Study: Cancer Numbers Rise 10/04/2011

FREDERICK, MD - It's an issue that has been talked about for years, is there a cancer cluster at Fort Detrick that has sickened people for decades?

On Monday, the Frederick County Health Department and the Maryland Department of Mental Hygiene released their findings.

The year long study focused on the rate of cancer in the area and the report analyzed information from the Maryland Cancer Registry.

It included information from 1992 to 2008 within two miles of "Area A" and "Area B" and compared it to cancer statistics from around the county and the state of Maryland.

The study did find a 20-percent increase in cancer in Frederick County between 2001 and 2006.  However, researchers do not believe this is connected to a cancer cluster because the rate of those who got sick needs to be looked at over a longer period of time, which they estimate is about a decade.

The report also showed an increase in Lymphoma in Frederick County, not just near Fort Detrick.

People who now have cancer and grew up close to Area B went to the meeting.  They say they're upset because information from before 1992 wasn't used in the study.

"You're taking the wrong slide and putting it under the microscope and trying to come up with an answer,  though it was an extraordinary effort, it almost exactly repeated the same information as the National Cancer Institute Survey, where they monitor cancer," says Jennifer Peppe Hahn, who is battling cancer.  "I think it would be a big effort to pull together population data for anytime before that."

Researchers will continue to look at the spike in cancer rates between 2001 and 2006 and the increase in Lymphoma in Frederick County. The health department will also continue studying information about a possible cancer cluster.

Until then, those fighting cancer now say they won't let this issue rest.

The health department also plans to have events for residents on cancer, cancer prevention, and cancer detection.