Did you know that Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Firefighters?
It’s a sad reality for many, especially as the Cancer takes their lives long after the career- or before one is even halfway through.
This fundraiser is over but you can still support the Carney Strong Initiative.
Some of the Firewives on Instagram teamed up to create “The Not so Dirty Thirty” for the month of February 2019 to Support the Carney Strong Initiative for Cancer Prevention and have pledged to do one burpee for every dollar raised. The challenge has ended but you can still donate to the Carney Strong Initiative.
And follow the firewives doing the challenge! The Salty Fit Fire Wife and Confessions of a Firefighter Wife.
What is the Carney Strong Initiative?
The Carney Strong Initiative was created by a FireWife who lost her Firefighter too soon- less than four months after he was diagnosed with cancer.
His Name was Josh Carney, A Battalion Chief who was just 41 years old. His wife Lillian and his cousin Kristine Munck, have created this organization in his legacy. Their main mission? To Raise funds to donate decontamination gear, along with cancer prevention and educational materials to different departments.
You can read more about their story, and donate to the cause directly at their website, Carney Strong Initiative.
Now, Let’s talk about the Cancer
The “C” word is a word than many Firefighters don’t want to hear.
Well, let me rephrase. It seems to me that Firefighters either take two stances on Cancer.
They either ignore it, or they embrace it.
What I mean is- Some firefighters are all about prevention, and they take steps to mitigate their exposure. Other Firefighters don’t believe that the job contributes to Cancer as often as the stats say- so they aren’t as careful.
That’s why the facts are so important!
The Fire Fighter Cancer Foundation has compiled relevant research on Firefighter Cancer. And wouldn’t you know, Firefighters have a higher than average risk for multiple types of cancer- like thyroid, bladder and breast.
Firefighter Cancer Support has taken it a step further and really broke down the data in this FAQ.
Among the scariest facts was this tidbit “Cancer caused 61 percent of the career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from January 1, 2002, to March 31, 2017, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Heart disease caused 18 percent of career LODDs for the same period.”
Y’all, that’s… INSANE!!! More Firefighters are dying by Cancer than anything else! (then we also have to be aware of heart disease and suicide! )
Fire Fighters focus so much on fitness, and this silent killer has snuck up and taken out so many of our own.
It’s time we stand up to Cancer and say no more! Check out those links above for all the facts related to Cancer- don’t say I didn’t warn you though, they are NOT pretty.
What Can you Do to Help Firefighter Cancer?
First things first, if you are or you know a Firefighter- talk to them about their decon after a fire. We have so much good information in the last few years about prevention! USE IT! This article by FireRescue1 goes into some basics for Cancer Reduction.
Second, Find an organization to donate to!
Check out the Go Fund Me for the Burpee Challenge for Carney Strong Here. This promises to be a good fundraiser for a great organization!
Third, START YOUR OWN FUNDRAISER! Yep! Change can start with you! Get your community, your family and your firefighters involved so you can help with Fire Fighter Cancer awareness and Prevention!
Conclusion
We don’t know everything about Cancer, but we do know this. Firefighters are at risk levels that are unheard of.
Share this post with other Firefighters and their family members so we can raise awareness for a great organization- and spread awareness about the risk factors.
