>> How does the National Firefighter Registry, NFR, work? Every time someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer, state cancer registries collect information for public health tracking. However, it's been difficult to study the relationship between firefighting and cancer, until now. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, launched the National Firefighter Registry to better understand and reduce cancer in firefighters by matching the information from participating firefighters with cancer diagnosis information from state cancer registries. This matching process will allow NIOSH to study the relationship between firefighting and cancer outcomes over time. For example, let's say Sara, a volunteer firefighter, signs up for the NFR. She provides her identifying information, such as name and date of birth, and information about her work, exposures, and lifestyle, through the NFR's secure website and questionnaire. NIOSH scientists then store Sara's profile in the NFR database. Years later, Sara has retired and moved to Florida when she's diagnosed with cancer. Sara's doctors write down information about her cancer such as the type and stage. Following their normal process, Sara's local hospital then sends this information to Florida's state cancer registry. Unfortunately, details about Sara's time as a firefighter are not documented in Florida's cancer registry, which is the case for many firefighters who develop cancer regardless of the state in which they live. This makes it very difficult for epidemiologists to study the relationship between firefighting and cancer. That's where the NFR comes in. Because Sara signed up for the NFR, NIOSH scientists can match her profile information with the information in Florida's cancer registry. With participation from Sara and other firefighters across the U.S., this matching process between the National Firefighter Registry and state cancer registries makes it possible to investigate the link between firefighting and cancer. While we can't say whether Sara's cancer is entirely related to her work as a firefighter, combining her information with all other participating NFR firefighters will help us better understand cancer and its risk factors in the fire service, which could ultimately help reduce cancer among firefighters for generations to come. To learn more about the National Firefighter Registry, visit www.cdc.gov/nfr.