Lawrence Firefighters Receive Cancer Screening

LAWRENCE FIREFIGHTERS RECEIVE CUTTING-EDGE CANCER SCREENING THANKS TO INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP

Lawrence, Indiana – In a Hollywood movie, the death of a firefighter is almost always the result of a massive explosion or falling debris. 

In real life, the risks tend to be more subtle – but no less deadly. 

According to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety at the Centers for Disease Control, cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters. Mounting research suggests firefighters are at greater risk for developing certain types of cancers and are at 14 percent greater risk of dying a cancer-related death than the general population. Much of that risk is related to the wide variety of hazardous substances firefighters encounter while battling a blaze, when a fire’s searing temperatures can turn otherwise benign objects into sources of carcinogenic gases, vapors, and particulates.

Enter the Galleri® test from GRAIL, a healthcare company innovating to solve medicine's most important challenges. Galleri® is a multi-cancer early detection blood test designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer in their early stages. This type of test allows fire departments to take a proactive approach to safeguarding firefighters’ health. And, thanks to a collaboration with Community Health Network, the Galleri® test is being offered to all City of Lawrence firefighters this week at no cost. 

“Our firefighters selflessly protect our community, often at great personal risk,” said Lawrence fire chief Bob Wallace. “Providing them access to advanced cancer screening technology like the Galleri test is crucial in ensuring their well-being and enabling early intervention.”

Nearly 90% of the city’s firefighters have opted to take part in the voluntary screening this week.  

Dr. Patrick McGill, Chief Transformation Officer for Community Health Network, highlighted the importance of collaborations like this one: “This not only addresses the unique health risks faced by firefighters but also showcases the power of partnerships in improving health outcomes.”

For more information about the Galleri test, visit eCommunity.com.

Media Contact: 

Angela Plank, aplank@cityoflawrence.org

Kris Kirschner, kkirschner@ecommunity.com

###

About Community Health Network

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Community Health Network has been deeply committed to the communities it serves since opening its first hospital, Community Hospital East, in 1956.  Community Health Network puts patients first while offering a full continuum of healthcare services, world-class innovations and a new focus on population health management. Exceptional care, simply delivered, is what sets Community Health Network apart and what makes it a leading not-for-profit healthcare destination in central Indiana. For more information about Community Health Network, please visit eCommunity.com.

About GRAIL 

GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art machine learning, software, and automation to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types in earlier stages. GRAIL’s targeted methylation-based platform can support the continuum of care for screening and precision oncology, including multi-cancer early detection in symptomatic patients, risk stratification, minimal residual disease detection, biomarker subtyping, treatment and recurrence monitoring. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. GRAIL, LLC, is a subsidiary of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) currently held separate from Illumina, Inc. under the terms of the Interim Measures Order of the European Commission. For more information, visit grail.com. 

About Galleri®

The Galleri multi-cancer early detection test is a new proactive tool to screen for cancer. It is a blood test that can help screen for many of the most deadly types of cancer that don’t have recommended screening today, such as pancreatic, esophageal, ovarian, and liver.* The Galleri test can identify DNA shed by cancer cells (unique “fingerprints”) to screen for some of the deadliest cancers before they become symptomatic, when cancer may be more easily treated and potentially curable. The Galleri test provides direction to doctors on the cancer’s origin and helps guide next steps for diagnosis. The Galleri test requires a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider and should be used in addition to recommended cancer screenings such as mammography, colonoscopy, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, or cervical cancer screening. The Galleri test is recommended for adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those aged 50 or older.

For more information, visit galleri.com.