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Blog - Smoke Eaters, Cancer Beaters

Blogger: Suzette Martinez Standring
Features firefighters' experiences with cancer, and their hard won lessons. Learn about the power of early cancer detection and the miraculous advances of science.

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A year ago (March 2024) I had an emergency surgery to fix severe fluid buildup (pleural effusion) in my chest from cancer radiation. My hospital roommate had a perforated bowel from cancer and she was relentlessly cheerful. By Suzette Martinez Standring


9
APR
2025
9 APR, 2025

Lt. Fire Inspector Chris Wyman and the late Ret. Lt. Jessica L. Wyman were husband and wife, career firefighters, and soulmates. It was his unbearable loss when Jessica passed away from occupational lung cancer. She was the first female firefighter to be promoted to lieutenant of the Nashua (NH) fire department. Chris, Lieutenant/Fire Inspector for the Merrimack, NH Fire Department, tells her story. By Suzette Martinez Standring


2
APR
2025
2 APR, 2025

Firefighters! Document occupational cancer risk. now, even if there is no illness at this time. Fill out a Workers Compensation form and put it in your personnel file through Human Resources to protect future medical or Line of Duty Death benefits. Lt. and Fire Inspector Christopher Wyman of NH gives details.


Amy Colton, National Sales Manager for OneTest, believes early screenings saved her own life, and said, "Firefighters are at a 72% higher chance of dying from cancer than they are from dying in a fire. It seems kind of crazy that they're not regularly screening for cancer in a meaningful manner." -
By Suzette Martinez Standring


Boston firefighter Dan Ranahan battled stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2020. He beat cancer and went on to found the Boston Fire Cancer Foundation. His wife saved his life by insisting against his powerful objections to see a doctor. This is his story.


Greetings to our firefighters, families and friends! Welcome to FFVC's new blog, Smoke Eaters, Cancer Beaters.  I'm Suzette Martinez Standring, Chief Correspondent, which is a fancy term for She-Who-Shares-Your-Stories. Early cancer testing for firefighters is our goal because of the documented higher risk of occupational cancer.