Doctors see rise in firefighter cancer patients

UM doctor to lead $1 million study on subject

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ An 11-year veteran of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is among countless firefighters who believe they may have gotten cancer while fighting in the line of duty.

Luis Suarez, 36, is a colorectal cancer survivor.

"Normally you're not having a colonoscopy until you're 50 years old," Suarez said. "If that bar can be brought down so that we all are aware of what's going on that would be great."

Studies show that the cancer risk among firefighters is growing.

"When I started 34 years ago, the focus was on heart disease amongst firefighters," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Dave Downey said. "Today, cancer is taking twice as many lives of firefighters as heart disease is."

"Firefighters are at increased risk of certain oral, gastrointestinal and blood cancers than the general population," Dr. Erin Kobetz, of the University of Miami's Sylvester Cancer Center, said.

Kobetz will lead a nearly $1 million research project to study the link.

State Rep. Jeannette Nunez, R-Kendall, secured the state funding for the project, which will use firefighters from both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

"We are going to be following firefighters over time and on an annual basis accessing their risk and exposure," Nunez said. "We're also developing technologies for firefighters to wear into the field that helps them measure certain exposures."

The program hopes to enroll 90 percent of the firefighters in each county, which would be more than 1,000 men and women being studied.

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