cancer

After being shut down “indefinitely” at the start of April, the registration portal of the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer is operational again. The registry is considered by many to be one of the largest and most promising efforts to further understand cancer risks among firefighters, including wildland firefighters.

The move comes in the wake of massive Trump administration layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which runs the program.

That decision by the Department of Labor was based on a review of evidence that concluded that “female firefighters, more likely than not, face heightened risks for breast, uterine and ovarian cancers… due to the toxic exposures they face in their work.”

The year-end funding package addresses research for childhood cancers, but there's still no movement on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which expired in the summer of 2024 and hasn't had a replacement despite an impassioned plea by several Tribes in September.

Researchers pored over roughly four dozen papers that assessed exposure to various carcinogens on the fireline. They identified 31 carcinogens – including asbestos, volatile organic compounds like benzene and crystalline silica.

In 2022, Congress eased access for wildland firefighters to workers’ compensation for a number of serious diseases. But advocates are pushing for broader, more inclusive coverage for cancers affecting women.

Many respondents told researchers they would like more visiting specialists to come to their communities.

The National Firefighter Registry is perhaps the most ambitious effort to better understand the link between firefighting and cancer.

The coronavirus had been a leading cause of death for Wyomingites ever since 2020.

Wyoming U.S. Senator John Barrasso announced Thursday that his wife, Bobbi, has passed away. She battled with brain cancer the last two years.