CAMBRIDGE, Md. – A simple blood test could give firefighters a heads up on their risk of being diagnosed with cancer, and Dorchester County is asking the state for money to help more of them get it.
The county’s finance office, on behalf of the Dorchester County Volunteer Firefighters Association, plans to apply for a $59,500 Cancer Screening Program grant through the Maryland Department of Health. The grant would pay for up to 100 screening kits for active and retired firefighters and has no match requirement. The screenings come at no cost to firefighters.
A hidden risk
Cancer is the second leading cause of death for firefighters, according to Robert Phillips, legislative committee chairman of the Maryland State Firefighters Association and a past president of the Dorchester County Volunteer Firefighter Association. Maryland’s workers’ compensation law recognizes an estimated 11 types of cancer that firefighters can be exposed to.
“In the fire service, we have a lot of tools…on that engine that we use to deal with emergencies,” Phillips said. “This testing is a tool to keep us alive. The most valuable asset we have are our volunteers. If we can keep them healthy longer, we have a better fire service.”
Gear such as turnout coats and breathing apparatus protects firefighters from heat and fire, but not from the toxic chemicals that can lead to cancer, according to Robert Phillips, legislative committee chairman of the Maryland State Firefighters Association. (WBOC)
Phillips said turnout gear protects firefighters from heat and fire, but not from everything.
“Maybe not the heat, maybe not the flames, but the atmosphere still gets on our skin,” Phillips said. “We are absorbing it. We’re taking these toxic chemicals into our skin. We pull our breathing apparatus off. The turnout gear is still off-gassing. We’re still inhaling it.”
He said national statistics show firefighters are 9% more likely to develop cancer than the average person and 14% more likely to die from it.
Year two of the program
This will be the second year Dorchester County has applied for the grant. Last year was a trial run, and the county is now looking to expand the program. Specifically, it is asking for a larger grant amount than what it received last year.
That is partly because the screenings are now required by law. Under Senate Bill 579, sponsored by state Sen. J.B. Jennings, every Maryland county with volunteer firefighters must give them the chance to be screened for cancer each year. The law covers active and retired firefighters, and counties can apply for grant money to pay for it.
Adam Tolley, president of the Dorchester County Volunteer Firefighters Association, said the law does not require firefighters to be tested. It requires counties to offer the screenings. He said the association is working with the county and the county’s 14 fire companies to count how many firefighters qualify.
Tolley said the screening opens up options for firefighters to seek further care if they want, pending their results. Last year’s testing allowed volunteers who received elevated blood markers to go to a provided consultation.
“This cancer screening, really kind of, if there's an issue picked up by this cancer screening, it opens up avenues for help for our firefighters,” Tolley said. “So I think that's the biggest benefit to being able to do this is being able to shed the light over the avenues and be able to provide the support that the firefighters may need if they, if a risk is identified.”
Last year’s results
According to the grant request form from Dorchester County, of the 55 firefighters who took part last year within the County, 38% had elevated biomarkers. The documents report that the screening provider informed the county that normal rates for positive biomarkers are typically 10% to 15%.
Elevated biomarkers do not necessarily mean a firefighter has cancer. Phillips said the results show where a person falls on a spectrum. They can point to cancer, a higher-than-average risk, or another abnormality.
Dorchester, Talbot and Queen Anne’s counties were the only Eastern Shore counties to offer the screenings countywide last year, according to Phillips.
A message to volunteers
Phillips said he has a simple message for volunteers who are unsure about getting tested.
“Get tested,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt. It takes a little bit of time. But cancer, if you find it early, you can cure it. You find it late, all you do is make preparations for the end.”
Tolley said he is pleased with how far the effort has come, after years in which the risk went largely unnoticed.
“I think for years it was just kind of not thought about and overlooked,” Tolley said. “Now we are at a place where we are identifying the issues and identifying a need to, you know, look at the firefighters and be able to provide opportunities to test and see if there are any issues that come about and to be able to address them as quickly as possible.”
Tolley said the details of this year’s screenings have not been settled. The grant application is due Nov. 13th, according to county documents.
