NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 41

data shows a 20 percent reduction
in cancer risk from wearing an SCBA
during overhaul, there should be no
excuses at that point. Another possible
example is cancer screening. If we see
certain types of cancers are occurring
at higher rates among younger firefighters,
that would provide evidence to
support screening for certain cancers at
younger ages.
But at this point, it's hard to know
exactly what we are going to find.
There could be a control measure that
we haven't even thought about yet that
we find is lessening the cancer risk.
It remains to be seen what we could
accomplish from this, but I think the
sky is the limit.
What's your pitch to firefighters
who are on the fence about signing
up to participate?
We did a lot of testing with firefighters
as we got NFR ready to launch, and one
Calling All
Firefighters
The researchers behind the National
Firefighter Registry for Cancer, which
opened for enrollment in April, hope
at least 200,000 firefighters will sign
up at its web portal, nfr.cdc.gov.
The project is open to all current
and former firefighters in the U.S.
" It doesn't matter whether you're
career or volunteer, active or retired.
It doesn't matter whether you have
cancer or not. This is for all firefighters, "
said Dr. Kenny Fent, the project's
team lead at the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health.
After visiting the opening in the
portal, the website will ask you to
confirm your eligibility and then ask
you to create an account. From there,
the system walks you through the
process of registering, which takes
about 30 minutes, Fent said.
For more information on
the project, including videos,
visit nfpa.org/perspectives.
thing we heard is that the 30 minutes
it takes to fill out the questionnaire is
a long time. I understand that, and I
get that firefighters are busy. But we
spend 30 minutes doing a lot of things.
I spent 30 minutes watching a TV show
yesterday, right? This is 30 minutes
where you can make a difference for
your brothers and sisters in the fire
service, now and in the future. And if
we are ever really going to get in front
of the cancer issue, it's going to take
everyone in the fire service.
This is your opportunity as a firefighter
to make a difference. Cancer is
a horrible illness, and we don't want to
see anybody have to go through this. If
we can better understand the cancer
risk among firefighters, then we can do
more to help reduce that risk. That's
the ultimate goal.
JESSE ROMAN is senior editor at NFPA Journal
and the host of The NFPA Podcast.
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NFPA .ORG/JOURNAL * NFPA JOURNAL | 41
http://nfr.cdc.gov http://www.nfpa.org/perspectives http://www.c-sgroup.com http://nfpa.org/journal
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023

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