Survivor educates firefighters about cancer threat

ATLANTA — After a life-threatening bout with cancer, Tom Bay speaks from the heart when he urges firefighters to take measures to reduce the risks of developing the disease.

The motivational speaker and author is a survivor of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow that firefighters are particularly prone to.

While not a firefighter himself, Bay shares a strong affinity with the fire service, which he demonstrated during a keynote address to FRI in Atlanta, Thursday.

His speech coincided with the release of guidelines by the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) aimed at firefighters to help prevent and treat the cancer.

Studies have shown firefighters are at higher risk of developing myeloma, and the risk increases with the length of service.

Bay, an IAFC member who has been on dozens of ride-alongs with Orange County (Calif.) Fire Authority, told conference attendees that they had to start taking their own health more seriously.

“There’s so much going on that has nothing to with simply putting the wet stuff on the red stuff,” he said. “It’s more than that now – it’s about taking care of you.

“Some carcinogens are strong enough to change your DNA. Maybe we just don’t pay enough attention to it until the doctor brings up the big ‘C’ word.”

Bay paid tribute to the work of firefighters across the country, but said they needed to take as much care of themselves as they do their communities.

“It’s important to recognize that what you do is a tremendous commitment to society, but in order to keep doing it you have got to take care of yourself,” Bay said.

He also used his speech to urge the fire services to ensure the intergrity and standards of members are maintained.

Increasing numbers of people are looking to become firefighters for the wrong reasons, Bay said, before urging fire chiefs to be vigilant when recruiting.

“One guy said to me, ‘I want to get a fire job because it’s a chick magnet,’"Bay said. “You don’t need that in the fire service. What you need is quality individuals.”

Bay added that firefighters have never been held in such great esteem by society as they are today, and urged them to continue to live up to expectations.

“Every single day you have the opportunity to polish the badge or tarnish it,” he said. “There’s really no middle ground.”