'Unusual Cluster' of Rare Child Cancer Cases Triggers Calls for Investigation
Families in Ladera Ranch, California, have experienced a nightmare that they believe could involve toxic chemicals from pesticides.
Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, wants the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the matter and determine whether environmental factors explain why so many children in that community have developed rare forms of cancer.
“There has been an unusual cluster of pediatric cancers in the Ladera Ranch community,” Essayli wrote Thursday on the social media platform X.
Essayli asked that the EPA “conduct an appropriate investigation into whether there are any environmental causes, and whether any federal environmental laws are implicated.”
A letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accompanied the post.
“My office has been made aware of recent reports of multiple pediatric Ewing sarcoma cases within the Ladera Ranch community,” Essayli wrote.
“Residents are raising concerns about a potential cancer cluster and whether environmental factors may warrant further evaluation. At least six children have been diagnosed with this rare bone and soft-tissue cancer, with one 17-year-old, Brody Matteson, dying after complications during treatment.”
There has been an unusual cluster of pediatric cancers in the Ladera Ranch community. I am requesting that @EPA conduct an appropriate investigation into whether there are any environmental causes, and whether any federal environmental laws are implicated. pic.twitter.com/DkRKlZUQ6L
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) July 17, 2026
Indeed, according to KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, the rare cancer cases, as of Wednesday, had reached roughly a dozen.
That has made parents like Jessica Keetch desperate for answers.
“I think people need to listen and wake up and realize something is happening to our children,” Keetch said. “This is not random.”
Keetch’s 18-year-old daughter, Haven, developed a rare cancer called synovial sarcoma. As a result, the teenager had her right foot amputated.
“I’ll always remember the day,” Keetch said. “I’ll cry thinking about it because it’s the worst day for a parent you can ever have.”
Megan Matteson, mother of Brody, who passed away in March, recalled the community’s reaction to her son’s cancer diagnosis.
“To have three families that just contacted me right away after Brody was diagnosed was helpful but scary at the same time,” she said.
Of course, no one knows for certain whether environmental factors caused these rare cancers.
The parents, however, have their suspicions.
“These are our children. These are our babies,” Keetch said. “I raised my children in Ladera, thinking it’s safe. Maybe there’s no safe community, but if we can do better, we need to do better.”
No matter the cause, the Ladera Ranch pediatric cancer cluster appears statistically unfathomable.
According to KNBC-TV, which cited the American Cancer Society, each year only about 200 to 240 children and teens nationwide develop Ewing sarcoma.
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