nuclear-news

Rare eye cancer cases reported (not a mention of proximity to nuclear station)

Doctors are stumped after at least 36 people from SAME Alabama college are diagnosed with rare eye cancer that affects only six in every million

• Researchers are investigating the cause of ocular melanoma in two communities
• Eighteen people in Huntersville, North Carolina have been diagnosed 
• A troubling and rising number of people affiliated with Auburn University in Alabama have been diagnosed as well   
• The rare disease affects only six out of every one million people  
• One woman started an Auburn ocular melanoma Facebook page where 36 people reached out saying they too have been diagnosed 
• The university has launched its own investigation

By Marlene Lenthang For Dailymail.com 1 May 2018

A rare eye cancer has struck 18 people in North Carolina and reportedly 36 more in Alabama, leaving doctors stumped as they search for a cause.

Only six out of every one million people are diagnosed with ocular melanoma each year.

Four friends with the rare cancer who attended Auburn University together believe an investigation into their alma mater may find the cause.

In January, 18 patients within a 15-mile radius were diagnosed with the cancer in Huntersville, North Carolina.

The four friends with ocular melanoma, have learned of 36 other Auburn University grads or workers who have the cancer as well, according to CBS………

Although the situation in Auburn has not been dubbed a cluster, the group of patients with the cancer in Huntersville has been defined as a cancer cluster.

In Huntersville not only have 18 people have been affected, but four have died within a 15-mile radius due to the illness.

Oddly the cancer, although more typically found in men in their 60s, has affected majority women in their 30s or younger in the community.

Investigators studying the Huntersville cluster with accounts dating back to 2014, published a report earlier this month that said no cause of the cluster has been found.

The study investigated air, water and land related issues but it yielded no findings towards a cause.

‘It’s just hard to believe that there’s not a common thread here. I just keep thinking they need to do more,’ Mecklenburg County Commissioner Pat Cotham said to WCNC. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5675573/Rare-eye-cancer-strikes-communities-North-Carolina-Alabama.html#ixzz5EDN7ZUDA

May 2, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general