The Firefighter Cancer Initiative at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has spent more than a decade researching how cancer affects firefighters, working with local departments across South Florida to improve prevention, screenings and treatment for those facing elevated risks on the job.
The program combines research, advocacy and direct outreach, aiming to better understand cancer patterns among firefighters and turn those findings into practical safety changes. Dr. Erin Kobetz, associate director for Community Outreach and Engagement at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the initiative’s principal investigator, said the work is shaped by the firefighters themselves.
“Sylvesters firefighter cancer initiative is really grounded in the lived experiences of firefighters. They nominate the focus of our research,” she told CBS News Miami earlier this year.
Research findings helping reshape firefighter safety
Research conducted through the initiative has helped identify higher rates of certain cancers among firefighters and has examined their gear as a possible link to increased exposure. Those findings have helped shift the culture around safety practices.
“It’s amazing that the research has helped catalyze this recognition that clean is actually the badge of honor and. And it doesn’t happen without the active engagement of our firefighter colleagues, who we stand shoulder to shoulder with in defining the focus and scope of what we study and more importantly, ensuring those findings translate to actionable opportunity to keep our heroes safe,” Kobetz said.
For Kobetz, the initiative’s impact extends beyond South Florida.
“Sylvesters firefighter Cancer Initiative is privileged to be at the forefront of what is now a national conversation about the unique risk that firefighters experience because of their jobs, and it gives us pause,” she said.
Mobile screenings aim to remove barriers for first responders
Eric Johnson, a 23-year veteran of the City of Hialeah Fire Department, knows those risks firsthand. Now in remission after his own cancer diagnosis, he said the experience felt unreal after years of helping others through crises.
“You are the one who gets to see people in despair on a daily basis. And when it’s something with yourself, it’s surreal. It’s not real. It’s you have cancer, it’s bad, it’s spread and it’s not looking good,” Johnson said.
Johnson was treated at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and now encourages fellow firefighters and the broader community to prioritize regular screenings. To make that easier, the initiative brings services directly to fire stations across the region.
“Sylvester firefighter Cancer Initiative has two mobile vehicles that provide primary care plus cancer screening to firefighters throughout South Florida,” Kobetz said. “And the goal of these mobile vehicles is to increase cancer screening and early detection for first responders by removing structural time and access barriers that often impede firefighters from participating in recommended screenings.”
Through research and outreach, leaders with the initiative say the mission remains clear: protecting those who protect the community and ensuring early detection becomes a routine part of firefighter health.
