Parris Island Marine Families Question Cause of Cancer in Their Children

Marine family wonders if child's cancer could be linked to Lowcountry military housing
WJCL News
Meghan Schiller
Jan 15, 2017

A Marine wife created a video last week in effort to warn and educate other military families living on or nearby Beaufort's Laurel Bay Housing. The mother, Amanda Whatley, believes there is the potential for those living in the area to develop cancer and other health problems.

A Marine wife created a video last week in effort to warn and educate other military families living on or nearby Beaufort's Laurel Bay Housing. The mother, Amanda Whatley, believes there is the potential for those living in the area to develop cancer and other health problems.

The Lowcountry military housing neighborhood, filled with Marine families stationed at Parris Island or MCAS Beaufort, is now under the national microscope.

The Whatley family lived in Beaufort from July 2007 to November 2010, according to her Youtube video. In the video, Watley talks about her daughter Katie's fight with cancer. She says that Katie is one of 8 children that she knows of that have been diagnosed since living at Laurel Bay.

Whatley recently posted an update to her Youtube post, saying that the number of children with cancer has grown from 8 to 13.
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Laurel Bay Military Housing and Kids with Cancer
Amanda Whatley
Published on Jan 7, 2017

***Edited to add.....The number of children with cancer has grown from 8 to 13 since the video went live. I have also received emails from at least 20 adults who were stationed in Beaufort and then diagnosed with cancer. I expect that number is actually exponentially higher. The only thing I wish I could add to the video is that we are not certain that the oil tanks are the issue. We have asked the Marine Corps to check a list of contaminated areas on Laurel Bay, Parris Island, and MCAS Beaufort. ***

This video is meant to serve as a public service announcement to all families that have been stationed at MCRD Parris Island or MCAS Beaufort and lived in the Laurel Bay military housing community. In the last several years, 8 children (that we know of so far) that lived at Laurel Bay have been diagnosed with cancer. Please share this video with the Marine Corps and Navy families you know that have lived there.

If your child has been diagnosed with cancer and you were stationed in Beaufort, please contact me at courage4katie@gmail.com