NEW YORK – The New York State Department of Health (DOH) said a study found the number of people in a Long Island school district living with cancer is “statistically significant,” but researchers stressed that the community should not be concerned.
DOH began investigating the occurrence of all types of cancer among people living in Suffolk County’s Northport-East Northport School District in 2019, after an unusually high number of students (6) in the class of 2016 from Northport High School reported leukemia and other cancers. diagnoses Other concerns about elevated levels of mercury and benzene near Northport High School sparked fear among students and parents at the time.
In a study released Thursday night, the DOH confirmed that the number of leukemia diagnoses was “statistically unusual” and that the total number of cancer cases was “statistically significant.”
Over a 20-year period, the department found that the number of cancer cases among residents of the Northport-East Northport district was 3% higher than expected, according to the study. Pancreatic cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer and malignant melanoma of the skin were the most common cases, the health department said.
During that 20-year period, seven young adults ages 15 to 24 living in the school district were diagnosed with leukemia, the DOH said, including some of the members of the class of 2016. Given the population size of that area, only two such cases would be expected.
For those living within the Northport High School area, where elevated levels of mercury and benzene were found, the number of cancers found was seven percent higher than expected. There were significantly more diagnoses of malignant melanoma and prostate cancer than expected, the research found.
Meanwhile, residents in the East Northport High School area were not found to have a significantly higher level of cancer compared to what would be expected.
Overall, the DOH investigation found that “other than 2016 graduates, leukemia diagnoses were not significantly elevated among young adults in the Northport-East Northport School District or among children.”
The study concluded that leukemia diagnoses among graduates did not appear to be part of any larger cancer pattern, and that the unusually high cancer numbers in 2016 may have been a coincidence, as not all class members attended the same high school and because the numbers of the previous and subsequent years are normal.
As a result of its findings, the DOH said there was no additional risk to area residents. The investigation raised no further questions, and the health department said no further study is needed.
The study looked at cancer occurrence from 1999 to 2018. That analysis did not include 12-year-old Sullivan Carey, who recently returned to East Northport High School as a celebrity, marking his first time at the school while battling leukemia.
“He is currently undergoing treatment, we hope for a positive success. We try to give him a normal life,” said mother Nicole Carey.
Sullivan was not part of the study because he was diagnosed in 2020. While he is fine now, how and why the boy contracted this insidious disease still haunts his mother. That is why she was especially interested in the results of the comprehensive study.
“If where I lived had anything to do with triggering this to happen, I’d like to know so we can prevent it from happening in the future for other parents,” said Nicole Carey, who would like to see more research done. “Obviously there’s something problematic about it and I think it deserves more rigour. They shouldn’t just stop, they should investigate the situation further.”
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