EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Physicals for firefighters with Cimarron Hills Fire Department just east of Colorado Springs are going next level with an internal test for esophageal cancer.
To the question, ‘What did it feel like going down--like something caught in your throat?’ Firefighter/Paramedic Bobby Watson said, “Yep, constantly as it just keeps going down, it just keeps making you gag and it's like swallowing a pill that just won't stop.”
A tube with a pill size capsule at the end is swallowed,
When it reaches the stomach it is inflated into a small bubble with ridges.
It is then pulled up the esophagus gathering a 360 degree sample that can be tested for pre-cancer.
The system developed through the company Lucid Diagnostics got FDA approval a few years back.
Cimarron Hills Fire Chief Andrew York recently learned about the test at a conference and worked to provide it to his firefighters.
He said, “Our firefighters are important, you know, we want them to have a long, healthy career. We want them to have a long, healthy retirement.”
Firefighters have a much higher risk of getting esophageal cancer.
The testing helps find it as a pre-cancer when treatment to cut it off is most successful.___
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