Cancer at MCPS schools
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Anonymous
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How many cases of cancer have you had in teachers and staff at your school?
18 |
Anonymous
| What?? |
Anonymous
| Over how many years? |
Anonymous
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This is such a random question. Just asking for numbers doesn't really tell much. What kind of cancer? What ages are the teachers/staff? How many staff members are there? How many cases over a span of how many years?
However, at my school where we have a staff of approximately 60 people, 4 staff members have/had cancer. I've been at my school for 8 years. One of the staff members had cancer before I started working here, one got diagnosed after retiring, and two staff members currently have it (one breast cancer, one skin cancer). All older staff members (50s). |
Anonymous
3 - 4 years |
Anonymous
| I have no idea whether that is high or not, but has a suspected cancer cluster been reported to the MD department of health? They are supposed to look into suspected clusters to find out if something is causing it or it's just random. |
Anonymous
| Is this close in MoCo? What types? |
Anonymous
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Bethesda Elementary had a spate of breast cancer years ago, among the teachers and spouses of teachers. It was all women of child-bearing age who had medications to stimulate ovulation. There is no proven association between cancer and artificial ovulation stimulation, but it needs to be studied, because there are suspect links. |
Anonymous
Our ES had another cancer believed to be caused by fertility treatments. That’s the only cancer I’m aware of. I’m sure there were plenty I don’t know. If something is fixed just surgically, people often don’t share. |
Anonymous
| None that I’m aware of/were public. We’ve been in MCPS for 12 years. I imagine there have been some private diagnoses. |
Anonymous
| I have cancer. There are three other cases that I have known of at my current school in the past 5 years; 4 cases at my prior school over 6 years; and 9 cases at my first school over 4 years. However, no overlap in diagnoses and most were not lifestyle-induced cancers (not melanoma or lung cancer). |
Anonymous
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I think there is a lot about people wanting to find a "cause" to blame for the cancer, to avoid feeling so scared and helpless themselves.
I say this, as someone who had a childhood/young adult cancer thats very much not heritable or environmental. People constantly, constantly asked me about that, I am sure to try to put themselves at ease. |
Anonymous
I’m the poster above you and I agree. My great-aunt was obsessed with grilling members of my family about possible causes of their cancers. We’ve all had different types. Nothing seems hereditary. Only commonality is stress. I reminded her that even pets and plants develop cancer. If we live long enough, everyone gets cancer. |
Anonymous
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Older MCPS buildings have asbestos. At our W elementary, there once was a pipe leak that caused mold after a snow storm. Staff and children were in the building while custodians cleaned up the moldy asbestos ceiling tiles by hand with no protective gear.
It would be in the public interest to keep data of cases of cancer for MCPS staff and students. |
Anonymous
Yeah, it would be nice if people just answered the question. |