DIPG, which stands for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, has been on the minds of a lot of residents lately. It is a type of brain tumor found in the pons, which is part of the brainstem.
Six-year-old Millee Kate Daugherty was diagnosed on April 16 with DIPG. Since then, the community has rallied to support her fight. A Go Fund Me was created to raise money for her family. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $67,000 towards the $70,000 goal.
On March 7, Whitley County celebrated Waylon Brice Taylor Day, which honored the five-year-old, who also suffered from DIPG. On March 30, community members gathered for his funeral.
Statistically speaking, DIPG cases are rare.
Most DIPG diagnosis occurred between the ages of five and seven years old. DIPG makes up 10-15 percent of all brain tumors in children with approximately 100-300 new diagnoses per year in the United States. The numbers are similar in Europe, according to the DIPG/DMG registry.
So, is there a reason why the tri-counties have seen at least two DIPG cases in recent years?
Local health departments are trying to find out.
“The Knox, Laurel and Whitley County Health Departments are collaborating with the Kentucky Department for Public Health to evaluate cases of DIPG in our region. Together, with the Kentucky Cancer Registry and local healthcare partners, we are gathering crucial information to determine if pediatric cancer rates are unusually high in our communities,” the Whitley County Health Department wrote in a May 1 social media post.
“Rest assured, there is a team working tirelessly to address these concerns. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this important work.”
Whitley County Public Health Director Marcy Rein said the health department started seeing concern increasing about the issue through social media on approximately April 17.
“I reached out to our Kentucky Public Health Environmental Tracking Program to see what the process is to evaluate unusual patterns of cancer,” Rein wrote in an e-mail to the News Journal. “KDPH (Kentucky Department of Public Health) is taking the lead on gathering the details to establish the scope of DIPG in Whitley, Knox and Laurel. From there, a researcher will determine if it is statistically significantly above what would be expected for our population.”
“If that is confirmed, additional work will gather more information to use with partners to analyze any potentially identifiable contributing factors. There are no known environmental factors for DIPG. DIPG usually only affects kids.”
