New Information Expected in Hometown Cancer Cases
By: Joe Holden
Updated: April 12, 2007
HOMETOWN, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY- Folks along Ben Titus road near Hometown,
A
new group of investigators has been pounding the pavement. The I-Team uncovered
the latest developments in a sad saga of sickness.
“How
many people have died already because of these sicknesses and how many more are
going to die?” That question, posed by Betty Kester of Hometown, is the focus
of an on-ongoing investigation by the Centers for Disease Control.
The
woman and her husband suffer from Polycythemia Vera, a rare cancer of
the blood. Betty has been outspoken about what she's confident made her sick.
“I
use it after I boil it, but I won't drink it. I'm afraid of it.” the
78-year-old blames her cancer on contaminated well water, polluted by run-off
from a nearby superfund site. Betty has bottles of water all over the place. Two
people, living under one roof for 18 years, have a cancer that normally occurs
in only one out of a couple-hundred thousand. You'd want a clean environment. We
don't have a clean environment,” Kester exclaimed.
Toxicologists
with the CDC have been probing the area and the dozens of sick patients nearby.
About a year ago, the state health department concluded it didn't have
sufficient evidence to tie polycythemia vera to the contaminated dumping
sites.
CDC
toxicologists are using new, advanced tests that many expect to change the way
of life in
“I
don't want my grandchildren to die because of this or anybody else's
grandchildren,” Kester said.
A preliminary report from the CDC is due at the end of May.
