The anger and disappointment from Wednesday night's community cancer forum in Carlsbad has made it's way to city hall.
"Honestly, it was frustrating,"said Carlsbad council member Matt Hall. He was one of the hundreds of residents who showed up for the forum which was held by county health officials.
Hall said he was disappointed with the lack of Q and A between the audience and the health experts who were brought in to talk about the cancer concerns. Others were also upset, especially with Dr. Thomas Mack, who the state has designated to investigate the possible cancer cluster.
Mack told the audience that there was nothing unusual about Carlsbad.
"He was just telling us research from 2000 to 2007, it was making me boil,"said Stacey Quartarone. She and her husband John lost their 16 year old son Chase last December to lymphoma.
They have been pushing for an in depth investigation into what they believe is an unusually high number of cancer cases among adults and children in Carlsbad.
John Quartarone doesn't believe county and state health officials are doing enough to investigate. "The people who are finding out the information aren't finding out current information."
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The Quartarones and other residents believe there has been a spike in the number of cancer cases in recent years. Chase Quartarone was one of four Carlsbad High School students who were diagnosed with lymphoma in the past three years.
The Quartarones also know of at least four students at Kelly Elementary who have died from cancer in the past two years.
Council member Matt Hall left the meeting and immediately spoke to the mayor of Carlsbad who gave the green light for the city to step in.
"We spent the first four hours of the morning figuring out a strategy of how we could bring the community together so we could understand all the questions and start finding the answers and looking at science,"Hall said.
Hall said he will start by getting Representative Brian Bilbray and County Supervisor Bill Horn involved in the investigation.
The city is also planning to bring in more health experts who can look at the air, water and soil for any high levels of contamination.
Hall also said the school district would also be included in the probe.
"I feel relieved, I feel hopeful,"said Stacey Quartarone. "But I don't believe anything anymore until action is taken and I see it."
