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OT - Health Question for 1960s/70s PSU Alumni

Nittson72

New Member
Jan 3, 2023
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Hi everyone,

I realize this post is a little off-topic for PSU football and will be somewhat of a downer/serious thread...but I have a health question for those of you who attended PSU in the 1960s or 1970s.

For background, my father (Penn State-UP class of 1972) was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He never smoked and rarely drank, so he was not seriously at-risk for this type of cancer. He is now the third of his five Penn State roommates to have developed esophageal cancer. The other two that were diagnosed were also non-smokers. After the second friend's diagnosis, they all chalked it up to coincidence, but with my dad being the third diagnosis within this close group of five friends who lived together, we now have some very raised eyebrows. Unfortunately, this potentially points to what they may have been exposed to within their housing conditions as Penn State students since that is the one commonality across them.

My dad and these other men lived in Shunk Hall and then at Collegiate Arms Apartments (218 South Sparks Street). My family is interested in if anyone else who lived in those residencies around the same period also unfortunately developed a similar condition, or maybe if the posters on this site have any anecdotes with relatives who lived there. This could very well purely be coincidental...but if others may have experienced the same thing, we'd like to hear about it.

You can message me directly if you'd like.
 
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Hi everyone,

I realize this post is a little off-topic for PSU football and will be somewhat of a downer/serious thread...but I have a health question for those of you who attended PSU in the 1960s or 1970s.

For background, my father (Penn State-UP class of 1972) was just diagnosed esophageal cancer. He never smoked and rarely drank, so he was not seriously at-risk for this type of cancer. He is now the third of his five Penn State roommates to have developed esophageal cancer. The other two that were diagnosed were also non-smokers. After the second friend's diagnosis, they all chalked it up to coincidence, but with my dad being the third diagnosis within this close group of five friends who lived together, we now have some very raised eyebrows. Unfortunately, this potentially points to what they may have been exposed to within their housing conditions as Penn State students since that is the one commonality across them.

My dad and these other men lived in Shunk Hall and then at Collegiate Arms Apartments (218 South Sparks Street). My family is interested in if anyone else who lived in those residencies around the same period also unfortunately developed a similar condition, or maybe if the posters on this site have any anecdotes with relatives who lived there. This could very well purely be coincidental...but if others may have experienced the same thing, we'd like to hear about it.

You can message me directly if you'd like.
Wow, three out of five certainly raises suspicions. But it goes beyond living quarters. What were their majors? Did they have exposure in lab work? What about careers/jobs? Or home towns with pollution sources?

Don’t know who to talk to….some environmental expert? Epidemiologist? As for finding others fromShunk or the apartments, try reaching out to the alumni association and ask for people who lived there in that time period. Ask about five years prior and five years afterwards. If there was some exposure to some carcinogen it is unlikely to have been just a year for two.
 
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Hi everyone,

I realize this post is a little off-topic for PSU football and will be somewhat of a downer/serious thread...but I have a health question for those of you who attended PSU in the 1960s or 1970s.

For background, my father (Penn State-UP class of 1972) was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He never smoked and rarely drank, so he was not seriously at-risk for this type of cancer. He is now the third of his five Penn State roommates to have developed esophageal cancer. The other two that were diagnosed were also non-smokers. After the second friend's diagnosis, they all chalked it up to coincidence, but with my dad being the third diagnosis within this close group of five friends who lived together, we now have some very raised eyebrows. Unfortunately, this potentially points to what they may have been exposed to within their housing conditions as Penn State students since that is the one commonality across them.

My dad and these other men lived in Shunk Hall and then at Collegiate Arms Apartments (218 South Sparks Street). My family is interested in if anyone else who lived in those residencies around the same period also unfortunately developed a similar condition, or maybe if the posters on this site have any anecdotes with relatives who lived there. This could very well purely be coincidental...but if others may have experienced the same thing, we'd like to hear about it.

You can message me directly if you'd like.
I lived in Shunk Hall 1966 - 1967, Then in the Nittany Barracks and Porter Hall i 1967 - 1968. I have not had any cancer related illnesses. I still see my roommate from Shunk and has been healthy. I am not in touch with anyone else from those dorms.

Two points about that era. First, a lot of students did smoke so there was always second hand around. Second, there was very little pot being smoked even through 1971 when I graduated so I doubt there was any drug exposure.

However, I believe there was a research building just east of the Pollock dorms where there was a nuclear reactor.

Hope your father recovers well.
 
The probability of unbelievably improbable clusters of illnesses is very, very high.

I'll let you all think about that for a while before clarifying.

My sympathies to the OP and his family.
 
Hi everyone,

I realize this post is a little off-topic for PSU football and will be somewhat of a downer/serious thread...but I have a health question for those of you who attended PSU in the 1960s or 1970s.

For background, my father (Penn State-UP class of 1972) was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He never smoked and rarely drank, so he was not seriously at-risk for this type of cancer. He is now the third of his five Penn State roommates to have developed esophageal cancer. The other two that were diagnosed were also non-smokers. After the second friend's diagnosis, they all chalked it up to coincidence, but with my dad being the third diagnosis within this close group of five friends who lived together, we now have some very raised eyebrows. Unfortunately, this potentially points to what they may have been exposed to within their housing conditions as Penn State students since that is the one commonality across them.

My dad and these other men lived in Shunk Hall and then at Collegiate Arms Apartments (218 South Sparks Street). My family is interested in if anyone else who lived in those residencies around the same period also unfortunately developed a similar condition, or maybe if the posters on this site have any anecdotes with relatives who lived there. This could very well purely be coincidental...but if others may have experienced the same thing, we'd like to hear about it.

You can message me directly if you'd like.
I am PSU Class of 1974. Had cancer last year. Lived in Holmes Hall from 1971 thru 1972 and then off campus. Mine was at the base of my tongue so in the same general area. My specialist - also a PSU grad - said my generation was subject to the HPV virus which lives in our bodies until activated. Mostly in men. 30 per cent become active. Martina Navratilova has it now. Had 3 chemo treatments over 9 weeks and then surgery. All clear now. My advice have a really good doctor and ask every question you can think of. Friend of mine who lived down the hall from me had exactly the same thing last year. He came out okay to. Mine spread to my lymph nodes and stopped there. Your father's could have spread to his esophagus. Prayers and best wishes to your father.
 
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Hi everyone,

I realize this post is a little off-topic for PSU football and will be somewhat of a downer/serious thread...but I have a health question for those of you who attended PSU in the 1960s or 1970s.

For background, my father (Penn State-UP class of 1972) was just diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He never smoked and rarely drank, so he was not seriously at-risk for this type of cancer. He is now the third of his five Penn State roommates to have developed esophageal cancer. The other two that were diagnosed were also non-smokers. After the second friend's diagnosis, they all chalked it up to coincidence, but with my dad being the third diagnosis within this close group of five friends who lived together, we now have some very raised eyebrows. Unfortunately, this potentially points to what they may have been exposed to within their housing conditions as Penn State students since that is the one commonality across them.

My dad and these other men lived in Shunk Hall and then at Collegiate Arms Apartments (218 South Sparks Street). My family is interested in if anyone else who lived in those residencies around the same period also unfortunately developed a similar condition, or maybe if the posters on this site have any anecdotes with relatives who lived there. This could very well purely be coincidental...but if others may have experienced the same thing, we'd like to hear about it.

You can message me directly if you'd like.
Had two neighbors just over the mountain from Penn State die of this type of cancer within the last few months. One was young in his early 50’s. Other in his 80’s but they literally lived a football field apart. Weird.
 
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