In Gary, Indiana, there is growing concern about the link between pollution from local steel mills and increasing cancer rates among residents. Environmental groups and medical professionals are investigating whether the high levels of toxins released by regional steel production plants impact public health. One resident, Beryl Fitzpatrick, shares her struggle with Stage 3 tongue cancer, highlighting her concerns about pollution's role in her disease. Health experts have expressed that the area's pollution significantly contributes to such health challenges, echoing the experiences of many residents exposed to harmful industrial emissions.
"It's almost certain that her place of residence, with the high pollution and other industrial output contributed to her cancer," said Dr. Kerstin Stenson, lead of the head and neck cancer program at Rush University Medical Center who's been treating Fitzpatrick.
"I had to learn phonics. I had to learn, I had to learn words and sounds," she said. "It was humbling."
"A lot of the teachers would talk about students that had asthma," Fitzpatrick said.
Pollutants you can see, and tiny particulates you can't, come from different types of industry in the Gary region.
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