ST. GEORGE — The Baton Rouge Fire Department held a cancer screening event for firefighters on Monday at the Louisiana Firefighter Check Your Food Tube event.

The test is done using a small pill-sized scraping device, which is swallowed and then extracted before being sent off for DNA testing. This device has been used for routine screenings since 2020. 

The test helps firefighters detect pre-cancer allwoing them to undergo curative treatment to avoid cancer development. 

Firefighters have a 62% higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. Firefighters are exposed to harmful chemicals during emergencies, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.