“I didn’t do anything back then to help myself, and I’m paying the price now.”
—Ed Hadfield, Rincon, CA, Fire Department
In his more than 35-year career in the fire service, Chief Ed Hadfield of the Rincon, CA, Fire Department has battled cancer three separate times. In 2014, he was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer and had a subsequent squamous cell mass removed from his neck in 2017. In 2018, he had a third squamous cell mass that was removed from his back. He currently is scanned for continuous cancer growths every three months.
How did you learn that you had cancer?
The first time I noticed something was wrong was in 2014. I had what looked like a pimple on my lip that would never heal. Because I had ignored it for well over a year, they told me that they were going to have to do a Mohs surgery, which is basically burning the layers of your skin out until they get to the base layer where there are no more cancer cells. Unfortunately for me, it was directly under my nose, and they had to remove the top portion of my lip and reconstruct it. The one on my neck was about the size of a quarter, and they caught it fairly early. About a year later, they found a squamous cell mass that had to be surgically removed.
When you were first diagnosed with cancer, did you link it to your work in the fire service?
Skin cancer is a little bit different, especially living and growing up in California with the exposure to sun. But through a lot of research and working with different groups, the biggest problem that I realized I had in 35 years is that I came from a culture where we didn’t clean after fires. We didn’t wash our turnouts. I can be honest: I don’t ever recall in my career washing my hood. Going from fire to fire without coming back and taking a shower. All of those factors played into me getting cancer. We’ve made great strides in the fire service, but 35 years ago we prided ourselves on having dirty gear that was covered in soot and carcinogens, and we didn’t recognize it at the time. I didn’t do anything back then to help myself, and I’m paying the price now. As a fire chief, it’s my duty and my responsibility to make sure my firefighters don’t experience the same thing I’m experiencing now. We are making every effort to make a change.
How have your brother and sister firefighters supported you since your diagnosis?
Being later into your career, it’s a sad reality that each day you recognize and anticipate that many of your brother and sister firefighters are going to have the same problems, experiences and health issues that you’re having, because we weren’t as educated or as careful back in the day. A lot of the retirees and those who are later on in their career, we stay connected. They reach out, and we try to support one another. While my cancers are considered life-threatening if left undetected, they are not as life-threatening as other cancers firefighters I’ve worked with are experiencing. The biggest thing is that the older generation has to step up to the plate and push for change in the fire service.
How has cancer affected your life both on and off the job?
You don’t realize how self-conscious you are until you don’t have a top lip. I looked at myself as, “I’m going to be deformed,” and I became very self-conscious of my appearance for the longest time during the healing phase. The healing process was very painful and difficult. The process of being self-conscious about the appearance of my face was challenging to deal with and the fear of what other cancers I could get and if I can be there for my kids. I don’t think I’ll ever be cancer-free. It appears on a fairly regular basis that they are continuing to find things on my skin. Given the number of fires I’ve been to in my career and the amount of exposure to toxins, we’ll see.
