Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back. Today on the program we feature an organization called Firefighters vs Cancer and Focus on a special fundraiser coming up this Saturday, actually over at Milton High School. We want to welcome Mike Foley and Suzette Standrin to tell us all about it. Thank you so much for coming over here.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Thanks for inviting us.
[00:00:15] Speaker C: Thanks for having us.
[00:00:16] Speaker A: Suzette, great to meet you again. See you again. Quincy Toastmasters, right?
[00:00:20] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. Always great to be on your show.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: And Mike, great to meet you for the first time, hopefully not the last though. Please consider an open invitation. Interesting organization, Firefighter versus Cancer. So this is an organization founded to help firefighters and their families screen themselves for cancer, right, Mike?
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: That's correct. How did this all get started? When did it get started? Why did it get started?
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Well, it's three years old this past March and it began a little family history, I'll give you. I'm a third generation firefighter in my family. My son is a fourth generation and my grandfather, father and brother who was on with me all died of occupational cancer. And my son is a firefighter now. And the suggestion is there that he's vulnerable as well.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: Sure, absolutely.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: And that's why we decided to try to do something about it. And the key to the whole thing for us is early detection, because early detection is the best way to guarantee a positive outcome.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: I read a startling statistic from Firefighters vs. Cancers website information. Occupational cancer is the leading killer of North American firefighters. A full 40%. 40% of all firefighters working today will be diagnosed with occupational cancer at some point during their career. That floored me. 40%.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: 40%. Yeah.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Why is that?
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Well, the fires that they have these days, there's fewer of them than they were before. But I guess the building materials that they're using and I don't know, I don't understand the chemistry of it all, but I know that they're getting this through the carcinogens that have been added to different.
Like the gear that they wear. They added this carcinogen to keep the gear dry. And there's just so many different ways that they can get it now. But this is not a new problem. We've had the same issue for many, many years. And I've known literally hundreds of firefighters who have died from cancer.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: As a matter of fact, there's a story on the website about a fellow, Bob Kilduff.
[00:02:30] Speaker B: Bob Kilduff, who's dear friend of mine.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: Don't be me.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: Tell me about that if you could.
[00:02:35] Speaker B: Bob was a funny guy, worked in the busy areas of the city for his whole career.
[00:02:42] Speaker A: Boston, right?
[00:02:42] Speaker B: Boston, correct.
One of those gung ho, hard charging type of guys. First one in, last one out. And he got cancer. But it was only because you're going to love this because his wife suggested he goes to a doctor and they found cancer and he died five years later. But he was a union guy also and he wrote the story, don't be me. To urge people to get tested for cancer.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: And is that the overall mission of firefighters versus cancer is spread the word, early detection is key.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: That's correct and most everyone knows that. Anyway, I should mention something else. It's not necessarily limited to firefighters. I mean everybody should do it. And the company we are partnering with, one tester out of Gaithersburg, Maryland, we're going to buy kits from them and give them away to firefighters. That's what we're doing in Milton this Saturday. The comedy show supports that effort to give the tested kits to them for free.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: Yes, it's a Mother's day clean comedy fundraiser. Bring the family to give free early cancer screening kits to the firefighters in Milton. So it's this coming Saturday, 6:15 doors open. Show starts at 7:00 at Milton High School.
Suzette, how did you get involved, first of all with firefighters versus cancer and then second of all, why is this event so important?
[00:04:11] Speaker C: I really got involved with firefighters versus cancer when Mike was hosting this search for America's funniest firefighters and it was the New England regional contest at Florian hall and he asked me to be a judge.
That's how I first got involved and exposed to the organization. And then later he asked me to blog for the website and I had. I've just been announced that I'm in remission now after five years of being of having lung cancer.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: Congratulations.
[00:04:43] Speaker C: Thank you. And so I felt like it was something that I really wanted to do. I wanted to be able to do my part to help save lives. I didn't realize what an extraordinarily high rate of exposure firefighters had.
That's how I initially got involved. This whole thing about the fundraiser for Milton firefighters was when we were talking about it and the whole goal was to give these kits and I just felt, well, how about if we do it for Milton? And so that's how that got started. And the community was very, very supportive. And the Milton Public schools donated the venue to us for Saturday and the Milton Women's Club gave a grant for it.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Okay, so tell me, Mike, maybe tell me a little bit about the test Kits themselves, You know what they are.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: That's your area. She knows more about it than I do.
[00:05:40] Speaker C: Well, we were partnering with One test and their original demographic was firefighters. But Amy Colton, who became the national sales manager because she had her own cancer issues and needed early testing, discovered one test and now she's there. And now she's a huge advocate and works as a national sales manager for One test.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: That's the name of it. One Test.
[00:06:04] Speaker C: One Test.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: O n E test.
