Cancer News, Treatment and Research

A group of 50 firefighters who may have been exposed to asbestos while training with the Everett Fire Company in 2007 won an ongoing battle this week when the city agreed to specialized health monitoring for those involved. Exposure may have occurred when the firefighters went into old, soon-to-be-demolished buildings for training, taking axes, chainsaws, and other equipment with them that may have resulted in disturbing existing asbestos in the aging structures. Originally, the group had filed a $9 million suit against the city but dropped it when Everett officials agreed to the health monitoring, which will involve keeping an eye out for serious asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer. Because mesothelioma has a long latency period and symptoms often do not appear for decades, the testing will be life-long, notes a story aired on KOMO TV news. Symptoms also mirror other diseases and accurate diagnosis is often difficult, so periodic testing is essential. “We risk our lives for the citizens,” says firefighter Eric Coston, secretary of the labor union who represents the group. “We don’t ask any special treatment, we just want to be taken care of.” After 4 1/2 years, the city finally agreed. “The agreement addresses the issues raised by the firefighters,” a city spokesperson said in a prepared statement to the media. “The city is always interested in the well being of its employees. The city feels the settlement is fair.”