Saturday, May 10, 2014

 Today I was talking to a friend at the beach and as we talked about our home town we keep going back to a fact that was very upsetting to me. Could Bradley Beach be a cancer cluster? We were saying we could name over 100 people who died in Bradley Beach of Cancer  and over 200 who lived here who have had some type of cancer and our now in remission. So I as a good reporter called a couple of friends in the medical field and was told to look up "What does a cancer cluster look like?"

Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases. Each type of cancer has its own risk factors and causes. This is why true cancer clusters very rarely involve more than one type of cancer. For it to be considered a true cluster, it usually must have one of the following characteristics:
  • There are several cases of a rare type of cancer.
  • There are larger than expected numbers of a more common type of cancer.
  • It is a type of cancer that is not usually seen in a certain group of people (for example, children getting a cancer usually seen in adults).
If the excess cancer cases include many different types of cancer over a period of many years, it’s not likely to be a true cancer cluster. And it’s very unlikely to be caused by a single environmental factor or exposure.
It’s also important to remember that cancer is common. Millions of new cases are diagnosed every year. Nearly half of all men and a little over one-third of all women in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetimes. So, it’s fairly common for several people in a relatively small area to develop cancer around the same time.
For most well-documented cancer clusters that were found to be caused by a shared exposure, the exposure took place in the workplace, rather than in the communities where people lived. Workplace exposures may be more likely to cause disease because the level of exposure tends to be higher and last longer than in other settings. The length of exposure is important, because it usually takes many years after exposure for cancer to develop. Workplace exposures can also be easier to identify because the group of exposed people is better defined and easier to trace as compared to groups in the community. This is why the links between cancer and many cancer-causing agents (called carcinogens) are often first found in studies of workers.
Statistics can usually help figure out if a cancer cluster is strictly due to chance. But if the excess number of cases reported in a cancer cluster looks significant based on statistics, it does not mean that they are caused by something unique to that area. Some clustering of cancer cases happens by chance, but people tend to notice and report situations where rates seem to be above average.

Who investigates cancer clusters, and how is it done?

People concerned about a possible cancer cluster can report it to a local or state health department. Procedures vary by state, but most health departments will first ask for information, such as:
  • The type(s) and number of cancers involved
  • Any suspected exposure(s) that might cause cancer
  • The area and time period in which the cases occurred
  • Specific information about each person thought to be affected
  • Specific information about the cancers themselves
After reviewing this information, most of the suspected clusters (as many as 4 of 5) are determined not to be true clusters and no further investigation is done. According to guidelines, some factors that do not support the need for further investigation include:
  • Cancer cases within family members who are blood relatives (especially cancers known to be strongly genetically linked)
  • Different types of cancers not known to be related to one another
  • A few cases of very common cancers, particularly when the people involved are of the usual age and sex for those cancers
  • Cases involving people with cancer who didn’t live in the same place at the time an exposure would have to have taken place to cause that cancer
If the health department feels that the potential cluster should be studied further, they collect more information. They will need to make sure that the cases are cancer and that they know the specific diagnosis. For example, there are several kinds of leukemia, and it is important to know what kind each person has. They also may want to see what risk factors for cancer affect the people involved. This may involve contacting patients or relatives or looking at medical records. The health department will look at the number of cases in the affected area and those nearby to see if there are really more cases than expected. Scientists in the health department may also look at reports in the medical literature to see if other clusters like this have been noted in the past.
If needed, the state or local health department may ask federal agencies for help – they tend to have more resources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the agency most often involved. Other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences (NIEHS), may also help investigate.
Federal agencies may do a more in-depth investigation, including getting more thorough medical histories. These agencies may also take and test samples from the environment (air, soil, drinking water, etc.), especially if there is concern about a specific toxin. They may also test blood or other body fluid samples from both affected and non-affected people.
Suspected cancer clusters can cause a great deal of concern and confusion in a community. It’s very important that government agencies keep members of the community informed from the start of and throughout the investigation. This should include giving people a realistic idea of what may or may not be found.

What are the possible outcomes of a cluster investigation?

It may not be a true cluster.

In many cases, investigators can determine that a “cluster” of cancers isn’t a true cluster. For example, the number of cases may not really be higher than expected when other factors that could explain the increase (such as age, gender, and tobacco use) are taken into account. Or the types of cancer may not be related to each other.

