By Cathie Anderson, The Sacramento Bee, November 12, 2019
About three and a half years ago, paramedic Susan Farren underwent major surgery for kidney cancer, and as she lay in the recovery room, one of her doctors told her that he had treated quite a few first responders with organ cancers.
The comment stuck with her.
“I went home and started researching it after getting out of the hospital,” Farren said, “and for the next year and a half, that’s what I did every single day. I researched organ cancers, heart attack, strokes, depression, isolation, substance abuse, suicide.”
In 2017, for instance, more firefighters and police officers died by suicide than in the line of duty, according to research from Boston’s Ruderman Family Foundation. Researchers said the frequent exposure to death and destruction leads to mental health issues — and for some, suicide. In 2017, 103 firefighters and 140 police officers died by their own hand. That same year, 93 firefighters and 129 police officers were killed on the job.
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