9 teachers and 2 students that have been diagnosed with cancer while working or attending Riverside..   The most recent death due to cancer was last week; one of the teachers there developed brain cancer.  She appeared to be fine in November (2007), but now the school and the teachers family is mourning the loss..

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=ed62352a-0bf0-4e78-8ec4-85946a1e603c

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=0be41dba-71fa-4263-9d43-258972dc7ffb link

Cancer cluster hits school

BY THE VANCOUVER SUN JANUARY 8, 2008

MAPLE RIDGE – The B.C. Cancer Agency will study a cluster of cancer diagnoses — 10 teachers over several years — at Riverside elementary in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district.

“We think that’s a fairly high number compared to the general population,” said district teachers’ union president Drusilla Wilson.

The school board’s occupational health and safety officer, Judy Dueck, said a “whole bunch of variables” need to be looked at to determine whether this is a cancer cluster or just a coincidence.

“We’re prepared to carry through because the anxiety levels are high,” Dueck said.

The study will be led by the B.C. Cancer Agency, and Dueck is starting to collect data for it, starting with a staff survey at Riverside.

The latest cancer victim from Riverside died on Jan. 2 of brain cancer. However, all her colleagues who have been diagnosed have recovered. The cancer types have ranged from breast cancer, throat and larynx cancer, to leukemia, according to Wilson.