FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2023

City of Morgantown Receives Grant for Firefighter Cancer Screenings

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The City of Morgantown recently accepted a grant to the amount of $57,000 to fund cancer screenings for Morgantown firefighters which took place from Monday, December 4 through Thursday, December 7, 2023.

The screenings included multi-cancer early detection blood testing and comprehensive diagnostic ultrasounds for early diagnosis and treatment of occupational cancer.

Statistically, firefighters are disproportionately affected by occupational cancer - it is the number one cause of firefighters' line-of-duty deaths.

"Cancer is the number one killer of firefighters. It used to be heart disease... but now cancer is the number one killer," said Jayson Nicewarner, a lieutenant with the Morgantown Fire Department. "Firefighters are 9% more likely to get cancer than the general population, and 14% more likely to die from cancer than the general population."

The screenings were funded by the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and executed by GRAIL and United Diagnostic Services, LLC.

United Diagnostic Services, LLC specializes in comprehensive wellness screening and testing programs through advanced diagnostic techniques. The company emphasizes early detection and timely treatment for improved outcomes of its clients.

GRAIL is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by developing technology to detect and identify deadly cancer types early.

For more information about GRAIL’s mission, visit http://grail.com.

For more details about United Diagnostic Services, LLC, visit https://udshealth.com

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