Todsay's post has been shared from wkyc.com Columbus firefighter Mark Rine was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2012. He can no longer work as a firefighter, but is working to educate his fellow firefighters and push for cancer presumption laws in Ohio. Ask any firefighter and they can name at least one. That is one fellow firefighter who is battling cancer, or succumbed to it. Last year, just in the Columbus Fire Department, 53 firefighters were diagnosed with cancer. Mark Rine used to work with some of them, and he wasn't surprised. Two and a half years ago Mark went to the doctor to have a suspicious mole checked out. It wasn't cancer. But the doctor found another that was. The test results were stunning. At just 30 years of age, Mark was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma " I was shocked. I was shocked because I did feel great. I thought I was in great shape and had no issues," Mark told us when we visited him at his home outside Columbus. He began treatment early in the summer of 2012 and was able to return to work for a time. Unfortunately, Mark's cancer has spread and he now has a tumor at the base of his spine. He now spends his days at home with his five children. "It's not worth it. I love my job. I thoroughly love it and miss it, but it's not worth all this," Mark says. He does his best to explain what it is like for firefighters after a fire. "As soon as you come out of a scene, most firefighters will understand what I am saying, you are sneezing black stuff for... |
