WorkSafe advocates firefighters with work-related cancer | The Canadian News

January is Firefighters Cancer Awareness Month with the goal of bringing attention to cancer within the firefighting community.

Darren McClelland fought fires for more than 25 years before struggling with cancer due to smoking. Colon cancer was diagnosed in 2016 in him.

“He had part of his colon removed to get the mass out of his colon. He fought cancer for three and a half years. So he would have surgery and he would have chemotherapy, ”says his wife, Nikkii McClelland.

He was a deputy chief at the Swift Current Fire Department at the time.

In 2018, he became the city’s fire chief, and continued to do the work he loved. While continuing to work, McClelland fought cancer.

“As the principal he worked very hard to juggle both, he still did online training to further his training. He was recovering from surgeries during chemo, but in all that time he was still working to get a higher to be educated to be the best principal he can possibly be, ”McClelland said.

He underwent emergency surgery but was told the cancer had entered his liver. He tried other treatments and even went to Tijuana, Mexico to try something different. In January 2020, Darren McClelland passed away at the age of 48.

“We have two girls and it has been two years since he died. It’s not easy. “I’m just trying to find our way without the man of the house here to tell us what to do or how to do it,” McClelland said. “We are just all trying to find our way to this next path, the next journey of the next phases of this life.”

With five firefighters losing their lives to cancer in 2020, Worksafe says Sask cancer in firefighters is now the second leading cause of death due to work-related illnesses. From 2010 to 2018, 23% of work-related illness deaths in Saskatchewan were due to firefighting cancer.

“This line of work always brings risks and it is our responsibility to reduce those risks as much as possible,” said Layne Jackson, Regina Fire Chief.

Firefighters receive cancer screening when they turn 50, but Nikkii thinks it’s too late. She believes it is essential to start looking at an earlier age so that they can get treatment earlier.

“As much as I can say, yes, he had cancer, he was still a healthy, healthy man until the last four to six months. He still kept his body tip top, “said McClelland.

1:55‘Caring for Yourself’: Calgary Firefighters Raise Awareness of Cancer Risks