[00:06:06] Speaker C: Yes. And there's two kits, a standard and a premium. The standard screens for seven or more cancers, and the premiums test for those seven cancers, plus additional cancers, especially those for women, which are very specific to women.
And these.
And so that's how. And we felt like it was an affordable, very effective home test. And so we're giving those kind of kits for free. So to the firefighters.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, if these tests are available, you know, why doesn't every single community in the country provide them for their fire departments?
[00:06:46] Speaker B: Good question.
[00:06:47] Speaker C: I think it's a matter of getting the word out.
[00:06:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:50] Speaker C: And when I interview firefighters, it's interesting how many of the men say that it was their wives that nagged them into getting tested. And I think that there is a percentage that talks about how men who are married live longer. And I think it's because their spouses or their significant others are always looking out for their health and monitoring it. And many of them will say, if it weren't for my wife, I never would have gone.
[00:07:22] Speaker A: Is that right? Is that the case, Mike, in your family?
[00:07:26] Speaker B: No, no, no.
My father died after he retired and wasn't diagnosed until he had already retired.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: I see.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: And my brother John, he just didn't believe in doctors and he had no one to push him. We tried, but no.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: Interesting.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: He smoked up until the day he died.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Yeah. But the thing about occupational cancer is that the only thing they're doing wrong is going to work every day. Right, Exactly.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: I'll give you another statistic that was mind boggling. It was based on a narrow survey done in the Florida fire department.
Of every 10,000 non firefighter families, one child will get cancer. One out of 10,000 families, one out of every 400 firefighter families will get cancer.
[00:08:20] Speaker A: Really?
[00:08:21] Speaker B: So the children of firefighters are 27 times more likely to get cancer than non firefighter families.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: Now, is that because they follow in their footsteps of their predecessors?
[00:08:32] Speaker B: No, it's the children before they're of age to do that, the firefighters are bringing the pfas and the chemicals home with them. And when you think about it, a child goes to the firehouse to see their mother or father. What's the first thing they do?
[00:08:45] Speaker A: Sure, they want to see the.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Put the gear on, put the helmet on. They jump up in the fire engine and get their picture taken.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: That's opposed to the.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Yeah, so that's supposedly interesting you bring.
[00:08:56] Speaker A: That up here in Quincy. I don't know if you're familiar, the city invested in actually washing machines and dryers for the firehouses, you know, for the firefighters to come back from a, from a fire immediately take off all that gear and wash it and clean it and get it off of them.
So is that something that you'd like to see more of?
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I think the PFAS that was added to the fire gear was to keep the firemen dry. It was a water repellent. And I guess there's been Diane Cottage, a friend of mine, she's the one that started this whole thing years ago. And I think they've, a couple of states have already adopted laws that say you can't use the PFAS in the firefighter gear. So it'll take a while to catch on, but it's like anything else.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: So do you think firefighters are more willing to take a test at haw blood test at home than go to the doctor?
[00:09:51] Speaker B: I think they. And that's one of the things I liked about one test is that you hand them the test and they just put it on their arm and I guess you push a little button and it pierces the skin and collects a blood sample and then it's sent back to the lab and all of that. It's all done between you and your doctor.
There's no involvement with the fire department itself.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: Yeah. So there's a privacy aspect of it as well.
[00:10:14] Speaker C: It's like cologuard. It works like that. It's a home test and it's very fast and efficient. The results come in online and then you can share it with your medical provider.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: Let's talk about the event in Milton. This is coming by Saturday. Doors open at 6:15. Show starts at 7. What's it all about? What's going to be happening in the Milton High School auditorium on Saturday night?
[00:10:36] Speaker C: There's going to be three wonderful comedians, Carolyn Plummer, Will Noonan and Tony V. It's going to be emceed by Patty Driscoll Gould. And it's going to be great. They're going to probably do 20 minute sets apiece and they're just really great comedians and it's going to be, you know, laughs for a purpose. And we're just excited for the support that's going to be shown to the Milton firefighters by giving them these free tests.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: A clean comedy show.
[00:11:10] Speaker C: It says a clean comedy show because.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Mother's Day is the next day, you know.
[00:11:14] Speaker C: Yes. We want them to bring families and all of that.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: Okay. All right.
So how much do you hope to raise at this event?
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Hopefully enough to pay for the test kits.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: Yeah. How much do they cost?
[00:11:27] Speaker B: $200 each.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: Okay. Oh, so it's not insignificant.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: No, it's not.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:32] Speaker B: Okay. But we'll get there.
[00:11:34] Speaker C: And there's 61 firefighters in Milton. Yes.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:38] Speaker C: So I'm thinking, you know, about a $15,000 kind of expense, but it's going to be so well worth it. And just really hoping that it catches on and all of that.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: And the bigger goal, obviously, is to draw attention to this issue, right?
