Cancer Cluster in Dalton, Georgia? Part 5

NewsChannel 9 has promised to continue digging deeper into what some are calling a cancer cluster in the Dalton, Georgia area. One study shows the incidence of Glioblastoma, a brain cancer, occurs in one in 50,000 people a year in North American countries. But some argue the number of cases in the Dalton area far exceed the statistics. Monday we talked with an oncologist in Dalton to get her take on the issue.

"Several people have come up and asked me if we've noticed an increase number of cases because there have been friends and family members diagnosed with this cancer and apparently people are beginning to talk about it."

Dr. Therese Maxwell is an oncologist at Northwest Hematology and Oncology in Dalton, Georgia. She says she's been practicing in the area since 1982. She says she hasn't noticed anything unusual in the number of cases of Glioblastoma.

"We have seen perhaps an increase in the number of primary brain tumors recently, but sometimes are cases cluster and we don't think of it in terms of an outbreak."

Two oncologists work with Dr. Maxwell. Maxwell says she believes in her office there are currently nine or ten active cases and several they're following from the past. Maxwell says those cases include Glioblastoma and Anaplastic Astrocytoma. She says about seven of the cases have presented during the last 12 months.

Reporter, Does this surprise you? Maxwell, "Well it didn't until the news people started asking about it because like I say, we see clusters of cases coming in and don't really think too much about it, and have just done our work, and I guess kept our head in the sand dealing with our patients, but not worrying too much about the statistics about whether we were seeing more than usual."

Dr. Maxwell says she's in the business of treating patients, not keeping track of statistics.

So we asked her who is? Maxwell says she believes the tumor registrar at Hamilton Medical Center keeps track of the numbers, along with the state of Georgia. Maxwell says the tumor registrar at Hamilton Medical Center reported 13 cases of Glioblastoma in Whitfield County between 1999 and 2002.

Reporter, Does that surprise you? Maxwell, "No." Reporter, Even though some studies say the incidence is one in 50,000 per year? Maxwell, "I'm not very good with statistics and I really can't comment on that."

NewsChannel 9 has spoken to nine people who say they or a loved one's been diagnosed with Glioblastoma between 2002 and 2007. We've also contacted Georgia's Department of Human Resources Division of Public Health to request the number of Glioblastoma cases in the Dalton, Georgia area. We were told a study would be released in a couple of weeks.

You can depend on us to continue following this story.