BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — As Captain Mark Egloff approaches 30 years as a Buffalo firefighter, he's made history, receiving the first-ever line-of-duty cancer diagnosis within the department.
"You know, you're scared when you hear it," he told 7 News. "Everyone hears cancer, you get scared of it. That's just the natural reaction."
But thanks to a partnership between Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Buffalo Fire Department, and Buffalo Professional Firefighters Local 282, Captain Egloff's lung cancer was detected early. He had surgery and is now cancer-free and back on the job.
"I was fortunate enough that we caught it early enough that it was just a little segment they took out," he explained. "They stitched me up, and I was good to go."
Roswell Park operates Eddy, a mobile lung cancer screening unit, which focuses on at-risk populations.
Firefighters are 9% more likely to develop all cancers and 14% more likely to die from the disease. Experts now know more about the risk, making the line-of-duty diagnosis all the more significant.
"The screenings are the start of it," said Chris Whelan, president of Local 282. "Then from there, obviously the focus is on the firefighter's health, making sure he gets the treatment he needs, gets back to work, gets back to his family."
The partnership started with a cancer prevention committee between Roswell Park, the fire department, and the union. That not only led to the screenings, but the cancer center also provided decontamination wipes for firefighters to properly remove cancer-causing chemicals and helped secure state funding to purchase specialized machines to clean gear.
"It's going to help them be healthier. It's going to keep everyone safer, and they can continue to keep our community safe," said Ashley Snowden, Roswell Park's director of physician and corporate relations.
Snowden and Whelan — along with Dr. Mary Reid, Roswell Park's chief of cancer screening — presented at this year's International Firefighter Cancer Symposium in Miami, Fla. What's happening in Buffalo is a model to other cities around the world.
"To be on the panel and to be presenting and to be a thought leader now in this space is honestly an honor," Snowden told 7 News Senior Reporter Michael Wooten from the event in Miami.
Whelan took questions from many of his counterparts, who wanted to learn about the positive results in Buffalo.
"We've been able to collaborate with the city, with the department, with Roswell (Park), and move this forward to a point where we're actually being looked upon as an example of how to do things right," Whelan told Wooten at the symposium.
Roswell Park has already done more than 1,000 lung and skin cancer screenings for local first responders, with the goal to keep expanding.
Captain Egloff doesn't like the spotlight, but he hopes his story will help shine a spotlight on the importance of screenings for at-risk populations.
"As I learned from my own experience, early detection is a key factor," Captain Egloff said.
This veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department's Rescue 1 unit hopes that his diagnosis will cause his fellow firefighters to focus on screenings, with the goal of 100% participation.
