The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has received a grant to provide early cancer screenings to all of its members.
Firefighters have a 9% higher risk of getting cancer and a 14% higher chance of dying from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Being in the fire service, you always hear cancer, but in my mind, I was always thinking way after retirement, not during my career," Fairfax Fire and Rescue Cpt. Barry Maham said.
Maham was offered a free cancer detection scan in 2021. He said he felt healthy at the time, but the scan revealed an issue in his spleen.
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It turned out that he had stage 4 colon cancer.
"I’m very thankful for the scan, that it was offered," Maham said. "We want to be healthy and be there with our kids and watch them grow."
Maham has since fought cancer twice, but said he's now doing better. He just returned to work a few weeks ago.
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Soon, all Fairfax County firefighters will get the same opportunity he had for a free cancer detection scan.
"Stage 4 can be life threatening, and that’s what we want to prevent," Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Batallion Chief Brian Edmonston said.
Edmonston was part of the team that applied for the funding from FEMA.
All current firefighters and those who have retired within the last five years will be eligible for the scans, which start in a few weeks.
"We’re really excited, as a whole, to offer this to our firefighters coming across," Edmonston said.
The fire department did a pilot program of the cancer scans in 2022 and found that out of 176 firefighters, more than half had abnormal results in areas such as testicular, cardiac, liver and thyroid.
As they face the tough reality that more members could receive a cancer diagnosis, Maham said he and his fellow survivors are ready to help.
"As soon as we find out somebody else is getting diagnosed, trying to be there for them, and, you know, seeing what their family needs," Maham said. "We all want to live a long life and enjoy the retirement that we worked for."
