A String of Rare Childhood Cancer Cases in This California Suburb Has the Community on Edge
Residents say seven cases were tallied from 2007 to 2024, prompting questions about pesticides, water quality and other possible environmental exposures.
- First Assistant US Attorney Bilal Essayli asked the Environmental Protection Agency in July to investigate whether environmental factors contributed to an unusual cluster of pediatric cancers in Ladera Ranch, a master-planned community of around 26,000 people in Orange County.
- Residents organized as Ladera Health Watch grew alarmed after tallying seven cases of Ewing sarcoma between 2007 and 2024, including at least one per year starting in 2021, prompting concerns about local pesticide use, water quality, and an abandoned oil well.
- The California Department of Public Health told CNN "fewer than 11 cases" of Ewing sarcoma were identified in Ladera Ranch between 1999 and 2023, though Orange County Supervisor Foley noted that private homeowners' associations restrict access to internal maintenance records.
- Frustrated by the pace of official inquiries, residents and volunteer researchers including Cal State Fullerton public health researcher Jennifer Piazza gathered soil and water samples last week to test for heavy metals, lead, arsenic, chromium, and pesticide compounds.
- Families like the Daltons and Mattesons continue advocating for transparency after losing children to Ewing sarcoma, though experts caution that even if studies confirm a cluster, determining a definitive environmental cause remains scientifically complex.
14 Articles
14 Articles
After a 17-year-old boy died of Ewing sarcoma, residents have documented at least six other cases in children and young adults between 2013 and 2024. Brody Matteson, 17, spent the last year of his life in a hell of feeding tubes, blood transfusions, ambulance rides and bone-deep pain. He fought with the courage he had cultivated on the football field for years, but the disease continued to take its toll. He died in March after a 20-month battle…
Ladera Ranch Cancer Cases: What We Know About the Rare Childhood Ewing Sarcoma Investigation
People move to Ladera Ranch for the parks and the quiet. This master-planned community in south Orange County has about 26,000 residents, and its lawns and open spaces span roughly 4,000 acres. Since spring, the Ladera Ranch cancer story has crowded out that reputation. At least six children in the area have been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, and their families want to know why. As of September 21, 2026, nobody has given them…
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