Sylvester’s Firefighter Cancer Initiative: 10 Years of Science, Protection and Advocacy for Firefighters
Summary
- Sylvester’s Firefighter Cancer Initiative is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.
- A multidisciplinary team of researchers, academics, workplace experts and others carries out research and develops safety regimens for decreasing cancer risk among firefighters, who have a much higher rate of cancer than the general population.
- Initiated in Miami, the group’s work now extends to virtually every county in Florida, improving the safety and health of thousands of firefighters.
Butch Smith was a giant of a human being. A towering presence, he was captain of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue in Florida.
“One-of-a-kind,” said Sam Eaton, former Palm Beach County fire rescue district chief and a close friend and colleague of Smith’s. “A phenomenal leader in special operations. He was a captain. He was an instructor. He was an officer on one of our ladder trucks at the airport. He was legendary in our department. He was definitely one of those formal but also informal leaders that only come along every so often.”
In 2008, Eaton and his colleagues were devastated when they learned that Smith had been diagnosed with stage 3 multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. He was 46 years old.
“Everybody looked up to Butch, and when he got cancer, word spread like wildfire throughout our department,” he recalled.
His story wasn’t unusual. Firefighters contract certain cancers, such as mesothelioma, at up to twice the rate of almost everyone else, largely because deadly carcinogens released by burning materials adhere to fire gear and the skin. Some fire suppressants also cause cancer. The disease is the leading cause of death among firefighters.
Smith lived for nearly 10 years after the diagnosis, battling his cancer with a power and commitment that inspired awe.
“His tenacity for life was amazing,” said Eaton.
When told he had two years to live, Smith quietly responded, “I don’t think so.”
He live for seven more years.
“It was 21 days of chemo, seven days off. Twenty-one days of chemo, seven days off, for nine-plus years. Simply remarkable,” said Eaton.
The Sylvester Firefighter Cancer Initiative
Ten years ago, Smith’s story helped spur the formation of the Sylvester Firefighter Cancer Initiative (SFCI). Now highly regarded nationally, SFCI:
• Conducts rigorous, peer-reviewed cancer studies (many suggested by firefighters themselves)
• Administers an annual firefighter cancer survey
• Develops prevention and survivorship programs
• Carries out environmental sampling
• Invents and applies new monitoring technologies
It encompasses a multidisciplinary team of about 25 scientists, clinicians, occupational health and safety experts, graduate students and support staff.
Retired from active firefighting but forever a firefighter at heart, Eaton himself is a survivor of a melanoma diagnosis. He happily flexes his arm when making one of his many presentations on behalf of cancer detection and mitigation in firefighters.
“These people at Sylvester know just what to do, and I’m a walking, talking example of it,” he said.
When he heard the news of Smith’s diagnosis, he connected his friend with Sylvester immediately. Eaton credits Sylvester for Smith’s extra years of life.
Beyond the referral, Eaton leaped into a higher gear of action.
Word about Eaton’s and Smith’s hopes of collaboration with Sylvester made its way to Erin Kobetz, Ph.D., M.P.H., the John K. and Judy H. Schulte Senior Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and associate director for community outreach and engagement at Sylvester. Soon afterward, she saw a media report about Julius Perez, a young Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter who had died shortly after his diagnosis of cancer.
“The stories of Butch and Julius, two young, seemingly vibrant firefighters battling an insidious disease, caught my emotional attention,” said Dr. Kobetz, now director and principal investigator of SFCI.
Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., director of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and executive dean for research and a professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School, was pivotal to the formation and development of SFCI. He provided both personal and institutional support to the initiative, and the rest is history.
“Firefighters risk their lives every day to protect our communities, and we are deeply grateful for their courage and service. Our commitment at Sylvester is to advance research and education that can help protect these everyday heroes from the health risks they face,” said Dr. Nimer.
Meanwhile, an effort was underway to collect data through the Firefighter Cancer Support Network on the prevalence of cancer among Florida firefighters. Dr. Kobetz began thinking that researching the connection between firefighting and cancer was something she wanted to pursue, as well. She noted that perhaps hearing about a series of firefighters at roughly the same time was a coincidence, “but maybe it wasn’t,” she said.
Sylvester teamed with Jeanette Nuñez, then a new member of the Florida House of Representatives and now Florida’s lieutenant governor, to obtain foundational state funding for what soon became the SFCI. State of Florida funding has continued throughout the years and remains a vital source of support to SFCI.
“All of us at SFCI are beyond grateful for the consistent, reliable and generous support we receive from our state legislators and executive branch,” said Dr. Kobetz.
Partners with Fire Departments Across the State
SFCI’s work has spread beyond Miami-Dade and today features partnerships with fire departments in nearly every Florida county, as well as with crucial supporters like Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer and state fire marshal, and Joanne Rice, director of the Florida Division of State Fire Marshal—the state’s highest-ranking firefighter. Teaming with the fire marshal’s office, SFCI has improved safety protocols statewide and distributed thousands of decontamination kits to fire departments throughout Florida.
“SFCI has developed an amazing reputation for the quality of their research and support efforts,” said Director Rice. “We are pleased to partner with them to increase awareness, reduce risk and promote longevity in the brave men and women who keep us safe from fires.”
Kenneth Scheppke, M.D., deputy secretary for health in Florida and former medical director for seven fire-rescue agencies in Palm Beach and Martin counties, said that SFCI’s research contributions were instrumental in changing firefighter culture.
“Firefighters would come back from a fire smelling of smoke and with soot on their face and clothes, and it was almost like a badge of honor,” he said. “But those are carcinogens. And when firefighters would lie down in their bunks at night, have meals together or bring their clothes home to clean in the family washing machine, those carcinogens were spread around. SFCI has brought about a major change in thinking. Now, it’s all about prevention, decontamination and monitoring for cancer. There are stringent, effective and evidence-based practices in place, thanks to SFCI’s work. This is an enormous shift in culture and practice that is saving lives.”
Another partner in SFCI’s efforts is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It collaborates with SFCI on a national firefighter cancer registry and other work.
Kenny Fent, Ph.D., a research industrial hygienist at NIOSH, said, “SFCI has done really great work to identify practical ways that firefighters can lessen their exposure. This includes making sure that their gear is cleaned after firefighting, making sure the firefighter is getting clean after firefighting, showering, using cleansing wipes. In short, making sure that they’re taking care of themselves. And it’s paying off.”
Dr. Kobetz noted that what’s really powerful about SFCI is that its research is firefighter-driven.
“There’s a recognition at Sylvester that we have the scientific and clinical expertise, and firefighters have the day-to-day occupational expertise. If we want to ask the right questions and get the best answers, we need to incorporate their perspectives and insights into what we do. That partnership is saving lives, and it will continue to save lives,” she said.
Tags: cancer, cancer research, cancer screening, Dr. Erin Kobetz, Dr. Stephen Nimer, Firefighter Cancer Initiative, mesothelioma, Sylverster Comprehensive Cancer Center