excerpt out of the link contained within this article:

What are the possible outcomes of a cluster investigation?

There are 3 main possible outcomes from a cancer cluster investigation:

  • In most cases, an investigation will show that the suspected cluster is not a true cancer cluster.
  • Less often, an investigation finds a true cancer cluster, but no cause can be found.
  • Rarely, an investigation finds a cancer cluster where the cause can be determined.

To help illustrate this point, in a scientific review of over 500 cancer cluster investigations done over 20 years, only about 1 in 8 found a true increase in cancer rates, and in only one case was a clear cause for the increase found.

Another interesting article is a visual of the incidence and death from thyroid cancer in the United States from the CDC (Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention)

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
1.1  seeder  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  sixpick @1    4 years ago

Six,

There is a reason that they find no cancer clusters when they look for an agent. Over 600 chemicals are not on the list of the EPA's potential cancer list. These 600 chemicals predate the EPA and only the chemical companies know the damage they cause. This was the whole case in West Virginia, where DuPont was dumping "forever chemicals". These are chemicals that can not be broken down in the environment and accumulate in the body, without breaking down. It literally took 30 years to get DuPont to admit this, and the whole reason this happened is that the chemical they were dumping was not on the EPA's list. 

I am sure that some clusters are wrong, but I am equally sure that others are true, and the medical community doesn't know what they are looking for. 

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
2  Paula Bartholomew    4 years ago

This is a job for Erin Brokavich (sp).

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
3  Sean Treacy    4 years ago

Cancer clusters are going to exist in any random distribution of cancer. That's the nature of randomness.

 
 

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