For the past two years and two months, cancer has been a part of my daily life. Each week, it seems someone else in our community has joined this “cancer club.”
We had no membership drive, because no one would willingly join, yet, the roll keeps climbing. Age, gender, race, financial standing - none of that matters.
The numbers seem to be growing at an alarming rate. And I’m not the only one who has noticed.
Physicians and others in the medical field have begun to question the number of cancer cases in our area. Although public health reports don’t agree that the rate is unusual, how accurate are the figures?
Certain neighborhoods seem to have more cancer cases than others. For instance, the street where I grew up, there were two cases at my house (no family history). Two doors down, there were three different cases from three generations of unrelated residents. Next door to that house, another two cases from unrelated occupants over three decades. Over at the hospital neighborhood, breast cancer cases have emerged from several homes. The same is true in other areas of the county.
Is it the water supply? Blountstown Mayor Tony Shoemake, who lost his own mother to colon cancer, has asked that question. However, the City of Blountstown has tested the water repeatedly in different neighborhoods with the same results - no evidence of anything that would cause cancer. Mayor Shoemake is confident the water supply is safe.
So what’s the culprit? Genetics? Chemicals in our food? Something in the air? Runoff in the rivers?
In the hopes of leading researchers to take a hard look at this region, The County Record is gathering data. And that’s where we need your help.
The goal is to go back 30 years and record cancer cases in our community. We are gathering names, types of cancer and addresses of those who have had cancer over the past 30 years. The purpose is to identify any cancer “clusters” in our area, as well as compare our figures with the numbers on file with public health officials.
You can email us (news@thecountyrecord. net), send via our Facebook page or mail to The County Record, P.O. Box 366, Blountstown, FL 32424.
Thanks to the medical professionals who have already agreed to join this project and help us get answers. If you are a medical professional interested in offering insight and guidance on this project, please email news@thecounty record.net.
Next week, we will go back to the 1980s when a new doctor in town expressed concern over the number of cancer cases in the Altha community.
I have lived in Blountstown for 39 years. Don't know if that has anything to do with it. Hope this helps.