I am a primary school teacher and was diagnosed with breast cancer in Feb 07. I have just finished chemo and will start rads on Nov 6th.
Today I saw a colleague from school who was also diagnosed with bc in Feb 07 and she has told me that yet another colleague has just been diagnosed with bc . I am shocked because this means that a toal of 6 women from the school have now been diagnosed with bc over the last 7 years!
Surely this cannot be the norm?
Brenda
Interesting, Brenda. Not sure how it relates to overall bc statistics but I also am a primary teacher. There are at least two other members of our staff who have been through the bc nightmare a few years ago - although these are not teaching staff. Also when I went to Breast Care Centre a couple of months ago, two other women there worked in schools.
God bless.
Christay
Hi Brenda and Christay
I was diagnosed 2 weeks before my work colleague. Neither of us have the known ‘risk factors’ but both of us have had a very stressful year at work so we have put it down to that. We have different BC’s but it is very coincidental. We work within the education sector but not in a school.
Kat x
i am a health visitor and out of the team of 10 of us, 3 have been diagnosed with bc in the last year - all between the ages of 43 -55. Then there are 3 people who i did a nursing degree 3 years ago with who all under 50 who have diagnosed with bc in the last year plus 3 mums at primary school and a teacher and LSA at the same school in the last 2 years.
Somehow i don’t believe the figures that they quote for risks of bc for the under 50s as i feel they are much higher. I don’t know where this figure of a risk of 1 in 200 for age 40 comes from or how old it is but i think it is out of date.
When i talked to one of the research nurses at my hospital, she said they were gathering figures to see if there was a cluster in the east part of the city as that is the impression they are getting at the moment.
i also think it is now talked about openly whereas women of my mother’s and gran’s generation would not have talked about it and if it had been discussed it would have been under the general term ‘women’s problems’ which of course would cover anything.
When i first starting nursing in the 1980s, i saw lots of women with fungating bc where they had never sought treatment until the cancer had broken out into a huge, stinking, ulcerated mess. At least women are now breast aware and so that could also be a reason why bc seems more common than years ago when often it was the liver secondaries that were put down as the cause of death rather than the primary bc.
Good luck with your treatment
Kate
Both my cousin and I are/were primary teachers and have had DCIS/WLE.
It’s an interesting thought - if you consider that primary schools tend to be staffed primarily by women and you come into contact with both pregnant parents and developing young children - loads of hormones flying around.
But then again perhaps it’s just that, being diagnosed makes you more aware of others - a bit like when you become pregnant and suddenly everyone is the same, or you join a drama group and find loads of teachers or divorced people - it’s not catching, just ages and stages. 
Good luck
Maddy x
I too am a teacher. Prior to diagnosis, I had been working in a special needs school (EBD), very stressful. I have 3 close friends who all got BC under the age of 50. All worked in education and 2 had serious man trouble at same time. The others daughter became addicted to heroin prior, so I can see a pattern.
I too agree, there are definately more women under 50 suffering from this dreadful illness’
Irene