Chris Conner knows the struggles of cancer-stricken firefighters who are often overwhelmed with high medical bills.
“I know for a fact that a primary need is for financial help,” Conner said. “There is a misconception that [firefighters] have great insurance these days, and we don’t. We all have high deductibles.”
Conner is president of Firefighters Against Cancer and Exposures, or FACEs, which launched last month. It main partner is Laboratory for Advanced Medicine, which developed the IvyGene blood test using DNA patterns to detect the presence of cancer. Bedford is also working with the laboratory on conducting blood tests of all of the city’s firefighters. “Working together, we realize there is a bigger need than just cancer testing,” said Adam Davis, the firm’s business development manager. “Financial stress leads to other stress.”