Ask Erin Brockovich

Anyone who knows me knows that I am on a mission. Here's a little history: Nearly 4 years ago my daughter Lauren was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a rare cancer especially in children. Within months of her diagnosis, I learned of 2 other teens in our small community with the same rare cancer. We all live within a mile of each other and all the kids were diagnosed within months of each other. I do believe in coincidences, but after tons of research I learned that there are only about 350 new cases of thyroid cancer diagnosed each year in teens. Three of those new cases were in my small town, I do NOT believe this is a coincidence.

Since our story went public, dozens more residents of our community came forward with either stories of thyroid tumors or cancer. There were even 2 more young girls in my neighborhood with benign thyroid tumors that had to be removed. So it seemed very logical to me to contact every State and local agency I could think of to help us find some answers. The Ohio Health Department did in fact start and investigation into the cancer cluster, but closed it with no explanation or concern for our kids or the local community. The local health department is useless and the EPA referred us back to the Ohio Health Department.

Fast forward to now.....I saw that Erin Brockovich has a new site where you can ask her questions, so I did. And here it is:

Question:

Dear Erin,

I hope you can help us. What do you think the chances are of 3 teenagers being diagnosed with the same type of thyroid cancer (papillary) within months of each other, all living within a mile of each other? This happened in our small rural town of Trenton, OH nearly 4 years ago. We have recently learned of another teenage girl in a neighboring community diagnosed with the same cancer. There are also 2 girls in the neighborhood with benign thyroid tumors. What could be happening here? We can’t get anyone to help us and the State Health Department has turned their backs on us after starting an investigation a few years ago. We were told by a leading thyroid cancer expert that the odds were “astronomical” that this could happen so what should we do?? Please help us. Thank you.

Stephanie

-Erin’s Reply-

Dear Stephanie,

Please understand that I am not the doctor nor expert here. Having said that, after 17 years working in environmental cases with many renowned experts, when we see numerous people coming down with the same cancers it always raises a flag.You are right to be concerned and are on the right path to uncovering answers just by emailing me or others, talking to neighbors, getting the State Health Department to even begin an investigation and becoming curious as to what could be happening. When communities ask questions and start using common sense, things begin tohappen. Keep it up!

Are you aware of any industry that is near you or near the teenagers who have been diagnosed? Is there something common which they all do besides your water supply? Is there a ball field or area which they may play sports or hang out at? Is there a landfill near you? These are some of the things that I would look for. Also, don’t hesitate to just use Freedom of Information and write to yourlocal agencies to see if there is a reported contamination in the area or a Superfund site. Many times this type of information is just sitting in a file somewhere. It’s happened to me more often than not. Most important, talk with and work with your neighbors. Do a door to door survey and find out what is going on with others.

Good luck and if you need any help don’t hesitate to write again.

Until next time, keep alert to the world around you.

Erin Brockovich