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Firefighters are wearing pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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Local firefighters are joining those across the country who are proudly wearing pink this month, in an effort to bring attention to the fight against breast cancer.

“Firefighters are motivated to get involved for many reasons, and often it’s because they have been personally affected by the disease,” said Kevin Bergstrom, president of IAFF Local 2444. “We are supporting breast cancer awareness and prevention by encouraging others to give so that no breast cancer patient goes without life-saving treatments or having hope for a cure.”

According to a press release from Local 2444, firefighters exposed to carcinogens and other chemicals while on the job are disproportionately diagnosed with breast cancer. It is just one of many cancers linked to the work firefighters do.

In America, one in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Eighty-five percent of people who have breast cancer have no family history.

The East Clark Professional Firefighters Local 2444 represents all of the full-time firefighters in the Camas-Washougal Fire Department and East County Fire and Rescue.