Blood disease: No answer
www.tnonline.com/2012/sep/21/blood-disease-no-answer Friday, September 21, 2012 By DONALD R. SERFASS dserfass@tnonline.com A government agency provided a status update Thursday on research into a rare blood disease found in our area. But the update left locals frustrated. Joe Murphy, Hometown, voiced exasperation due to the slow pace of progress. Murphy represents the Citizens Advisory Committee and said… Read more
Researchers making new push in cancer cluster search
www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-tamaqua-cancer-cluster-20120430,0,6418002.story By Andrew McGill, Of The Morning Call 11:26 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2012 After a long year, Pennsylvania’s coal country still knows only three things for sure. People are getting cancer in the region, rare cancer. They’re dying. And no one can say why. In a Centers for Disease Control investigation that has already… Read more
Rare blood disease mix-up?
http://www.tnonline.com/2011/aug/19/rare-blood-disease-mix Friday, August 19, 2011 By DONALD R. SERFASS dserfass@tnonline.com Is it possible that some folks diagnosed with a blood disease involving a build-up of iron might actually be suffering from a rarer blood disease found in unusual clusters in Carbon, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties? The condition of iron build up in the blood is… Read more
Researchers hone cancer studies
http://standardspeaker.com/news/researchers-hone-cancer-studies-1.1190694#axzz1VTpgZtzW By SAM GALSKI (Staff Writer) Published: August 19, 2011 Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health are inviting residents from parts of Luzerne, Schuylkill and Carbon counties who have been diagnosed with polycythemia vera or related blood disorders to participate in confidential interviews that will be conducted today at Hazleton… Read more
Polycythemia Vera and Social Security Disability
http://www.socialsecurity-disability.org/disabling-conditions/polycythemia-vera-and-social-security-disability Polycythemia Vera (with erythrocytosis, splenomegaly, and leukocytosis or thrombocytosis) – Condition and Symptoms Polycythemia vera is a type of blood disorder which causes the bone marrow to overproduce red blood cells. The condition sometimes also causes the body to produce too many platelets and white blood cells. These disorders cause the blood to thicken,… Read more
Doubt on cancer cluster legislation
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-cancer-cluster-legislation-20110710,0,6315339.story By Andrew McGill, Of The Morning Call 9:57 p.m. EDT, July 10, 2011 Some fear measure, which would create ‘first-responder’ task force, may not be genuine effort to protect public health in Carbon, Schuylkill, Luzerne counties. Merle Wertman has been kept waiting a long time. Eight years ago, doctors diagnosed him with polycythemia vera,… Read more
Coal region still far from finding cause for mysterious cancer
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-tamaqua-cancer-cluster-20110618,0,2997474.story By Andrew McGill, OF THE MORNING CALL 10:35 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2011 Researchers studying a cancer cluster say they’re still mastering the basics in an investigation that’s stretched five years. Five years have passed since federal researchers first came to Pennsylvania’s coal region seeking the origins of a mysterious disease. And while numerous… Read more
Experts discuss likely sources of the rare blood illnesses in the three-county area
http://www.tnonline.com/2011/jun/16/it-radon-fly-ash-or-something-else Thursday, June 16, 2011 By DONALD R. SERFASS dserfass@tnonline.com Is it radon, fly ash or something else? Is radon the culprit in an unusually high number of cases of a rare blood illness in Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties? Or is it fly ash? Or maybe something else? Those possibilities are being examined, along… Read more
What is Polycythemia vera?
http://www.tnonline.com/2011/jun/16/what-polycythemia-vera Thursday, June 16, 2011 By DONALD R. SERFASS dserfass@tnonline.com Polycythemia vera (PV) is a blood disease in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells, causing the thickening of blood. PV usually takes years to develop. Most people are diagnosed with PV later in life, most often around age 60 or older.… Read more
Experts share information on cancer cluster in Tamaqua area
http://republicanherald.com/news/experts-share-information-on-cancer-cluster-in-tamaqua-area-1.1162746 By MIA LIGHT (Staff Writermlight@standardspeaker.com) Published: June 16, 2011 TAMAQUA – Research continues into the high incidence of a rare cancer called polycythemia vera in Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties near Tamaqua and McAdoo. A panel of public health officials met Wednesday at the Tamaqua Community Center to provide a public update on the… Read more