VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Captain Matt Chiaverotti's first name. The story has since been updated to fix the error.
Faced with the reality of higher cancer rates, Virginia Beach firefighters are taking a proactive step to battle the disease.
A month after the department lost one of its own to cancer, firefighters are getting their blood drawn for a screening test that detects 50 different types of cancers before symptoms even appear.
Andrew Meyers has worked for the Virginia Beach Fire Department for almost 18 years. He's one of many first responders who got his blood drawn for an early-detection cancer test.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t want to have to think about, but you’d rather know early than not know," Meyers said.
“One of our recent members that just passed away was Captain Matt Chiaverotti – obviously being a firefighter, we know that there are certain inherent risks. But, it really comes to light when you see one of your own pass away so suddenly,” he added.
Chiaverotti died last month after a battle with cancer. He was one of the firefighters who spent several hours at the scene of a Navy jet crash in Virginia Beach in 2012.
Virginia Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Norman Williams said his tragic death inspired them to try and save lives.
“We love Chevy and we miss him a lot. Once we found out his diagnosis and how great his diagnosis was, we decided, ‘Ok. We don’t want to go through this with anyone else.’ So, we decided we have to find something that can find cancer earlier. So, we started looking for something and this is the test that we found," Williams said.
While no one can say for sure the crash caused Chiaverotti’s cancer diagnosis, cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.)
“They’re 16% more likely to die of a cancer if they get it, than the popular. To me, that says they’re getting their cancers detected not early enough to make a difference," said Dr. Whitney Jones, the senior director of Medical Affairs at GRAIL. “For them, Galleri [the test screening] is going to be like a smoke detector. It’s going to give them some advance notice when they haven’t seen the normal signs and symptoms of cancer.”
Results from these tests will come back in two weeks.
“This is an additional layer of protective gear for these fighters as they go out and run into the dangers that we all run away from," Dr. Jones said.
The testing is optional for all active firefighters in the department and retirees who responded to that Navy jet crash a decade ago.
“Almost everyone is opting in. There’s really no reason not to," said Dr. Tony Cetrone, the occupational medicine director for the Virginia Beach Public Safety Clinic. “Early detection is the key. If we can detect the cancer early then we can address it, we can cure it conceivably a lot more efficiently.”
Virginia Beach is now the second fire service in Hampton Roads to participate in early-detection cancer screening. Chesapeake Fire Department is the first.