[00:11:55] Speaker B: Correct. We will duplicate this down the road later on.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: I wanted to ask you about that, Mike. If there's a community that's interested in going down this road, will Firefighters vs Cancer be able to help them? Absolutely they will.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: We'll do our very best to help them.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: Yeah. What did it take, you know, to get the organization up and running?
[00:12:11] Speaker B: What did it take?
I don't know. I'm sat in my computer for three years. No, seriously, Pretty much so far, it's been all, you know, my idea, as you could call it. I'm the founder. Big deal. But I tell people.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: No, it is a big deal.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Well, anyone can found anything for whatever reason, but the key to any success I have with this is surrounding myself with people who know what they're doing and are willing to do it. Which is why Suzette is here.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: Right. But you know, you're an author.
[00:12:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:40] Speaker A: You've written two books as well, about being a firefighter in Boston.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Correct. And oddly, they're available on our website and you can buy them. It's connected to an Amazon link. And all the proceeds from the sale of those two books go directly to the foundation.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: Super. But that's how you and Suzette came to be. Right?
[00:12:59] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:12:59] Speaker A: Formed a relationship through those. Through those books, Right?
[00:13:02] Speaker C: Yes. He was a guest on my TV show that I where I interviewed authors and learned about their books and their writing process. And that was probably 10 years ago.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: 10 years ago.
[00:13:11] Speaker C: And he wrote the book Busy as Hell. It captured a lot of stories from the Boston fire Department during what they called the war years, 1960 through 1980, when they were Insanely busy. And it's a very interesting book. And he bought and he also wrote Busy as Hell too.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: It took a long time to come up with that title.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: But there was something, Suzette, about reading those books that struck you, that struck a nerve, Right? To form this relationship.
[00:13:40] Speaker C: Yeah. I just loved his writing style. And I became.
And I think that I've always. I think firefighters is one industry. Firefighting is one industry where who could criticize them? They're such brave people, men and women who run into this kind of, you know, catastrophe and ask nothing in return. It's such a beautiful field of service. And so when Mike asked me to get involved, why would I say that? It was a no brainer.
[00:14:11] Speaker A: You know, you mentioned women, Mike. I know that there are some significant women that are part of your organization. Right?
[00:14:17] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: That you should mention.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: We have Shantette Stallworth, a Boston firefighter. She's worked, I think she did 22 years on a fire company. Now she's in the aston squad. Deanna McDevitt is your district chief. I know her father really, really well. And she's the only woman to be promoted to district chief so far.
[00:14:38] Speaker C: And she's originally from Milton.
[00:14:39] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: And a friend of mine, Cora McHugh, she's a registered nurse, a long time operating room nurse at the Faulkner Hospital. So she brings a different perspective. And she understands the medical stuff more than I do. I just ask her, what's that mean?
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Yeah, like you said, surround yourself with people.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: Exactly, exactly.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: It's important. Quincy just got its very first female firefighter ever.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: Really?
[00:15:04] Speaker A: In the department's history.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:06] Speaker A: Now the tests, Suzette, you mentioned, there are specific tests that are more applicable to women.
[00:15:11] Speaker C: Yes. Because it's interesting to know that in the field of female firefighting, they actually suffer through sterility, reproductive issues. That the cancers will affect them that way. And so. And more and more studies are coming out about that. So that's something that we really want to address. And the women and myself sit on the advisory board and we keep track of all these kind of things and advise the organization on getting the word out. Early detection, saving lives and all of that. Everybody's very unified in that effort.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Sure.
Tickets still available for Saturday nights? Yes.
[00:15:57] Speaker C: Just show up, pay at the door. Pay at the door. It's fine. Just show up. It's great.
[00:16:03] Speaker A: Okay.
Free parking.
[00:16:06] Speaker C: A lot of parking at Milton High School.
[00:16:09] Speaker A: All ages welcome.
[00:16:10] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: Family friendly events.
[00:16:12] Speaker C: It's gonna be fun. Yeah, I think so. And it's just such a wonderful community effort.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Well, this is not the first time, Mike, you've delved into comedy when it comes to firefighters, right?
[00:16:22] Speaker B: No, it isn't.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: There was a search last year for.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: The America's Funniest Firefighter's Funniest Firefighter. We had six contestants, I believe.
[00:16:29] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: And the kid that won was from the Springfield Fire department. Took a $5,000 prize home with them, which was really, really. But they were all very, very good. But Chance Seymour, he kind of stuck out.
He was just a little level.
[00:16:45] Speaker C: Aha.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: Very good. Who knew?
[00:16:47] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:16:48] Speaker C: It was so entertaining. And Florian hall was filled with people. Perfect location for Was just hilarious. It was so hilarious that night.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: I wish you success.
[00:16:59] Speaker B: Thank you so much.
[00:17:00] Speaker C: Thank you for having us.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: You're very welcome. Please let us know how it goes. We'll be happy to upload those.
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much.
[00:17:06] Speaker A: You're very welcome.
