(WKYT) – State health officials are investigating an unusual pattern of rare pediatric brain cancer diagnoses in southeastern Kentucky after parents and health care workers raised concerns about five cases in the Corbin and Williamsburg areas.
[RELATED: WKYT Investigates: Kentucky looking into rare pediatric brain cancer cases in Corbin area]
The children were diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG, a highly aggressive pediatric brain tumor. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 300 children are diagnosed with DIPG in the U.S. each year.
An online petition organized by a concerned parent drew more than 3,000 signatures, pushing state health officials to act.
City council calls for local investigation
Chelsey Tyree, a member of Williamsburg’s city council, brought the issue to the council’s most recent meeting, calling on the city to look into the cases.
“No child should be forgotten,” Tyree said.
Tyree said one of the children diagnosed is her co-worker’s child.
“That really hit close to home for me as I watched their journey and their struggle, and I have two children myself, two boys, and our hearts just hurt and break for all of them,” Tyree said.
Tyree said she quickly realized her co-worker’s child was not the only one fighting DIPG.
“Every time I opened up Facebook, another child with this. It’s just so alarming, and to be in such a small town and to keep hearing about it, and then just our Tri-County area in general, how the cases are just popping up. It’s very scary,” Tyree said.
Tyree said the city is preparing to have new waterlines installed, which prompted her to bring the community’s concerns to the council.
“Our city is getting ready to have new waterlines put in, and so that just made me think, can we not look into all the environmental factors, anything? We’re reaching for answers,” Tyree said.
Tyree said the council and mayor were receptive to her concerns.
“Our mayor, he even talked to me later and said that he is looking into it and he’s making the phone calls and asking the questions, and he was very intrigued and helpful, and I loved that. Everyone supported it,” Tyree said.
Congressman Hal Rogers responded to WKYT Investigates’ initial report on DIPG, saying his office reached out to the National Institutes of Health and the University of Kentucky, urging a thorough study into the cases.
Governor Andy Beshear marked Sunday as DIPG Awareness Day in Kentucky.
Thursday is David Turner Junior Eat Ice Cream Day in honor of a 9-year-old boy who died of DIPG.