It is a cancer cluster and its cause is found.

Rarely, a true cancer cluster may be confirmed and a cause is identified. At that point, steps can be taken to address it.

A cancer cluster may be found, but no cause can be identified.

Even if investigators believe that it may be a true cluster, it’s important to know that a cause is found very rarely. There are several reasons why this is the case. For example:
Random patterns can form a cluster: Even if the number of cases in an area is higher than expected, it still may not be caused by a single factor or exposure. More cancer cases in the United States are expected in large population centers or in places where the population tends to be older. But even so, for the most part, cancer cases in the United States are spread randomly across the country.
As with any random pattern, there will be more cases than expected in some spots, and fewer cases than expected in others. The areas with more cases than expected are more likely to be noticed. But many of these will be due to the “bull’s-eye effect” (which is something like drawing a target on the wall after the darts have been thrown). Suppose you took a map of the United States and started drawing circles of different sizes in different locations. You would find that some of the circles would contain more cancers than expected, and some would have less. Some of the circles with more cases might be clusters caused by a single carcinogen, but most would be due to chance.
You can see this more clearly on a smaller scale if you look at balls on a pool table. Even if the balls are randomly distributed, there are sections of the table with more and other sections with fewer balls than the average for the whole table.
Random patterns are the most common reason for a cancer cluster with no identified cause.
It is very hard to figure out which of many exposures might be the cause: With rare exceptions, scientists don’t have a way of telling what trigger (if any) may have caused cancer in any one person, whether it’s part of a cluster or not. Humans are not like lab animals – their environments are not strictly controlled. People are exposed to many natural and man-made substances during their lifetimes.
Think about how hard it would be to test for everything you’ve been exposed to, even if you knew where to start. Investigators may have a few clear leads or starting points, but they need to look at all of the possibilities. Finding the one exposure that may be the cause can be like looking for the needle in the haystack.
There is usually a long delay between exposure and cancer: In clusters where the cause is known, mostly in workplace cases, the time between exposure to the substance and the development of cancer has been anywhere from a few years to several decades. Exposures are not likely to cause cancers right away. And again, it’s not easy to study people and their environments.
Suppose a group of people live in a community that has a higher than expected number of cases of a certain type of cancer. If there is a potential cause, investigators first have to figure out when these people were exposed to it. Was it a single event or has it been ongoing? Was it 5 years ago? 10? 20? And what did the people with cancer have in common during that time? Added to this, some people will have moved into the community, while others may have moved away. Should the cases of people who moved into town in recent years be included? And can the people who moved away be found?
The boundaries of the cluster area can be hard to define: Defining the geographic cluster area is not always as clear-cut as one might think it would be. Just how big should the “bull’s eye” be? Should it include only the local neighborhood where most of the cases were found? Or should it also include the larger community, or even nearby communities? These areas may have cases that may or may not be related to the others.
Not everyone who is exposed is likely to develop cancer: To make things even more tricky, people may be more or less prone to getting cancer based on their genes. It’s unlikely that everyone exposed will develop cancer. At the same time, there may be people who were not exposed who develop the same cancer by chance.

Questions may still remain

Scientists do their best to piece the puzzle together when there is a cancer cluster, but more times than not, they don’t find a likely link. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t one; it may just be that one can’t be found with the methods scientists have at the time.
Oftentimes there really isn’t a link, for the reasons noted before, but it’s hard for everyone to feel sure of that. This may be an unsatisfactory answer for people in a community being affected, but it often is the case.

What should I do if I suspect a cancer cluster?

Concern about cancer clusters most often comes up in schools, workplaces, and in certain areas of a community. If you are concerned about a possible cancer cluster, you may want to contact your local or state health department. If you don’t know who to call in your area, the CDC has a list of web links to local and state contacts at www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters/statelocal.htm. (Also see the “To learn more” section.)
Some of your concerns may be relieved by making a phone call. If not, the health department will probably look into doing a brief investigation and then, if needed, will do a more complete review of the situation. For more complex or urgent situations, the health department may also call in experts from the CDC or other agencies to do a more in-depth investigation.
The investigators may be able to figure out with a fair amount of certainty that there is no true cluster, or that there is a true cluster and it is probably caused by a certain exposure. But in many cases, even when it seems there is a cluster, a single cause cannot be found.
Suspected cancer clusters often greatly distress those involved. It’s very important that these situations be handled openly, promptly, and professionally. Even though thorough investigations of potential cancer clusters rarely give clear-cut answers, it’s important that communities keep reporting suspected cancer clusters, and that health organizations respond to those concerns.

