A licensed practical nurse is collecting data for an official research project into “numerous” cases of cancer among children and adults alike in the Amber-Pocasset area.
What’s occurring in Grady County “is not normal,” DaVeda Mc-Cool – who has worked in the medical field for 45 years – told Southwest Ledger. McCool has worked at Grady Memorial Hospital and Southern Plains Clinic in Chickasha, at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, at St. John’s in Tulsa, and in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
During the past decade, she related, “I lost my dad, Ralph Daniel, to Alzheimer's and chronic lymphocytic leukemia; my husband, Keith Mc-Cool, to COVID-19; my mother, Voncille Daniel, to squamous carcinoma and post-Covid side effects.”
Less than two miles northwest of Pocasset “there are six cancer victims: one person with a brain tumor, one woman with ovarian cancer, and one case of melanoma,” McCool said. “Two of my friends had colon, metastasis lung, liver, and lymphatic system cancer, and one had pseudomyxoma peritonei. None are the same type of cancer, and one is known to be rare.”
Traveling down another road “just a few miles from there” are residents with lung, prostate, and colon cancer, she said.
“And when you go to the Amber area, you’ll find testicular cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, leukemia, bone, etc.; the list goes on.”
In the 1990s, McCool said, “Nine students from Am-Po had cancer; most did not survive.” She said she was told that some parents requested an investigation “but nothing happened.”
As for the rest of Grady County, she said, “The stories are horrendous, so many clusters, families, kids with brain tumors, bone cancer and leukemia.”
Two years ago, “while on a long f light from Montana, I met a young man who worked at the Environmental Protection Agency,” she recalled. “I shared my observation of the clusters, types, and various rarities of the cancers. He immediately responded that this needed to be investigated.”
McCool said she “hesitated for a while,” believing she would “open a can of worms.” However, she said, her intent is “not to cause harm or point fingers, but to resolve questions and obtain answers about the different causes [of cancer] and contaminants.”
Carcinogens are “frequently nondetermined until someone steps up and questions what is going on,” she noted. “Each of us has been affected by this illness or knows someone who has. We want to know why so many in our community?”
McCool emailed the Oklahoma Central Cancer Registry in the Oklahoma State Department of Health about her collection of various reports. She said she quickly received a response from Meagan Carter, manager of the Central Cancer Registry in the State Health Department. The research project was accepted, McCool said, because of:
• high incidence rates relative to comparison populations, specifically two times higher or greater;
• specific types of cancer, or those with a common cause;
• possible presence of a hazardous substance or exposure source or pathway that is known to be a potential risk factor for the types of cancer under review.
Information that is being sought includes: the person’s name, type of cancer(s), the patient’s age at the time of the diagnosis, the time period, the patient’s address (at least a ZIP code), and the patient’s place(s) of employment “to assist in forming a pattern of concern,” McCool said.
“I am asking people to tell their story, add a picture, any information that will enhance the inquiry.”
The data will be hand-delivered to Carter at the State Health Department, McCool said.
She hastened to add, “I follow HIPPA guidelines. No information will be released to anyone concerning you or your loved one’s personal or medical information. I do not work for anyone. Your privacy will be honored. This is not a lawsuit. It is an effort to obtain medical information for research about Grady County.”
If you or someone you know has ever been diagnosed with any type of cancer, had a family member diagnosed or a loved one who has died from cancer, “Please complete the information they request,” McCool said. The deadline for submitting the details will be Jan. 1, 2026, she said.
The results will be released to the public when the research is completed, she said.
McCool wrote on Facebook that she anticipates “a backlash to this project.” Nevertheless, “If you have ever suffered or watched a loved one suffer with this disease, please step out and help us find some answers.” Over the years “I have been concerned about health and increased cancer diagnoses and deaths in our community.”
McCool and her husband lived two miles east of Pocasset on her family’s farm, but after his death in the coronavirus pandemic she moved south of there to take care of her 94-year-old uncle, Keith Davidson, whose wife passed away in 2012. “I also farm and ranch north of Chickasha.”
Her contact information is: DaVeda McCool, 2074 County Street 2850, Chickasha, OK 73018; telephone 405-999-2010; email davedamccool3@ gmail.com.