Southeast Weld Fire Chief Tom Beach lost both his parents to cancer in the same year.
Cancer’s impact on Beach moved him to prioritize preventative screenings for his firefighting team.
While they blazes they approach in their line of work can be deadly, cancer continues to be a leading cause of death among firefighters. The gases, vapors and particulates firefighters can be exposed to increase the risk of certain types of cancer.
“Check Your Food Tube” events screen firefighters for pre-cancer of the esophagus through Lucid Diagnostics’ EsoGuard DNA test. All 30 members of the Southeast Weld Fire Protection District, including the administrative assistant, participated in the mandatory screening this past week.
Lindsay Wesoky, a representative of Lucid Diagnostics, said the full test takes about five minutes from start to finish. Firefighters start by swallowing a pill-sized capsule, attached to a micro-thin catheter. The capsule grows into a balloon once it reaches the stomach to take a 360-degree swab of the esophagus. The balloon then inverts back into a capsule before extraction.
The swab goes off to DNA testing, which takes about two to three weeks to get results.
A Barrett’s Esophagus Translational Research Network study evaluated the device and DNA testing. The study showed 85% high sensitivity and 85% specificity for detecting the disease, and no cancers were missed.
Firefighters have a 62% higher likelihood of getting esophageal cancer because of the occupational risk from exposure to harmful chemicals and smoke inhalation, Wesoky said. According to the Firefighter Cancer Support Group, firefighters have a 39% increased risk of dying from esophageal cancer.
Beach felt putting money toward ensuring the health of his team outweighed any costs to the fire district.
“It goes beyond the first responder,” he said. “For me, it goes back to that personal level.”
Esophageal cancer screenings can lead to early detection, which is critical to avoiding developing or progressing one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The National Cancer Institute reports the overall five-year survival rate for esophageal cancer is about 20%.
Indications of pre-cancer can jumpstart curative treatment, like connecting firefighters with a specialist for an upper endoscopy and further surveillance, Wesoky said. One treatment option includes ablating pre-cancerous cells through cryotherapy, which freezes and destroys abnormal tissue. This can help prevent the cancer from progressing.
A 2018 Tribune file photo of the Southeast Weld Fire Protection District station.The Southeast Weld Fire Protection District, which has stations in Keenesburg and Roggen, holds annual physicals for its firefighters, and Beach likes to take it a step further. At physicals, he makes all ages get a prostate-specific antigen test, typically reserved for men over 50.
Beach also noticed lung and throat cancer screenings aren’t as widely known or discussed as other forms of cancer, like prostate and colon cancer. The district will host a lung screening event in November.
To take care of others in the community, the firefighters need to take care of themselves.
“It’s part of insurance for the district, but it is also an insurance for the individuals and their families,” Beach said.
Hearing other agencies take on this offering sparked the district’s decision to bring it in, so Beach sees the value in spreading awareness about the available screenings and the health risks firefighters face.
For more information on hosting a “Check Your Food Tube,” go to luciddx.com/contact.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Southeast Weld Fire screens firefighters for esophageal cancer )
Also on site :
- NHL playoffs put spotlight on glaring inequality that favors just six teams
- Will Still to be named new Southampton manager
- Cardinal Dolan Receives Award From Becket for Religious Liberty Leadership