Supplement like a hazmat suit for the insides

Multiple studies have shown firefighters have higher rates of certain cancers than the general public, including:

o Testicular cancer, 2.02 times greater risk.

o Multiple myeloma, 1.53 times.

o Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 1.51 times.

o Skin cancer, 1.39 times.

o Malignant melanoma, 1.31 times.

o Brain cancer, 1.31 times.

o Prostate cancer, 1.28 times.

o Colon cancer, 1.21 times.

Source: Firefighter Cancer Support Network

Darrin Deming first ventured into the health supplement industry as an amateur pill-maker working out of his kitchen.

A firefighter for nearly 14 years, Deming grew concerned about how the environmental exposures on the job were impacting his health. More and more research is showing firefighters are at increased risk for a variety of cancers as a result of on-the-job exposures.

Deming, 41, spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours researching potential supplement ingredients and consulting with health care professionals. He tapped his wife’s knowledge of the supplement business, in which she’s built a career over the last five years.

The goal was to use, as much as possible, quality, plant-based ingredients that would help the body to rid itself of chemicals and minimize damage to the body, Deming said.

Deming came up with a combination that includes milk thistle seed (an antioxidant that aids in liver detoxification and produces new liver cells), tumeric root (a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant) and various B vitamins (liver detoxification nutrients).

He bought the ingredients, capsules and a pill-maker and began creating his own supplements. Each one-month supply would take him at least two hours to make.

After a couple of months — and lots of socks stained orange from tumeric powder dropping from the counter — Deming’s wife, Rachel, suggested they hand over manufacturing to professionals and turn the operation into a business.

The Demings founded Prehab Nutrition and began manufacturing the supplement, Daily Decon, earlier this year. The supplement is manufactured in Portland, tested in an independent third-party lab and stored in a climate-controlled facility.

The Prehab Nutrition website, www.prehabnutrition.com, launched in late February and is currently the only place where Daily Decon is sold. Each bottle has 120 pills — a one-month supply — and costs $34.99.

So far, they’ve sold about 100 bottles of the supplement to firefighters across the country. When sales pick up, Deming said the business will donate a portion of the money from each bottle to families that have lost someone who worked in the fire service to cancer.

For now, the Demings are focused on getting the word out about Daily Decon and, more importantly, the environmental exposures putting firefighters’ health at risk.

“Let’s be aware that this is a real thing, that this is happening,” said Deming, a Vancouver firefighter for the last 10 years.

“It doesn’t matter how many prevention measures you take, you will get toxic chemicals in your body,” he added.

When firefighters arrive at a house fire, they’re dealing with three points of exposure: the structure, the fire load and diesel exhaust, Deming said. The structure refers to the body of the house, as well as the insulation, plumbing and vinyl siding — all of which emit poisonous chemicals. The fire load is all of the items inside the house — televisions, desks, furniture.

“Those are even more toxic,” Deming said.

Diesel exhaust is emitted from most of the vehicles on the scene of a fire — the engines, trucks and ambulances. Diesel particles can travel up to 650 feet, easily blanketing a scene, Deming said.

“These firefighters are being exposed to a lot of toxic chemicals when they walk onto a scene,” said Dr. Louise Tolzmann, a Portland naturopathic physician who specializes in oncology and environmental medicine. Tolzmann has worked with fire departments across the region, including Vancouver Fire Department, to educate firefighters about the risks and to encourage policy changes to protect firefighters’ health.

Firefighters are not only at risk of inhaling the toxins but also for absorbing the toxins through their skin, Tolzmann said. One area where absorption happens more readily is the jaw and neckline — an area that goes largely unprotected by firefighters’ gear, she said.

In those areas, the skin is thinner and more permeable, Tolzmann said. And for every 5 degree increase in skin temperature, there is a 400 percent increase in absorption, she said. While firefighters’ turnouts cover their body and masks cover their faces, their necks are often exposed, Tolzmann said.

“Wearing your mask is not enough,” Deming said.

In the last year, the fire service has made changes to protect firefighters from some on-the-job exposures, Deming said.

The department now does fit tests on masks to ensure the mask has a good seal on the firefighter’s face; there’s an emphasis on keeping masks on longer, not removing them as soon as a firefighter walks out of a house; and firefighters are now hosed off and clean their skin with baby wipes after finishing up at a scene, Deming said.

When Deming first became a firefighter, such precautions were never considered. Firefighters would walk out of a house with soot on their faces and their hoods pulled down, bunched up around their necks, Deming said. And they certainly didn’t use baby wipes to clean up at the scene, he said.

“It’s really no surprise, given the history, that studies are coming out showing higher rates of cancer,” Deming said.

Deming hopes the supplement will support those prevention measures and give firefighters a way to combat the toxin exposure that no amount of prevention can avoid.

“Regardless of what we do, stuff is going to get in,” he said.

Tolzmann said she sees value in the supplement.

“I definitely think there’s benefits to those ingredients,” she said. “This is a great base.”

People taking the supplement won’t experience any immediate, noticeable changes in their health, Deming said. Much like a person doesn’t know cancer is in their body until it’s manifested, they won’t notice the supplement working, he said.

“It’s a long-term perspective,” Deming said.