A mysterious rise in cancer among young alumni at a Virginia university has led to five times more diagnoses than the national average, prompting an investigation.
More than a dozen former students who graduated from Roanoke College in Salem between 2011 and 2019 have been diagnosed with cancer, according to research by Air mail.
On May 13, Ida Peterson Hardon became the fifth Roanoke student to die from cancer in the last three years, and one of at least 16 diagnosed since 2010.
The small liberal arts school has fewer than 2,000 students total.
That makes the cancer rate among alumni five times higher than that of young people aged 20 to 29 in the country. It also makes the mortality rate 15 times higher.
On May 13, Ida Peterson Hardon became the fifth Roanoke student to die from cancer in the last three years, and one of at least 16 diagnosed since 2010.
More than a dozen alumni who graduated from Roanoke College in Salem between 2011 and 2019 have been diagnosed with cancer.
According to Air Mail reports, there is a 1.5 in 100 million chance of this rate of cancer occurring naturally. While cancer among young Americans is increasing overall, the analysis explains the increase nationally.
“There is a strange anomaly in the occurrence of cancer among Roanoke students,” said Boris Reva, associate professor in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Mount Sinai.
Following the article’s publication, the school assured students that it is safe, but added that it will work with an environmental services company to investigate the claims out of an abundance of caution.
Peterson died after a years-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia, a form of cancer usually found in people in their 70s.
Before he died, he wrote: ‘I have fought a lot but nothing worked and unfortunately I have no options… I am 33 years old and I am being directed to palliative care… Thank you all for your friendship. See you on the other side.”
Chloe Svolos Baldwin, Class of 2015, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019.
Peterson died after a years-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer usually found in people in their 70s. She is seen with her college boyfriend while she is in remission.
By then, she had already watched her former classmate Kalee Perry and Kelsey Palmer from the Class of 2016 battle non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Wilms tumor, a rare pediatric cancer.
“At first we thought this must be a coincidence,” Baldwin told AirMail.
But then he began to think that “something was happening here…it was just strange that three girls from Roanoke who were a year apart were…diagnosed.”
Several teachers, including Sandee McGlaun, have also been diagnosed with cancer in recent years; She died in 2021 from breast cancer.
She was the second English professor in a department of about 15 people to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, which accounts for only 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancers.
After learning of additional cancer diagnoses among alumni, Baldwin approached the Virginia Department of Health in 2021 to request an investigation of the cancer cluster, but her request was denied.
Chloe Svolos Baldwin, Class of 2015, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019.
By then, Baldwin had already seen several of his former colleagues battle rare cancers.
Since then, Baldwin, now in remission, has embarked on a mission to sound the alarm about what she says is a worrying situation.
The VDH said the cases would not qualify as a cancer cluster because they were not the same type of cancer.
Since then, Baldwin, now in remission, has embarked on a mission to sound the alarm about what she says is a worrying situation.
“We were all healthy 20-somethings diagnosed with cancer,” she said in a viral TikTok video last year.
‘What about all these other kids who are at this university and are potentially exposed? Nobody cares? It matters to me.’
Roanoke vice president of marketing and communications Rita Farlow told AirMail: “The VDH, the official investigative body in such cases, has communicated to Roanoke College that there is no evidence of concern about rising cancer rates or a cluster of cancer in our university community.
Kyle Rohweder, Class of 2019, Died of Rare Soft Tissue Sarcoma in 2022
Kelsey Palmer, Class of 2016, died after being diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a rare pediatric cancer.
Farlow denied the existence of any environmental problems affecting the school, but said Roanoke is aware of a mold problem.
However, he added that “testing has never found toxic mold and has never revealed an amount of mold spores inside greater than the amount detected in the air outside the building.”
In a statement to students, the school said: “After many conversations with public health professionals, epidemiologists, and physicians about cancer incidence rates, we have absolutely no evidence to show that Roanoke College is anything other than a place safe to live, work and learn.
‘We also believe that the evidence indicates that the incidence of cancer among our graduates is no higher than that of the general population.
Marie Adams, Class of 2018, was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer five days before her 2022 wedding.
‘However, given that the journalist in the article is implying a causal relationship between Roanoke College and cancer, I can understand how that might lead one to ask, “Is Roanoke College safe?”
‘The health and safety of all those who call Roanoke College home have always been this community’s most important priority; It remains that way today. Still, I recognize that an article like this provokes the kind of anxiety and concern that deserves more concrete evaluation.
‘It is for this reason, and out of an abundance of caution, that Roanoke College has retained an esteemed, national, independent environmental services company that will help us address this issue in a scientific and data-driven manner.
‘The company will soon begin its work, which may involve collaborating with an independent epidemiologist and scientists from the Virginia Department of Health to gather additional information. Our consultants are experts in their field and will help us determine our next steps.’
