Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month is nearing the end, but the work does not stop when January is over! Week four helps guide you through how to support your fellow brothers and sisters who have been diagnosed with cancer and provide resources to assist with organizational culture change that favors cancer prevention practices and how to get support from leadership.

Week four includes two separate sections of information: one for Leadership and Survivorship, and one for Culture Change. Social media infographics for both sections can be found at the bottom.

To get the most from this week, we recommend taking one day this week and conduct a Safety Stand Down. All resources are also available to review at your convenience.
 

Leadership and Survivorship

• Personal Story: “When I Retire” (4-minute video)
  Boston Fire Department recruits talk about their future. 

• Research Paper: Cancer Incidence Among Firefighters: 45 Years of Follow-Up in Five Nordic Countries 
  The five Nordic countries that participated in this project were Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. They studied 16,422 fire fighters and found elevated cancer rates for seven types of cancers. Some of these associations have been observed previously, and it was found that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, asbestos and shiftwork involving disruption of circadian rhythms may partly explain these results. Although this specific research project was focused on predominantly white male fire fighters, there is a need and a plan to include research for a diversified workforce. This includes and identifies a variety of risks and challenges for diverse ethnic groups and female fire fighters.  

• Educational Presentation #4: Survivorship
  A 16-slide presentation that shares specific strategies for supporting a fire fighter who has been diagnosed with cancer. Note: Make sure you view the presentation in “presenter mode” to capture the instructor notes for the slides. 

• Survivor Story: Kyle O’Neill / San Diego, CA Local 145 (5-minute video)

• Leadership/Survivorship: University of Miami Survivorship Application
  This website and application requires that you to register an email address for access to the dashboard that has a comprehensive list of resources for navigating the journey of a cancer diagnosis. 

• Factsheets:

  • Occupational Cancer and Behavioral Health

  • Survivorship

  • ​

Culture Change

• Cancer Prevention Video: Firefighter Cancer Initiative: “Clean Your Gear” (6-minute video). 
  Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of Miami and the Firefighter Cancer Initiative highlight the importance of cleaning all PPE to reduce your exposure to harmful carcinogens.

• Research: Fire Service Organizational-Level Characteristics Are Associated with Adherence to Contamination Control Practices in Florida Fire Departments: Evidence From the Firefighter Cancer Initiative
  This study attempts to characterize the types of contamination control practices followed by Florida state fire departments and examine the association between fire department organizational-level characteristics and adherence to contamination control practices.  

• Educational Presentation #5: Culture Change
  A 15-slide presentation describing the reason a culture change is needed for fire fighter health, safety and cancer prevention. Note: Make sure you view the presentation in “presenter mode” to capture the instructor notes for the slides. 

• Leadership/Survivorship: Executive Officer Leadership: Firefighters and the Cancer Threat 
  A short article in the International Association of Fire Chiefs about leadership and the issue of fire fighter cancer prevention.