The Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation Partners with Fort Worth Fire Department To Raise Skin Cancer Awareness

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Jul 21, 2022, 10:16 ET

GARDEN CITY, N.Y., July 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Emulating FDNY's (the largest metropolitan fire fighter community in the United States) successful partnership with the Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation, FWFD launched their skin cancer prevention program on July 25^th. The Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex is the focal point for the training and education for the city's 950 firefighters. Their territory – one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country covers more than 350 square miles and they respond to more than 160,000 calls annually. Lieutenant Troy Clark with FWFD's Bureau of Fire Prevention, is enthusiastic about this new partnership. "In the fire service, we begin our lives at the Fire Academy. There is no better place to bring skin cancer awareness to firefighters."

Mollie's Fund and Fort Worth Fire Department implement skin cancer program

According to the CDC National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), first responders have a higher risk of developing skin cancer than the general population. Studies have revealed an increased risk for multiple cancers and, in a study published in the JAMA of Dermatology, firefighters are also found to be diagnosed with melanoma at younger ages – an average of 42. "In Texas, the odds of getting skin cancer are increased. One in three Texans will develop some form of skin cancer. And, Texas ranks third in the nation for malignant melanoma," reported Jack Biggane, President of Mollie's Fund. "So when we educate the Fort Worth firefighter community, we are bringing our message of prevention to a population that is very susceptible to this disease."

Working together, Mollie's Fund and FWFD designed posters that will be earmarked for fire stations throughout the city in order to educate firefighters about skin cancer prevention. And, with facilitation by Dr. Elizabeth Hale, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology at NYU, Mollie's Fund created a skin cancer education module that will be incorporated into the trainees' classroom curriculum and will also be available on the FWFD website. The foundation's eight donated sunscreen dispensers will be placed at strategic locations throughout the training center so that firefighters, trainees and instructors have easy access to sunscreen. Dr. Keith Argenbright, MD, Chief of the Division of Community Health Sciences at UT Southwestern Medical Center, supports this initiative. "We appreciate the impactful work of Mollie's Fund to help our firefighters to be safe from skin cancer."

Visit www.molliesfund.org for more information on this project and how you can prevent skin cancer.

Contact:

John Biggane
516-816-3623
[email protected]

SOURCE Mollie Biggane Melanoma Foundation