Parents in an affluent Orange County enclave say newly disclosed California cancer data has intensified their concerns that prolonged pesticide use in the area may be connected to a troubling pattern of rare childhood cancers.
In Ladera Ranch, families have been pressing local and state officials for months to examine whether environmental conditions could have contributed to what they describe as an unusually high number of Ewing sarcoma cases among children in the community.
Public health authorities have stressed that no confirmed connection has been found, but residents say the newest figures leave them with more uncertainty than reassurance.
According to the California Cancer Registry, fewer than 11 Ewing sarcoma cases were recorded in Ladera Ranch over the 10-year span ending in 2021.
For many local parents, however, that snapshot no longer reflects what they believe is happening on the ground.
The registry figures do not account for several diagnoses reported after 2021, including that of 17-year-old Brody Matteson, who died in March 2026 following a fight with the rare cancer that affects bone and soft tissue.
“Has that number grown?” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley asked in an interview with CBS. “If it has grown, has it grown to a significant incident that it would be a cause for alarm. We need answers so that we can plan. So that we can protect the public health.”
Foley said she has made repeated requests for more specific data, including a geographic map showing where Ewing sarcoma cases have appeared across Orange County, but said she has yet to receive one.
“There are 35 cases in Orange County as of 2021,” she said. “I have asked multiple times, can we get a map that shows that pinpoints where these 35 cases are in Orange County? So far, no one has been able to get me that information.”
Instead of easing fears, the state’s numbers have left residents demanding even more answers.
Many families have pointed to years of pesticide and herbicide use throughout the sprawling master-planned community as a possible environmental factor.
Authorities, however, have not found evidence linking those chemicals to the cancer cases.
“It seems like it’s an unreal number of kids sick,” resident Karen Smith told CBS. “We want to know what is the true cause.”
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Ewing sarcoma is among the rarest childhood cancers, affecting only about 200 to 240 children and teens nationwide each year, according to the American Cancer Society.
The disease has devastated families across Ladera Ranch.
Twenty-three-year-old Lily Dalton died in January after battling Ewing sarcoma.
Her father, Brian Dalton, has publicly asked, “Why are so many young children and adults developing incredibly rare cancers in the same community?”
Brody Matteson’s family said his battle began after he complained of persistent back pain shortly before his 16th birthday.
Doctors later discovered the cancer had developed on his spine.
“He was an outdoor kid. There was a time to be outside, that was Brody,” his mother, Megan Matteson, told NBC Los Angeles. “He was out on his bike, out at the park. They were building bike jumps. He was out at all the parks around Ladera.”
The concerns have also spread beyond Ewing sarcoma.
Jessica Keetch said her 18-year-old daughter, Haven, lost her leg after developing synovial sarcoma, another rare cancer that affects fewer than 1,000 Americans each year.
The growing alarm has now drawn federal attention.
First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli has asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to investigate whether environmental factors could be contributing to what residents believe may be a cancer cluster, and whether any federal environmental laws have been violated.
“My office has been made aware of recent reports of multiple pediatric Ewing sarcoma cases within the Ladera Ranch community. Residents are raising concerns about a potential cancer cluster and whether environmental factors may warrant further evaluation,” Essayli wrote in a letter obtained by The California Post.
At the same time, Bond Legal has launched its own investigation, seeking information from families whose children lived in or regularly visited Ladera Ranch and were diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma or other rare childhood cancers.
The firm said it plans to examine possible environmental exposures, including historical pesticide and herbicide applications, soil and groundwater conditions, former agricultural land use and other potential hazards.
