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A String of Rare Childhood Cancer Cases in This California Suburb Has the Community on Edge
Residents say seven cases were tallied from 2007 to 2024, prompting questions about pesticides, water quality and other possible environmental exposures.
- First Assistant US Attorney Bilal Essayli asked the Environmental Protection Agency in July to investigate whether environmental factors contributed to an unusual cluster of pediatric cancers in Ladera Ranch, a master-planned community of around 26,000 people.
- Residents organized as Ladera Health Watch are examining potential links between the suburb's cancer cases and local environmental factors, including pesticide use, water quality, and an abandoned oil well beneath a sidewalk.
- The California Department of Public Health identified "fewer than 11 cases" of Ewing sarcoma in Ladera Ranch between 1999 and 2023, though Orange County Supervisor Foley noted that private homeowners' associations restrict access to internal maintenance records.
- Frustrated by delays, residents and volunteer researchers led by Cal State Fullerton public health researcher Jennifer Piazza gathered soil and water samples last week to test for heavy metals, lead, arsenic, chromium, and pesticide compounds.
- Families like the Daltons and Mattesons continue advocating for transparency after losing children to Ewing sarcoma, though experts caution that even if studies confirm a cluster, determining a definitive environmental cause remains scientifically complex.
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13 Articles
13 Articles
After a 17-year-old boy died of Ewing sarcoma, residents have documented at least six other cases in children and young adults between 2013 and 2024. Brody Matteson, 17, spent the last year of his life in a hell of feeding tubes, blood transfusions, ambulance rides and bone-deep pain. He fought with the courage he had cultivated on the football field for years, but the disease continued to take its toll. He died in March after a 20-month battle…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources13
Leaning Left0Leaning Right1Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Center
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources are Center
92% Center
C 92%
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