Firefighters go pink to aid cancer efforts

Altoona Fire Marshal Randal S. Isenberg had an aunt he thinks might have survived the breast cancer that killed her 25 years ago when she was in her mid-50s - if today's technology had been available.

Similar personal connections with breast cancer among virtually all city firefighters led the department to raise $4,200 for the Altoona Regional Foundation for Life's Team Pink campaign.

The department presented the money Friday to the foundation, which is trying to help Altoona Regional Health System raise $1.2 million for digital mammography equipment at the hospital's proposed new imaging complex at Station Medical Center.

Digital mammography allows radiologists to enhance, magnify and manipulate images for easier recognition of subtle differences, while allowing for fewer "takes," according to the National Cancer Institute's Web site. It also allows providers to share images electronically, making doctors' consultations easier.

The breast cancer issue came up when a firefighter said he knew someone who had it, "and we decided to go pink," Isenberg said.

They decided to wear duty shirts of the emblematic color, figuring they'd make a little money for the cause.

They ended up making far more because wives, daughters, mothers and others wanted shirts, Isenberg and Deputy Chief Tim Hileman said.

Firefighters on duty will wear the shirts Tuesday and Friday, and they'll hand out literature those days to promote awareness of the disease at Weis Market in the 600 block of Pleasant Valley Boulevard.

"Nobody even hesitated," Hileman said about wearing pink. "We joke around about it, of course."

The fire service is "one of those professions" with a tough-guy streak, he said.

He sold 40 shirts.

"It just snowballed," he said.

Firefighters get into community campaigns easily such as fundraising for muscular dystrophy, fire prevention and car seat installation, Isenberg said.

"We can do much more than show up and fight fires," he said. "We're here to help."

The foundation and hospital have raised about $300,000 so far for the mammography equipment - a third from donations and the rest from grants, foundation President Valerie Brumbaugh said.

Radiologists use mammograms for both screening and diagnosis, according to the national institute, which recommends mammograms for women over 40 every one to two years. Breast cancer is uncommon among women under 40 but especially high in women over 60.