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[Text on black screen] 40% of people will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Firefighters have an increased risk. Every firefighter needs the lifesaving advantage of early cancer detection.
Joanie Cullinan, Wellesley, Mass. firefighter appears on screen.
Cullinan: Everyone in my family is a nurse. So I was like, I don't know if science is my thing. So for some strange reason I took an EMT class. It clicked. I said that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be a fireman. I love everything about the job.
[Text on black screen] Joanie has been a Wellesley firefighter for 11 years.
Dr. Christine Kannler, dermatologist, appears on screen with Firefighter Cullinan in a firehouse. They are standing in front of a fire engine.
Kannler: My brother was probably the typical firefighter. Tough on the outside. He had this inner core that was so sweet. His cancer was very tough for my family and this is my way of reaching out to the community to provide some good in his memory.
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[Text on black screen] Chelsea firefighter Peter Kannler succumbed to esophageal and stomach cancer at 37. He is survived by his wife and two young children. Dermatologist Christine Kannler gives free skin cancer checks to firefighters to honor him.
Firefighter Cullinan shows Dr. Kannler her clean protective gear.
Cullinan: I did not want to get screened. I had not been to the dermatologist since I was 25 years old. My friend Mike said let's go get a skin check. I said, no I'm good. He said, let's go talk to the girls. They're cute. I said that I could do.
Kannler: When I saw Joni at the free cancer screening I saw a brown spot on her
lower back.
Cullinan: She took a picture so I could show it to my doctor. When I finally went, I asked my doctor to take a look at the spot on my back. She said, we definitely need to biopsy that. I will schedule an appointment for you to come back. I looked at her and I laughed and said, we both know I'm not coming back. So she said she would do a same-day biopsy for me. It came back as malignant melanoma.
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[Text on black screen] Joanie was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2018.
Cullinan and Kannler are sitting in front of a fire engine.
Cullinan: I didn't realize that I was having symptoms. But I was tired all the time. I really thought I have got to hit the gym or I'm out of shape. I'm getting old.
Kannler: Someone should take note of what their “great” feels like and if that is something that you are not feeling for about a two-week period you should definitely reach out to your physician. Early detection is so important with cancer because the earlier we detect it, the more chance we have of curing it.”
Cullinan: Not in a million years did I ever think I would have cancer, especially not at 37 years old.
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[Text on black screen] No symptom is too small. Share any persistent health changes with your doctor.
Cullinan is walking through a fire station. Then she and Kannler are sitting again.
Cullinan: It is so important for us to pay attention to our bodies, to go get skin checks, go get physicals. If you notice something on someone else, say something. We're all in this together. That skin check saved my life.
Cullinan walks out of the fire station.
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[Text on black screen] Learn what to look for, when to take action. Use 3 Steps Detect. Early detection saves lives. 15-40.org
[Screen turns white] Detect Together logo appears in top left of screen. 15 • 40 connection logo appears in center of same screen.