Firefighter, dad of 3 dies from work-related cancer, CA city says. ‘Beacon of light’
A veteran firefighter and father of three died from work-related lymphatic cancer, a California city said.
Miguel Cervantes, who worked for the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District for 17 years, died Feb. 8, months after his diagnosis, the city of Rancho Cucamonga said in a Feb. 11 news release.
The city described him as a “beacon of light.”
“Miguel possessed the gift of effortlessly making those around him feel comforted, understood, and valued,” the city said. “He treated every patient as if they were his loved ones he was responding to.”
Cervantes’ wife, Cylina Cervantes, shared the news of his death on Facebook, saying, “My love. My best friend. My everything.”
Cervantes began his fire career by working as a volunteer firefighter with the Riverside County Fire Department, the city said.
He went on to work as an apprentice firefighter with the Norco Fire Department in 2000 and was later promoted to firefighter and engineer, the city said.
Cervantes started working for the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District in 2006 as a firefighter and was promoted to fire engineer five years later, according to the city.
Last February, Cervantes had stomach pains that doctors first suspected may be appendicitis, Cylina Cervantes told KTLA5 News.
However, in July, Cervantes was diagnosed with “work-related non-Hodgkin’s Follicular Lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of the lymphatic system,” the city said.
When compared to the general population, “firefighters’ risks are significantly higher for some specific types of cancer,” according to the nonprofit Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
Specifically, firefighters have a 1.51 times greater risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the nonprofit said.
“For the first two weeks, we thought that chemo was working because he was feeling better and then one day it wasn’t,” Cylina Cervantes told KTLA5. “We had three days from the time they had said that there was nothing else he could do.”
Cervantes, who died at the age of 45, is survived by “his wife of 17 years, Cylina, and their three children,” according to the city.
Rancho Cucamonga is about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
