Families Against Cancer & Toxics

Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review report

SIERRA VISTA — Local residents will soon be learning the results of a Centers for Disease Control study of childhood leukemia in the Sierra Vista area.

The CDC and the Cochise County Health Department will release the results during a session from 6 to 8 p.m. next Thursday at the Regional Service Center, 100 Colonia de Salud, in Sierra Vista.

During the two-hour session, residents may speak one-on-one with CDC experts about the findings, ask questions and share any comments or concerns, the county said.

CDC conducted the study at the request of the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Cochise County Health Department when 11 children in Sierra Vista were diagnosed with leukemia from 1995 to 2003. This is a higher than expected number of cases.

Fourteen Sierra Vista families participated in the study — five families of children with leukemia and nine comparison families that did not have a child with leukemia.

The CDC labs analyzed 128 substances in the blood, urine and cheek swab samples of participants, according to the county Health Department. Genetic testing also was conducted on the samples. Samples were stored for the future in case advances in the science of genetics improves and more tests can be done.

Prior to the public availability session, CDC experts will meet privately with families who participated in the study to give them their individual results and answer questions. Overall results of the study will be released at the Nov. 30 public availability session.

For information on the public availability session, call Karla Jensen, who is with the Cochise County Health Department, at 432-9207.

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