“No one really tells us that the job that we love so much can hurt our body in ways that we never imagined.”
—Christie Treiber Donn, (ret.), Miami-Dade, FL, Fire Rescue
Christie Treiber Donn graduated as an EMT in 1985 and worked for Medicar Ambulance in Miami-Dade County, FL, and AMR in Boca Raton. She became a paramedic in 1987. That same year, Donn graduated from Miami-Dade College Fire Academy. In 1988, she graduated from Miami-Dade, FL, Fire Rescue’s recruit training program. Donn has numerous awards to her credit, including Firehouse Magazine’s 1997 Community Service Award for her development of the Elder Links program.
What was your first reaction when you discovered that you had cancer, and how did your cancer journey play out?
Although I had cervical cancer in 1990, I didn’t think much about getting cancer again. It was resolved through surgery and required no additional treatment.
In 1995, I developed uterine fibroids that grew on the outside of my uterus. That was resolved through a hysterectomy, but, again, I didn’t really think of anything else brewing in the future. Cancer for female firefighters was never really an issue back then, because there was no long-term information on cancer for female firefighters. Women still were very new in the fire service.
When I think about it now, I realize both of those issues were because my estrogen and hormones were affected by the chemicals and carcinogens that I breathed and absorbed through my skin every time that I dealt with a fire. I also worked at Miami International Airport and hazmat through my career, two of the three highest incidence rates of cancer along with fire inspectors.
In 2001, I felt a lump in my right breast. I arranged for my annual physical to be conducted much earlier in the year than I would have, because all of my mammograms had been through my annual physicals. However, when I told the doctor at the annual physical that I felt something, I was told then that a diagnostic couldn’t be done through the annual physical. That was completely inaccurate, but I didn’t know that at the time. I scheduled a mammogram and ultrasound through a private company and was told I was fine.
However, I still felt something in my right breast, and in my heart, I knew there was something wrong. I met a firefighter whose wife had breast cancer, and he directed me to a radiologist who only did mammograms and ultrasounds.
My boyfriend of seven years (a lieutenant at MDFR [Miami-Dade Fire Rescue] and our union president) proposed to me on Sept. 29, 2001, at a surprise engagement party. I had a mammogram and ultrasound the next day. I was scheduled on Oct. 1 for a needle biopsy. By Oct. 2
I had a diagnosis of tubular type cancer in my right breast. What a way to start our engagement.
We spent the next several months seeing specialists to determine what my best treatment options were. Because of the type of cancer, ultimately, I had a lumpectomy and brachytherapy radiation. I thought that would be it, taken care of, and went back to work, never really thinking that this would happen again. However, I had a terrible reaction to the radiation, which caused necrosis of my breast, which required additional surgery. OK, now, I’m all OK! Wrong again!
In October 2006, I again felt something in my right breast. Of course, I had been followed the previous five years by the same radiologist, and mammograms didn’t show anything unusual. Because I told the doctor that I felt something, he did an ultrasound just to be safe. That led us again to a needle biopsy and a diagnosis of a completely different type of breast cancer. I insisted on an MRI to follow up and, ultimately, was diagnosed with a third type of cancer in my left breast.
In December 2006, I had a bilateral mastectomy. I was put on tamoxifen for five years, but through Oncotype genomics testing, it was determined that I needed no further chemotherapy. Reconstruction couldn’t take place for almost eight months, because the previous radiation caused multiple issues in the healing process.
I am blessed to say that no cancer has returned. In 2019, I required replacement of my implants because of intracapsular rupture.
What advice do you have for women firefighters?
My advice to women firefighters is know your body. Do monthly self-exams, because you will feel something different in your breast long before your doctor will.
Be as cautious as possible on the job. Shower immediately after any exposures and be careful what you bring back into your own home. No one really tells us that the job that we love so much can hurt our body in ways that we never imagined. Everything that we are exposed to that’s a chemical affects our estrogen and hormones, which ultimately affects the outcome of our health.
What advice do you have for women firefighters who have cancer?
Seek out other women to be your support system. You will need them. Seek out the men who you work with as well, because they truly can be and are your brothers, and they will help you all the way. This brings tears to my eyes, because my crew took care of me, called me, were there for me for anything that I needed! We truly are a BrotHERhood!
