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30 May 2025
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Southeast Weld Fire Department screens firefighters for Oesophageal cancer, Colorado, US
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Southeast Weld Fire Chief Tom Beach lost both his parents to cancer in the same year. Cancer’s impact on Beach moved him to prioritise preventative screenings for his firefighting team. While the fires they approach in their line of work can be deadly, cancer continues to be a leading cause of death among firefighters. The gasses, vapours and particulates firefighters can be exposed to increase the risk of certain types of cancer. “Check Your Food Tube” events screen firefighters for pre-cancer of the oesophagus through Lucid Diagnostics’ EsoGuard DNA test. All 30 members of the Southeast Weld Fire Protection District, including the administrative assistant, participated in the mandatory screening this past week.
Lindsay Wesoky, a representative of Lucid Diagnostics, said the full test takes about five minutes from start to finish. Firefighters start by swallowing a pill-sized capsule, attached to a micro-thin catheter. The capsule grows into a balloon once it reaches the stomach to take a 360-degree swab of the oesophagus. The balloon then inverts back into a capsule before extraction.
The swab goes off to DNA testing, which takes about two to three weeks to get results.
A Barrett’s Oesophagus Translational Research Network study evaluated the device and DNA testing. The study showed 85 percent high sensitivity and 85 percent specificity for detecting the disease and no cancers were missed.
Firefighters have a 62 percent higher likelihood of getting oesophageal cancer because of the occupational risk from exposure to harmful chemicals and smoke inhalation, Wesoky said. According to the Firefighter Cancer Support Group, firefighters have a 39 percent increased risk of dying from oesophageal cancer.
Chief Beach felt putting money toward ensuring the health of his team outweighed any costs to the fire district. “It goes beyond the first responder,” he said. “For me, it goes back to that personal level.”
Oesophageal cancer screenings can lead to early detection, which is critical to avoiding developing or progressing one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The National Cancer Institute reports the overall five-year survival rate for oesophageal cancer is about 20 percent.
Indications of pre-cancer can jumpstart curative treatment, like connecting firefighters with a specialist for an upper endoscopy and further surveillance, Wesoky said. One treatment option includes ablating pre-cancerous cells through cryotherapy, which freezes and destroys abnormal tissue. This can help prevent the cancer from progressing.
The Southeast Weld Fire Protection District, which has stations in Keenesburg and Roggen, holds annual physicals for its firefighters and Chief Beach likes to take it a step further. At physicals, he makes all ages get a prostate-specific antigen test, typically reserved for men over 50.
Chief Beach also noticed lung and throat cancer screenings aren’t as widely known or discussed as other forms of cancer, like prostate and colon cancer. The district will host a lung screening event in November.
To take care of others in the community, the firefighters need to take care of themselves. “It’s part of insurance for the district but it is also an insurance for the individuals and their families,” Chief Beach said.
Hearing other agencies take on this offering sparked the district’s decision to bring it in, so Beach sees the value in spreading awareness about the available screenings and the health risks firefighters face.
For more information on hosting a “Check Your Food Tube,” visit luciddx.com/contact.
Source: The Greeley Tribune
Lindsay Wesoky, a representative of Lucid Diagnostics, said the full test takes about five minutes from start to finish. Firefighters start by swallowing a pill-sized capsule, attached to a micro-thin catheter. The capsule grows into a balloon once it reaches the stomach to take a 360-degree swab of the oesophagus. The balloon then inverts back into a capsule before extraction.
The swab goes off to DNA testing, which takes about two to three weeks to get results.
A Barrett’s Oesophagus Translational Research Network study evaluated the device and DNA testing. The study showed 85 percent high sensitivity and 85 percent specificity for detecting the disease and no cancers were missed.
Firefighters have a 62 percent higher likelihood of getting oesophageal cancer because of the occupational risk from exposure to harmful chemicals and smoke inhalation, Wesoky said. According to the Firefighter Cancer Support Group, firefighters have a 39 percent increased risk of dying from oesophageal cancer.
Chief Beach felt putting money toward ensuring the health of his team outweighed any costs to the fire district. “It goes beyond the first responder,” he said. “For me, it goes back to that personal level.”
Oesophageal cancer screenings can lead to early detection, which is critical to avoiding developing or progressing one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The National Cancer Institute reports the overall five-year survival rate for oesophageal cancer is about 20 percent.
Indications of pre-cancer can jumpstart curative treatment, like connecting firefighters with a specialist for an upper endoscopy and further surveillance, Wesoky said. One treatment option includes ablating pre-cancerous cells through cryotherapy, which freezes and destroys abnormal tissue. This can help prevent the cancer from progressing.
The Southeast Weld Fire Protection District, which has stations in Keenesburg and Roggen, holds annual physicals for its firefighters and Chief Beach likes to take it a step further. At physicals, he makes all ages get a prostate-specific antigen test, typically reserved for men over 50.
Chief Beach also noticed lung and throat cancer screenings aren’t as widely known or discussed as other forms of cancer, like prostate and colon cancer. The district will host a lung screening event in November.
To take care of others in the community, the firefighters need to take care of themselves. “It’s part of insurance for the district but it is also an insurance for the individuals and their families,” Chief Beach said.
Hearing other agencies take on this offering sparked the district’s decision to bring it in, so Beach sees the value in spreading awareness about the available screenings and the health risks firefighters face.
For more information on hosting a “Check Your Food Tube,” visit luciddx.com/contact.
Source: The Greeley Tribune