Safety & Health

White Paper Addresses Firefighter Cancer Issues

July 1, 2015

Firefighters statistically have higher rates of multiple types of cancers compared to the general population. This white paper outlines the issues facing all firefighters, and steps to reduce your exposure.

The Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) invited a small group of experts to Indianapolis to develop a white paper on cancer in the fire service. Participants included two firefighters who are cancer survivors, fire officers as well as research and medical experts.

The working group outlined and wrote the initial draft of a white paper describing the status of cancer in the fire service and developed answers to very challenging questions.

Studies have demonstrated credible evidence and biologic creditability for statistically higher rates of multiple types of cancers in firefighters compared to the general American population including:

Testicular cancer (2.02 times greater risk)
Multiple myeloma (1.53 times greater risk)
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (1.51 times greater risk)
Skin cancer (1.39 times greater risk)
Prostate cancer (1.28 times greater risk)
Malignant melanoma (1.31 times great risk)
Brain cancer (1.31 times greater risk)
Colon cancer (1.21 times great risk)
Leukemia (1.14 times greater risk)
Breast cancer in women (preliminary study results from the San Francisco Fire Department)