To learn more

More information from your American Cancer Society

The following information may also be helpful to you. These materials may be ordered from our toll-free number (1-800-227-2345) or read online at www.cancer.org.

So now the question is could Bradley Beach be a cluster? More to follow as a side note do you know anyone who has died or is in remission from Bradley Beach someone need to keep a list.

Wendy Ella May for the Tatler May 10th 2014

Remember it is also about Survivors We have a beach lets paint it pink for the memory of the people we lost and the survivors who we still have.

Hello friends in Bradley Beach today I am writing from a point of view shared with me by a close friend who wishes her or his name not used, I understand they are fighting cancer and do not wish anyone to just give them things out of fear of losing them.
It was a warm day today and the local group Mary,s Place By The Sea was holding a walk though Bradley Beach and Ocean Grove  http://marysplacewalk2014.dojiggy.com/ng/index.cfm/a51e9aa/regPages/pages/?p=125111 so as my friend, lets call him/her clam digger 1 was sitting near the spot where digger first tried to understand the why of cancer also known as the fletcher lake ocean front area this group of well over 800 walkers went by digger was crying not out of pain, or anger but out of love for a group of people who digger did not even know. Digger was also sad because digger is from a town where they would not even paint a line down the street or put their name on a web site to say remember the fallen heroes of cancer as well as the friends who are surviving, diggers tears were heard by me today as I remember the friends gone and the friends who remain free today of cancer. As we get ready for a summer of visitors lets tell the Mayor and Council in Bradley Beach never again will we let them forget. 
With love I write this in honor of just a few in my life lost to cancer, My Mother, Aunt and Grandfather. Wendy Ella May for The Bradley Beach Tatler. May 10th 2014.


http://www.today.com/id/26184891/vp/47549293#47549293

tutu project

bob loves linda......to be loved this way is unforgettable
The man wears a TuTu for his wife Linda.

Custom T-Shirts for breast cancer awareness walk

Theta Xi by Theta Xi Breast Cancer Walk -

Theta Xi T-Shirt Photo
"This photgraph was taken at the Go Jane Go Breast Cancer Walk in Bradley Beach, NJ on 10/20. Jane is a breast cancer survivor who organizes this annual event to give back to the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, who helped her through her treatment. This event means so much to us because Jane is the mother of one of our brothers, and any family of a brother is family to us all. We all wanted to get our fraternity letters on a shirt and incorporate breast cancer awareness, and it was so easy to do so with CustomInk. "

We have a beach lets paint it pink for the memory of the people we lost and the survivors who we still have.
 So this month, Gaza celebrated Pink October by launching an extensive awareness campaign, calling on women to get early screening and protection. The campaign also featured:


Making the largest pink ribbon in the work, ON GAZA'S BEACH!







And we did! The organization behind this amazing initiative is called the Aid and Hope Program for Cancer Patients Care. It's led by Eman Shannan, a survivor of the disease. Running on a low budget provided by several Palestinian private sector institutions,  the team (75% of the staff are patients or survivors of breast cancer) made the ribbon using a 1.4 kilo long pink cloth, breaking the Guinness Record, on the beach.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Some we have loss to Cancer


Early Detection


Ad's This week support our friends.

Meeting Monday Night at the Perfect Perk 6:30 Feeding Sundays at 4:30 Asbury Park Train Station

Proud Pink Participant Bradley Beach NJ  2014

Proud Pink Participant Bradley Beach NJ  2014

Pink Your Business Participants Bradley Beach

Bradley Beach

Pink Your Business Participants

Ground Round & Bradley Beach Bowl

Pink Business
Address: 1217 Main St.
Call: 732-774-4540
Pink Promotion: 20% off of your check if you are wearing Pink!

