F.F.A.M.

Firefighter Cancer

Firefighter cancer is a looming personal catastrophe for each and every firefighter. Cancer is the most dangerous and unrecognized threat to the health and safety of our nation’s firefighters. Most of you who are reading this either know a firefighter who has passed from cancer, had cancer and is in remission, or who is currently fighting cancer.

Multiple studies, including the 2013 released NIOSH cancer study, have repeatedly demonstrated credible evidence and biologic creditability for statistically higher rates of multiple types of cancers in firefighters compared to the general American population.

The toxic soup that firefighter’s encounter at all fires contain carcinogens. These toxins enter our bodies, and over the course of a career can, and very often do, lead to a cancer diagnosis. Firefighter’s can help reduce their career exposures by washing PPE after each exposure, doing decontamination on scene, and showering within an hour after a fire.

Stay tuned for future articles to learn more about this topic and for the latest info!