SAN ANTONIO – No one takes cancer prevention protocols more seriously than San Antonio Fire Department Lieutenant Isaac Alvarado.
Alvarado knows how chemicals and smoke from a fire can affect a firefighter’s body.
“I have multiple myeloma, which is a blood cancer. It’s fairly common in firefighters. It’s a tough transition, a hard one to accept,” Alvarado said.
It’s hard to accept because this type of cancer will be a lifelong battle.
“Mine’s not one that they can give me a ‘You’re in remission’ kind of thing. Mine is, ‘let’s watch it and make sure it doesn’t come back,’” Alvarado said.
That’s why Alvarado’s constantly paying attention to progress.
The connection between firefighters and cancer is becoming clearer than ever, and it’s rooted in science.
It’s been shown that firefighters are 9% more likely to get cancer than the general population, and 14% more likely to die from cancer.
As research unfolds, the San Antonio Fire Department has tried to stay ahead of the curve with new and evolving protocols.
Then, a new partnership took prevention a step further.
It was about a year ago when SAFD partnered with UT Health San Antonio’s Mays Cancer Center for a couple of reasons.
The first priority was helping firefighters with diagnosis and treatment plans.
“When I was diagnosed, things started going really fast,” Alvarado said. “I was pretty much in the hospital for a month and a half out in Houston,” Alvarado said.
The involvement of Mays Cancer Center allowed Alvarado to form a plan with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston so he could navigate his journey quickly and seamlessly.
Alvarado was able to start doing many of his following treatments in San Antonio.
“I don’t have to drive to Houston every month to get a treatment and then come back. My kids right now are 14 and 12. I can help pick them up from school and spend the rest of the evening with them,” Alvarado said, smiling.
Then the next piece brought in a third partner, the University of Miami, which extensively researches the connection between firefighters and cancer.
“We want to learn about new research opportunities to why they are having this increased risk and how we can partner together,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez with UT Health San Antonio.
Dr. Ramirez is the Chair of Population Health Sciences and also the Communication Outreach and Education Associate Director for the Mays Cancer Center.
Ramirez said there are endless topics that need to be studied.
“Among female firefighters, what might be causing their rates of breast cancer? We also hope to be doing a little bit more lung screening,” she said.
UT Health San Antonio is already delivering on the third goal: education.
“We’re doing some joint education programs with our primary care providers. If a firefighter should come, they should also ask other kinds of questions.”
“Hopefully, stuff that I go through now will help someone, another firefighter in the future and maybe help a treatment or a cure,” Alvarado said.
It’s that firefighter mentality to be made of strength, purpose and sacrifice.
It’s something even cancer can’t break.