Published: March 05, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
New Study: Cancer Clusters All Over South Florida
By Robert Paul Reyes
This is an excerpt from an article I wrote a month ago about a cancer cluster in the Acreage, Florida:
"They (state health officials) said they`ve found a cluster of childhood brain cancer in the community, a semi-rural swath filled with dirt roads and private wells.
They said they don`t see any apparent cause, and that they aren`t planning environmental tests to find one.
Then, after days of criticism, they said tests are on the way."
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If health officials found a cluster of childhood brain cancer in Beverly Hills, the upscale community would be flooded with physicians, scientists and environmental specialists.
But Florida officials seem indifferent to the cancer cluster in The Acreage, a poor rural community. Residents are up-in-arms, and they are demanding that health officials investigate this peril to their community.
The media for the most part seems to be ignoring this story, thank goodness for local bloggers and activists who are keeping this issue alive."
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There's no good news to report about the cancer cluster in The Acreage. In the past month there have been a few heated community meetings with state health department officials, but nothing productive has emerged from those meetings.
And now a new study comes to the stunning conclusion that the cancer cluster problem isn't confined to the Acreage.
"Now a new study reveals that the problem isn't just in the Acreage. The study found that much of south Florida lies in a childhood cancer cluster.
'Our findings, our collaborative research findings show that there exists a larger portion of south Florida that appears as a statistical cancer cluster,' said Dr. Amin." Read More
Local authorities are not taking this problem seriously, it's time to bring in the big guns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a federal agency under the Dept. of Health and Human Services, and they should be leading the investigation.
This issue is still not getting enough attention from the press, please do all you can to help the communities in Florida that are dealing with this nightmare. Blog about this issue, send letters to the editor, contact the local radio and TV stations!
Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes
Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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