Foundation disbanding after helping cancer families

FALLON -- A foundation formed to provide financial assistance to families of children involved in a Fallon childhood leukemia cluster is disbanding June 30, 2 1/2 years after the last case was diagnosed.

Fallon Families First raised more than $200,000 through donations and grants to help all affected families in its six years of existence, said foundation president Jennifer Tedford.

The nonprofit is shutting its doors as the Nevada State Health Division is winding down operations regarding the cluster, she added.

"We received letters and monies from all over the country," Tedford told the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard newspaper. "The families were really touched by the generosity of people."

Since 1997, 17 children with ties to Fallon have been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Three have died. Health officials say about one leukemia case in five years would be expected.

Various agencies covered some of their treatment costs. The foundation assisted families in areas not covered.

The foundation's remaining $25,000 will go to the family of the most recent leukemia case. The child, who was diagnosed in December 2004, is still undergoing treatment in Oakland, Calif.

"There is nothing better in life than helping people," Tedford said. "The whole thing was life-changing."

Research has suggested that toxins and genetics play a role in the cancer cluster plaguing the town 60 miles east of Reno, but the cause remains a mystery. In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta released a study that found children in the cluster are more likely to have a variation in a gene that helps combat unsafe chemicals.