The Huron County Health Unit is investigating if Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township has higher cancer rates than normal.
The health unit received a concern from a resident about the number of people with cancer in the area, says epidemiologist Erica Clark.
Huron County does not have higher than normal cancer rates, but these rates are not broken down by township.
Clark says there are four steps to a cancer cluster investigation.
“We are starting the first step, which is to gather information from residents who have lived in the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh for at least five years and who have had a cancer diagnosis.”
Residents who meet these criteria are asked to call Clark at the health unit at 519-482-3416 or email her at eclark@huroncounty.ca before Feb. 28.
To be considered a cancer cluster, the individuals with cancer must be diagnosed with a type of cancer or group of cancers that share a common causal pathway. Clark says not all cancers are related even if they appear to be.
There must be sufficient evidence at each step to proceed with the investigation, she says.
The next three steps of an investigation look at the types of cancer, whether they are related and if there is any association between the cancers and environmental causes. In the experience of Cancer Care Ontario and its U.S. counterpart, very few investigations of suspected cancer clusters reach step three.
“It is important that we do everything we can to investigate whether a cancer cluster exists in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township,” Clark says.
