EBSCOhost Back 1 article(s) will be saved. To continue, select FILE then SAVE AS from your browser's toolbar above. Be sure to save as a plain text file (.txt) or an HTML file (.html). Record: 1 Title:Profile: Mysterious cancer cluster in Fallon, Nevada Source:Morning Edition (NPR), 02/06/2002 Author(s):BOB EDWARDS AN:6XN200202061103 Database: Newspaper Source Profile: Mysterious cancer cluster in Fallon, Nevada 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon , The high desert town of Fallon, Nevada, is coping with a cancer cluster that has sickened 15 children. Two of them have died. Investigators say what caused the illnesses is a mystery which may never be solved. That weighs heavily on the people of Fallon, but the tragedy isn't enough to make them abandon the town. Kathy Witkowsky reports. KATHY WITKOWSKY reporting: Zachary Beardsley(ph) is only six years old, and already the blond, blue-eyed first-grader says he can't wait to grow up and do anything he wants. ZACHARY BEARDSLEY: How come adults have to be born before me? It's not fair. I don't get to be an adult. WITKOWSKY: That sounds like six-year-old logic. But just a year and a half ago, it could have been true. Zachary was diagnosed with leukemia. Ms. TAMMI BEARDSLEY (Zachary's Mother): He was very sick. His lips were kind of a greenish-blue, his skin was gray and it was horrible. WITKOWSKY: Zachary's mother, Tammi, found herself begging a nurse for reassurance. Ms. BEARDSLEY: I said, `Is he going to die? Just tell me.' And she said no in the most convincing no. And I said, `Promise me. Just promise me. Promise me.' And she said, `I promise.' WITKOWSKY: Thanks to a grueling course of chemotherapy, Zach's disease is in remission, and it looks like it will stay that way. There's an 80 percent survival rate for his type of leukemia. Tammi Beardsley is a fitness instructor who prides herself on her healthy lifestyle, and she's been devastated by her son's illness. Ms. BEARDSLEY: Yeah, they call me the `granola mom,' the `granola head mom.' I'm very careful about what they eat. I hide spinach in the gravy. No, I'm very careful about what they eat, how they live, who they play with. It's just unbelievable that leukemia lives in my home. WITKOWSKY: Even more startling is how many of Zachary's neighbors are also battling cancer. Fifteen children with ties to the community have been diagnosed with leukemia since 1997. Two of them have died. Tammi Beardsley knows all this. She also knows that Zachary could suffer a relapse. That's one of the reasons she chose to have another child, so she can freeze the umbilical cord, which has blood stem cells that could save Zachary's life. Yet she chooses to stay in Fallon, even though she's pregnant and could join her husband, who works out of state. Do you feel like you're putting your new baby at risk? Ms. BEARDSLEY: That's a really hard question. You know, when you put it like that, I suppose I am. I'm in an environment where children are getting cancer. WITKOWSKY: Beardsley grew up in Fallon and loves almost everything about it--the clear, blue sky, the sweet smell of alfalfa, the small-town feel. Aside from whatever might have caused the cancer, she says Fallon is a safer place than most, so she doesn't see any point in leaving. Ms. BEARDSLEY: Because what am I running from, and where am I running to? And is it going to be there? WITKOWSKY: That question also nags at Dr. Randall Todd, the Nevada state epidemiologist. Back in the summer of 2000, he decided to go to Fallon after he heard there had been five cases of childhood leukemia diagnosed within just a few months. Normally, in a community that small, you'd expect to see only one case every five years. Dr. RANDALL TODD (Nevada State Epidemiologist): And by the time we got out there, we were up to six; the next day there was a seventh. So it started to kind of make the hair on the back of your necks stand up a little bit. It was obvious that something unusual was happening. WITKOWSKY: Todd doesn't think the cluster is a coincidence, but finding the link between the cases is tougher than you might expect. Experts have looked at drinking water, a fuel pipeline, a former nuclear testing site and jet exhaust from the nearby naval air station. But so far they haven't discovered anything that looks like it would have caused these illnesses. Todd says it might end up being a subtle combination of factors. Dr. TODD: I've suggested to people that this is a little bit like working on a jigsaw puzzle, except that we don't have the picture on the box as a guide to go by, so we don't know what this picture's going to look like when the puzzle is done. WITKOWSKY: Cancer gets a lot of attention when it appears in clusters, but the reason almost always eludes experts. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been so stymied that it hasn't initiated an investigation of a cancer cluster since 1982. But the speed with which the Fallon cases appeared has convinced the CDC to try again. Using state-of-the-art technology, it's working with other state and federal agencies to analyze soil, air, water, dust and biological samples. Dr. TODD: Even if it doesn't help this community to prevent a cluster, because it's already occurred, furthering the state of science may help other communities to deal with and--I mean, the ultimate goal would be to prevent these kinds of things from happening. WITKOWSKY: Meanwhile, there's been an outpouring of support. A charity set up to help the families of the leukemia victims has raised about $150,000, and the community has rallied around the families of the sick children. (Soundbite of cheerleaders) WITKOWSKY: Taking a break from their duties at a local high school basketball game, cheerleaders Alyssa Jacobis(ph), Amanda Erkhardt(ph) and Shannon Rider(ph) expressed as much enthusiasm for their hometown as they did for the home team. Unidentified Teen #1: I was born in this town. Unidentified Teen #2: Fallon's a good place. Unidentified Teen #1: Fallon is a good place. Unidentified Teen #3: Fallon is great! WITKOWSKY: But civil pride won't protect against cancer, and parents like Rhonda Steele(ph) are left to wonder, are her kids next? Ms. RHONDA STEELE (Resident, Fallon): Yeah, it makes me worry, but, you know, my husband's job is here and we just pray that we're going to be OK and everything's going to--you know, eventually find a cure, you know, or find out what's causing it and get it over with. But yeah, it does make me nervous. WITKOWSKY: That's a pretty common reaction. Andrea Vest(ph) says even people who don't live in Fallon know about the cancer cluster. Ms. ANDREA VEST (Resident, Fallon): I'm in human resources. We've offered people positions and they don't want to come because they've heard of it. WITKOWSKY: But Vest doesn't plan to move. Neither does Janet Stark(ph), a mother of five. Ms. JANET STARK (Resident, Fallon): No, I'm not putting my home up for sale. this is a wonderful valley. When I first moved here I thought it was awfully ugly, but I've learned that the people make up for the sagebrush and the alkali. WITKOWSKY: That's what Mayor Ken Tedford says. The father of four knows he can't change the fact that there's a cancer cluster in his town, nor can he change how the outside world views it. Mayor KEN TEDFORD (Fallon): But if I lived in a town that turned its back on this issue or on its children, I would want to move. But I don't have that problem, because this town wants to take care of its children. And I can live in that town. WITKOWSKY: Nearly all of the surviving 13 children in the cluster are doing well, but people in Fallon say they're keeping a close eye on the cancer investigation. They know it probably won't pinpoint a cause. Still, they can't help but hope for some answers. For NPR News, I'm Kathy Witkowsky in Fallon, Nevada. EDWARDS: The time is 29 minutes past the hour. Copyright (c) 2002 National Public Radio (r). All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000. Source: Morning Edition (NPR), FEB 06, 2002 Item: 6XN200202061103 Top of Page Back © 2003 EBSCO Publishing. Privacy Policy - Terms of Use