Fw: Leukemia cluster raises mental health concerns

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Subject: Leukemia cluster raises mental health concerns

: You have been emailed a link to a story from the RJ Online, the Web site

of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It was sent (Saturday, July 14, 2001 at

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: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jul-13-Fri-2001/news/16530993.html

Leukemia cluster raises mental health concerns

By SIOBHAN MCDONOUGH

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FALLON -- While dozens of scientific experts seek the cause of a leukemia

cluster plaguing this small northwest Nevada town, others are analyzing the

mental health needs of stressed-out residents.

" It's clear there's a great deal of anxiety, " state Health Officer

Guinan said Thursday. " People here are feeling all sorts of things -- fear,

anger, frustration, guilt -- and each time there's a new case, the stress

level goes up. "

Officials met in Fallon to discuss the fallout -- from a mental health

standpoint -- from a leukemia cluster that continues to puzzle scientists

and frighten residents. Since 1997, 14 children with ties to the Navy and

farming town have been diagnosed with the disease, mainly acute lymphocytic

leukemia or ALL. One of them recently died.

The two-day workshop involves mental health and law enforcement personnel,

physicians, business leaders, local and state officials, social workers,

pastors and others trying to identify the stresses linked to the leukemia

cluster.

" People here are feeling fearful of the unknown, guilt, helplessness,

frustration, anger, and a loss of control, " Guinan said. " The idea is to

bring the control back into people's lives. We need to ask them what they

need and get the right resources to them. "

Workshop participants said children fear they'll be the next ones diagnosed

with leukemia; parents are anxious to learn what they can do to protect

their children; victims' families are frustrated by the lack of any known

cause; and business owners and employees are worried about the economic

effects and whether they'll be out of jobs and unable to support their

families.

" Stressors can lead to serious problems like depression, suicide, " Guinan

said. " We're trying not to let them go to the next step. "

There's no evidence of similar mental health evaluations in other

communities hit by cancer clusters, Guinan said, adding " We have no

blueprint. We're developing it as we go. "

Crowe, chief of planning and evaluation in the state Division of

Mental Health and Developmental Services, noted the challenges in developing

a model that other communities may be able to use in similar public health

situations.

" The state has a disaster response plan for floods, wildfires, airline

crashes and earthquakes, " he said. " But there's no cancer cluster response

model. "

a Lindeman, a licensed counselor and school administrator, attended

the workshop to learn some tools that will help her alleviate students'

concerns.

" People have gone through all of the stages -- anger, denial, grieving --

seeing this happen to our families, our community, " she said. " There's a

sense of anxiety hanging over us because we don't know when it's going to

end. "

During the workshop, officials emphasized the importance of informing the

public about mental health issues.

" The whole community is affected and having a variety of emotions, " said

Crowe. " We need to get the word out that depression isn't a dirty word, and

it doesn't just happen to others. "