(WKYT) – Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers released a statement about a rise in rare pediatric brain cancer diagnoses in Corbin after a WKYT Investigates story about the pattern.
According to the Investigates story, five children were diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG, a highly aggressive pediatric brain tumor. About 300 children across the country are diagnosed with the condition every year.
In a Facebook post, Rogers said he and his chief of staff, Karen Kelly, had reached out to the National Institutes of Health and the research team at the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center to “urge a thorough study into the growing reports of these rare cancer cases in southeastern Kentucky.”
Rogers said he was ready to assist “in any way possible” to advance medical information to prevent, treat and cure these cases of pediatric cancer.