WESTBOROUGH, Mass. – A local nonprofit has been working with former firefighters to ensure the men and women who work hard to protect others are looking after themselves, too, during Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month.

DetecTogether, a Westborough-based organization, works to help identify the warning signs of cancer and promote early detection to increase patients’ chance of survival.

Firefighters have a nine percent higher risk of developing cancer than the general public, and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer.

Joanie Cullinan had been working for the Wellesley Fire Department for more than a decade when she decided to get screened during a convention with the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts.

“I received a free skin check, and at that skin check, the doctor told me to keep an eye on a spot and get a biopsy,” Cullinan said. “I did, and the ultimate result was a diagnosis of stage 3 melanoma. I went through a year of targeted treatment, chemotherapy as well as surgery, to remove a tumor and lymph nodes.”

After her treatment, Cullinan set a goal for herself to return to work. Unfortunately, over the following months, the neuropathy in her feet never went away. She was forced to put in her retirement papers under the Cancer Presumption Law.

Now, in her work with DetecTogether, she tells firefighters that early detection can not only save lives, but careers as well.

“I did not choose to be an expert on firefighter cancer, but unfortunately, I am,” Cullinan said. “I think the more we educate people, the more people will understand this… I caught my cancer early enough to live, but not early enough to do the job that I love.”

Joe Marchetti, retired deputy chief of the Brockton Fire Department, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015 after attending a similar first responder health screening.

“I was able to have my cancer treated. I had surgery, had my prostate removed and went back to pretty much my full normal life after that,” Marchetti said. “But I’ve had several friends in the fire service who have had the same cancer that were diagnosed at later stages who are no longer with us now.”

In lending their voices to DetecTogether, Cullinan and Marchetti hope to increase their peers’ chances of survival with early detection. According to DetecTogether, you are 10 times more likely to survive a cancer diagnosis when it is caught early.

“While we work to rectify and lower the rate of cancer diagnosis in the fire service, we can save lives my emphasizing the importance of early detection and just letting firefighters know that if the cancer is detected early, the treatment options that would be available are vast,” Marchetti said.

On Wednesday, DetecTogether visited the McKeon Road Fire Station in Worcester to talk about the tools available to help firefighters get screened.

Sandy Danault, director of Programs and Partnerships, said everything from the buildings firefighters walk into, to the protective gear they wear, represents a risk that needs to be taken seriously.

“They are the people running in to take care of everybody else, and they tend to put themselves last,” Danault said. “Often times, the medical community may not be aware that firefighters are at such a greater risk for cancers, and so therefore, they fall into the same category as the general population.”

During last week’s visit, Danault handed out small index cards to the firefighters, which they could then give to their doctors. The cards include a list of cancers firefighters are more susceptible to developing, and are meant to help start a conversation.

Danault and DetecTogether often discuss the ‘3 Steps Detect’ method, used to give patients an advantage in detecting potential cancer early.

The steps include ‘Know Your Great’, ‘Use the 2-Week Rule’ and ’Share With Your Doctor.’

“By learning these steps, they learn that they’re looking for subtle and persistent health changes that last longer than two weeks,” Danault said. “So we teach them how to know their baseline and what their grade is, which is step one. Step two, if something is off for two weeks, it’s time to move on to step three and share this with your doctor.”

Having those conversations with a physician can often be the most difficult step for firefighters, but DetecTogether and former firefighters like Marchetti and Cullinan are taking this opportunity during Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month to let them know they’re not alone.

“It was very overwhelming when you save lives for a living and then you’re in limbo and going to doctors fighting for your own life,” Cullinan said. “It’s very, very different. Luckily, during that time, I found the folks at DetecTogether and started doing a lot of advocacy with them, started teaching early detection to firefighters, and trying to prevent anyone from going through what I went through.”