Alarm bells ringing for Concorde’s cancer cluster
Workplaces can be dangerous breeding grounds for colds and flu during winter. We all know this. But when unusual numbers of workers start developing cancer…alarm bells start ringing. The Concorde Hospital in Sydney has started to investigate a possible cancer cluster after it emerged five women working near each other were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2001 and 2006. The news follows the case of a cancer cluster at the ABC’s former Toowong studios, where 15 women developed breast cancer in a 12 year period. Professor Bruce Armstrong, who is heading the investigation, has also said he’s aware of six cancer clusters in workplaces in NSW and Queensland over the past 18 months. Is it something in the air, or just a coincidence? Doctor Richie Gunn is an expert in occupational cancer at the University of Adelaide. He explained what we mean by the term ‘cluster’.