Department of Health denies cancer cluster in 17-page report

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — Channel 11 is digging through a 17-page report from the Department of Health on its investigation into a "cancer cluster" in one Washington County neighborhood.

The DOH has concluded there is not a statistically higher number of Ewing's sarcoma cases in the Canonsburg area, compared to the rest of the state.

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The detailed report also gives statistics on all cancers and childhood cancers in the same area, including radiation related cancers.

The state looked at data from 1985 to 2017 and compared the incidence rate of Ewing’s sarcoma in Washington County to the rest of the country.

“Ewing sarcoma cancer rates in Washington County and Canon McMillan school district were NOT consistently and statistically significantly higher than expected,” the report said. “There are no conclusive findings that the rates are higher than the rest of the state over the time periods reviewed.”

But some people say that doesn't go far enough. Mitch Barton and others weren't diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma until 2018.

"I think it was a bit premature they left out Mitchell and another gentleman from Canonsburg. They were the 2018 statistic," Mitch's Barton's mother, Christine Barton, said.

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