NDCA

They just want answers.

All they get are more questions.

Ever since a cluster of childhood cancer cases in the Clyde-Green Springs area was brought to the attention of local and state health officials, parents have demanded answers.

Several of those Clyde-area families met with officials from the Sandusky County Health Department, Ohio Health Department and Ohio EPA this week with the hopes of finally finding out why their children were afflicted by cancer. They were disappointed.

Warren Brown said he’s still waiting to hear what caused his 9-year-old daughter, Alexa, to get brain cancer.

“Did it get us answers? No.” Brown said. “Do I think there are ever going to be answers? No. I’m just being realistic.”

From 2001 to 2006, there were 18 cases of childhood cancer in Clyde and the nearby village of Green Springs.

Aside from location, the cancer cases do not appear to follow any particular pattern, Sandusky County Health Commissioner David Pollick said.

“The parents want answers and we’re trying to study the issue as much as we can and hope something emerges and nothing has,” Pollick said.

The number of cancer cases in Clyde is higher than the national average and a cause for concern, Ohio Health Department spokesman Kristopher Weiss said.

Weiss said the health department looked at environmental factors such as air, soil and water quality to see if they could have contributed to the cases.

“The initial examination does not appear to show an environmental smoking gun,” Weiss said.

Data does not indicate the children were exposed to cancer-causing chemicals.

Ohio EPA spokeswoman Dina Pierce also said that environmental factors did not appear to play a role.

Weiss said there have been other places in Ohio with a high number of cancer cases without an environmental factor. He said that about 3 percent of cancer cases are a result of environmental factors.

“I can assure you that we at the Ohio Health Department will continue to try and address the issue,” Weiss said.

But Pollick said there are no promises that they’ll identify the cause.

“We’ve been straightforward with them,” he said. “It’s a hard reality. We understand … we’re parents, too.”

Pollick said it could be another month before additional information is available.

Brown said his daughter has gone through radiation and chemotherapy treatments, but is not quite in remission yet.

“It is what it is,” Brown said. “We’re all dealt a hand in life and you just deal with it the best you can.”

AT A GLANCE

*THE ISSUE: From 2001-06, there have been 18 cases of childhood cancer in the Clyde-Green Springs area.

*WHAT’S NEW: The Ohio Health Department officials said an initial examination indicates that environmental factors are not a cause of the cancer. A cause for the cancer has not yet been identified.

*WHAT’S NEXT: The Sandusky County Health Department will be meeting with families in the next month to provide more information.