The Bradley Beach Tatler

Pink Business
Address: 606 Main Street
(Floor, suite, unit #s): #6
Call: 732-546-5005
Pink Promotion: will paint our online paper pink and run special stories.

The Connolly Agency

Pink Business
Address: 706 Main Street
Call: 732-898-7900
Pink Promotion: decorating window

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Bradley Beach community mourns the loss of our former Mayor and Councilmember Julie Schreck.

The entire Bradley Beach community mourns the loss of our former Mayor and Councilmember Julie Schreck.

Julie passed on Sunday, May 4th after a long and courageous battle.
Julie served as a vital and energetic member of the Bradley Beach Board of Recreation from 2005 to 2007.  She was elected to the Borough Council in May of 2007 and served on the council from July of 2007 until June 30th of 2008.  Julie was elected Mayor of Bradley Beach in May of 2008 and served as our Mayor until the end of 2012.

Julie was a fervent advocate for the arts in Bradley Beach, she founded the Bradley Beach Arts Council, she led the effort for the establishment of a permanent location for the Bradley Beach Historical Museum, she was a strong proponent for the continual strengthening of our critical beach dunes system, she strengthened the borough’s adherence to improved environmental standards and was the elected official who was the key driver behind the establishment of the Maritime Forest.

Julie demonstrated a passion for our town that was only exceeded by her passion for her family.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to them during this difficult time.

The Mayor, Council and Employees of the Borough of Bradley Beach

The arrangement will be at the Ely Funeral Home, 3316 State Hwy. 33, Neptune, NJ  07753
on Saturday, May 10, 2014; 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm
 


The Mayor said last year the cost to paint a small strip was too much.

The Mayor said last year the cost to paint a small strip was too much. But we can spend money on plants, as well as vehicles but not to bring awareness to cancer after this week of loss maybe Mayor Engelstad could put his money where his mouth is.

Tatler goes Pink

About Paint the Town Pink


For the past eight years, Pain the Town Pink has encouraged every woman, 40 and older, to have her annual mammogram. In 2013, Paint the Town Pink was in 23 towns in Monmouth and Ocean counties, with more business and community support than ever before. You can join the mission. Help us encourage women in your community to get their annual mammogram.

Our Mission:

Paint the Town Pink is an annual community-wide effort to raise awareness of the importance of annual mammography.

Our Goals:

To encourage women in our community, aged 40 and older, to have their annual mammogram; to raise money to provide underserved women in our community; and to make a difference in the lives of women in our community.

How We Do It

It takes a village to achieve the mission of Paint the Town Pink, and every year that village has grown with more towns and even more supporters helping to spread the word that “early detection is a woman’s best defense against breast cancer.”
Paint the Town Pink merges a breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment campaign with a fundraising component that raises funds to provide screening mammography to underserved women in our community.

As a member of the community, we have the unique opportunity to integrate an important message into a woman’s daily routine – whether it is in the places she shops and dines; works and lives; or through her community’s schools and community organizations.

Every year in May, as women visit our Pink Partners – local businesses who support the mission of Paint the Town Pink – they are able to pledge to have their annual mammogram, learn about the importance of early detection and annual mammography, and if they choose support another woman’s mammography through the Pink Fund.

Get Involved: Make an IMPACT

Each year Paint the Town Pink continues to grow. As we grow, more and more lives are touched in very meaningful ways. This is the IMPACT that “Pink” makes in our community.
IMPACT Pink is what you make it, through your support and participation (no matter how big or small) you can make a difference in someone else’s life, even your own. Here are a few examples of how you can IMPACT Pink:

  • Become a Volunteer
  • Become a Pink Partner
  • Become a Sponsor
  • Attend an Event
  • “Pink Your Ride”
  • Make a donation
  • Spread the message of Paint the Town Pink in your community
  • Pledge to have your annual mammogram


Get Behind Paint the Town Pink

Visit our interactive Paint the Town Pink web site at PaintTheTownPink.com, where you can read more about the history of Paint the Town Pink, view pictures from previous events, and join our mailing list so you are connected to the 411 on Pink.

Good Bye Jukie

To the people of Bradley Beach Darkness hangs over us again. We lost a lady that gave us hope, even know I did not always agree Rest In Peace Former Mayor Julie Shreck To her family May the tears of our town help you heal for no one should be gone so soon.