I was passing out on the toilet from pain… then doctors diagnosed me with deadly disease caused by my work that turned my arms BLACK: There are early warning signs before it gets too bad
Mark Jaquez needed to go to the bathroom more than a dozen times day, suddenly interrupting what he was doing to make the urgent dash every hour.
At times, Jaquez would be struck by such excruciating bowel spasms that the father-of-three would pass out on the toilet.
‘When I would go, my body would just take over,’ Jaquez told the Daily Mail. ‘My body just pushed, and there were times when I could not stop it’.
The firefighter, who had been pulling people from burning buildings for nearly a decade at that point, had always been fit and healthy and thought the symptoms would pass.
But after he told his wife what he was experiencing, the lieutenant paramedic, who was 45 at the time, agreed to go to the doctor.
That was when, in November 2017, he received a devastating diagnosis: He had stage four early-onset colon cancer and at least 20 polyps in his colon and rectum.
The New Mexico resident was told he would need radiation, surgery and nine rounds of chemotherapy.
Grappling with the diagnosis and the knowledge that barely 13 percent of patients survive stage four colon cancer, he went to his employer to ask them to cover his healthcare and lost wages while he took extended leave for treatment.
But Jaquez, now 54, was shocked by the response: ‘No.’
Despite his nine-and-a-half years of service, they told him he had not worked as a firefighter long enough to qualify for the assistance.
Mark Jaquez, now 54 years old, had to continue working after he was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 45 years old when his employer denied his coverage. He works as a firefighter, a job that significantly raises the risk of multiple cancers, including of the colon
He asked to be covered by his employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, comprehensive coverage that is meant to cover healthcare and lost wages for injuries sustained while at work. Unlike health insurance, the program has no deductible to meet.
Virtually every American worker – a total of 129 million people – is covered by workers’ compensation, according to the American Public Health Association.
For firefighters, it covers costs from accidents such as burns, smoke inhalation or injuries from lifting equipment. It is also covers up to 20 types of cancer.
That’s because studies have shown firefighters have a significantly higher risk of developing these cancers, including colon cancer, than the general population.
Firefighters are repeatedly exposed to toxic fumes from burning buildings and firefighting foam, which contains cancer-linked ‘forever chemicals’ such as PFAS.
It is possible that this enters the body, damaging cells and raising the risk that they turn cancerous.
Jaquez told the Daily Mail it was ‘very likely’ that his cancer was caused by his job.
‘The smoke that you see on these house fires or these building fires or anything else is very, very bad, toxic smoke,’ he said. ‘It’s not like the way it was back in the 60s or 70s, when it was actually made of real wood.
‘There is all this synthetic material now.’
Jaquez, a father-of-three, is pictured above with his wife Elsa in the early 2010s before his cancer diagnosis
There are no federal rules governing which cancers must be covered by workers’ compensation or how long firefighters must serve to qualify, leading to a patchwork of coverage across the country.
In many states, workers’ compensation is paid out to cover wages for firefighters diagnosed with at least one of between 10 and 20 cancers, including those of the lung, colon, stomach and bladder, after about five years of service.
But some states have stricter thresholds.
In New Mexico, where Jaquez worked, coverage is based on the type of cancer. Firefighters must serve five years for testicular cancer coverage, 12 years for bladder cancer and 10 years for colon cancer.
That meant Jaquez, who had served nine-and-a-half years, fell six months short.
Jaquez appealed his coverage refusal to his employer alongside his union and said that, although people were supportive, he was flatly told that ‘rules are rules’.
For his healthcare costs, his health insurance from his employer agreed to cover all costs for medications and treatments after he paid the $6,000 deductible.
But for his potentially lost wages, his employer said he could take his allotted vacation and sick days, but would then need to return to work in order to keep receiving a pay check.
With a $1,400-a-month mortgage and three children to support, Jaquez felt he had little choice but to keep working while undergoing treatment.
Two months after his diagnosis, in January 2018, he began 27 rounds of radiation.
Jaquez said his boss was supportive during his treatment. His colleagues also organized a fundraiser, pictured above with Jaquez, to help him pay the $6,000 deductible for his health insurance
Jaquez is shown above ringing the bell in his hospital’s cancer center after he was declared in remission
Every weekday for six weeks, the firefighter would leave his shift at the station in Albuquerque to receive treatment at a nearby cancer center.
Jaquez worked a demanding 48-hours-on, 72-hours-off schedule. While he was away for treatment, a colleague would cover his duties, before Jaquez would return to his shift and later repay the favor by working extra hours.
Despite this, he remained upbeat, telling Daily Mail: ‘I still responded to all my calls. I still worked my regular 48-hour shift. At that time… I was still strong enough.’
He said his boss was supportive during his treatment and that his colleagues even organized a fundraiser to help him pay the $6,000 deductible cost for healthcare.
After receiving the radiation, in March 2018, Jaquez underwent abdominal surgery, where doctors removed at least 18 polyps from his colon and rectum. A month later, he began chemotherapy, receiving one dose every other week.
That was when things turned.
‘It was really horrible. I could not eat,’ he told Daily Mail. ‘Everything tasted like silver. Everything that I touched had to be warm, or else it hurt my hand. I had to wear gloves in summer’.
‘My face went black. I lost all my hair. My hands went black. My feet went black. My weight dropped from 236 to 159lbs. It was a struggle.’
Just before the surgery, he went on annual leave, taking the 13 days he is allotted a year. He then had to start using his 16 days of sick leave.
As the days ticked down, Jaquez realized he would not keep being paid unless he returned to work while he was receiving chemotherapy.
Jaquez told Daily Mail that during his cancer treatment his hands, feet and face all turned black. He is shown above after receiving the treatment, which also led his weight to drop from 236 to 156lbs
His boss, aware of the situation, put him on ‘light duty’, where he was behind a computer and looking at reports for the station. He did this for about 30 days.
Jaquez put on a brave face but admitted it was tough.
Following his radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy and two years of monitoring, in late 2021, Jaquez was told he was in remission.
He had check-ups and scans every three months for a year and then every six months before being declared in remission – some four years after his diagnosis.
His experience and those of other firefighters in New Mexico has led to coverage rules being reviewed in the state.
This year, representatives introduced state House Bill 128, which would expand coverage to more cancers and require firefighters to only work five years in order to be eligible for coverage.
It has already passed the state’s house and senate, and is now awaiting a signature from Democratic governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Majority floor leader and Democrat representative Reena Szczepanski, who co-sponsored the bill, told the Daily Mail: ‘When a firefighter develops an occupational cancer, it’s a terrifying moment for them, their family and their crew. They deserve the right support.
‘As we’ve been working on this bill, we’ve heard horrible stories of firefighters having to fight for assistance through workers’ compensation at the same time that they’re battling cancer.’
