BRYAN, Texas — January is Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month and the Bryan Firefighter Association said that chances are greater for firefighters to get a cancer diagnosis than the general public in other professions.
Daniel Buford, the President of the Bryan Firefighters Association, said that firefighters are nine percent more likely to receive a cancer diagnosis than the general public and fourteen percent more likely to die from occupational cancer than the population.
Buford said that his organization has worked closely with Bryan firefighters in the past and added that the City of Bryan has been very supportive of their efforts.
Buford said that the Bryan Firefighters Association has worked with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network to support families and firefighters who’ve had to undergo situations like this.
The president of the organization added that sometimes firefighters have a hard time asking for help because of the “stigma” they receive as being “superheroes.”
“Our community feels that our firefighters are superheroes and sometimes it’s those superheroes that need help the most,” Buford said.
Buford concluded by saying that while past support from local governments to the national level has helped, more education about cancer firefighters needs to be discussed.