14-02-2025
‘This screening saved my life': New initiative aims to address firefighters' health concerns
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A new initiative aims to help firefighters take control of their health and well-being. Some are calling it a game-changer for firefighters' health.
Firefighters have a much higher risk of developing cancer and other health issues related to the conditions they work in. The stress and challenges of the job can also affect their mental health.
A new initiative with Via Christi and the Wichita Fire Department provides firefighters with preventative screenings and other resources and support. Both organizations say this is a long time in the making.
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'We'll have to schedule every firefighter every year, all 400 and some odd of them, schedule them all throughout the year to make sure they get at least one full checkup scan every single year. That's the goal,' said Ted Bush, president of Wichita Firefighters Local 135.
'This is the step of actually finding those cancers early. And hopefully, we will have an added quality and quantity to their lives,' said Keisha Humphries, Director of Oncology & Pulmonary, Via Christi. 'They can reach out to 719-FIRE. When they call that number, we're going to start an initiation of and a screening appointment for them.'
Behind the sirens and bravery is a health struggle Chris Conover didn't think he'd have to face.
'This screening saved my life, and that's why I'm here,' said Captain Chris Conover with the Wichita Fire Department. 'If they wouldn't have caught it with the program, I could have had it for years and it could have been too late, you know?'
Conover has been with the Wichita Fire Department for over 30 years. Just this past December, he was a part of a pilot program for the Firefighter Wellness Initiative. That's when the screenings revealed he had lung cancer.
'They found a mass in my right lung, ended up talking to a surgeon and pulled it out,' said Conover.
Conover didn't need chemotherapy. He says he is now cancer free.
As much as he is grateful to continue to be there for his wife and son, he says more needs to be done to ensure firefighters get the screening and treatment they need. He said, 'We're getting more into that. I think we can do more.'
Doing more is the focus of the new initiative, and it focuses on early interventions, detections, preventative care/screenings and mental health support.
This will include yearly screenings for many conditions, including cancer and heart disease. Conover says he hopes this changes the culture around a firefighter's health and brings more awareness.
'There's a lot of guys that are retired that have had cancer that could have got cut early, but we didn't have this,' said Conover.
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