Step 01
Exposure Intake
A structured questionnaire captures years of service, fire environments, documented exposures, PPE practice and prior department evaluations.
Firefighter Cancer Prevention Initiative
Protecting the firefighters who protect us.
ThePharmaBridge is a nonprofit, research-driven health access initiative that turns a firefighter's exposure history into a report their physician can act on: evidence-based cancer screening and preventive clinical care, with every statement traceable to a dated source.
Why This Work Matters
Exposure is constant. Access to prevention is not.
Firefighters face sustained carcinogen exposure across their careers.
At retirement, the annual department medical evaluation stops and preventive screening becomes fragmented.
ThePharmaBridge puts the exposure history, and the screenings it justifies, in front of the physician who takes over.
The Evidence
Occupational cancer risk is well documented
Firefighters carry elevated cancer burden across diagnosis and mortality. Prevention requires structured access, not ad hoc referrals.
9%
Higher cancer incidence
vs. U.S. population, NIOSH pooled cohort (Daniels et al., 2014)
14%
Higher cancer mortality
vs. U.S. population, NIOSH pooled cohort (Daniels et al., 2014)
Group 1
Carcinogenic to humans
IARC classification of occupational exposure as a firefighter (2022)
45%
Of on-duty deaths are sudden cardiac death
Smith et al., Extreme Physiology & Medicine (2013)
Our Approach
From exposure history to preventive action
ThePharmaBridge translates occupational health research into a structured intake and routing workflow — now live for initial user intake.
Step 02
Evidence Matching
Deterministic rules match the documented history to a curated evidence base of screening considerations, each with a dated source. There is no risk score.
Step 03
Physician Report
The firefighter receives a report to hand to their own physician: each screening worth discussing, the reason, the limitations, the references, and an editable coverage summary.
Step 04
Follow-Through
Every report collects physician and firefighter feedback, so screening uptake and coverage barriers can be measured in pilots.
Live Platform
User intake is now available
Firefighters and eligible participants can begin structured exposure intake at dashboard.thepharmabridge.org.
Flagship Program
Firefighter Cancer Screening Access Initiative
A program that gives firefighters a physician-ready record of their occupational exposures and the screenings worth discussing because of them, with every statement traceable to a dated source.
- Structured occupational exposure intake
- Screening considerations matched from a curated, sourced evidence base
- A message to the treating clinician and an editable coverage summary
- Aggregate-only department dashboards; no individual data shared
14
Screening entries, every claim sourced and dated
37
Public sources behind the evidence base
25
Pages of internal landscape analysis
Live
Intake platform deployed
Research Foundation
Grounded in public guidance, cited by date
Every statement in a ThePharmaBridge report traces to a dated public source: USPSTF, IARC, NASEM, NIOSH, NFPA and the IAFF/IAFC Wellness-Fitness Initiative. Our own landscape report is an internal synthesis, not peer-reviewed.
25 pages · November 2025 · internal report
Firefighter Cancer & Exposure Landscape Report
Our synthesis of cancer risk, toxic exposure patterns, and gaps in preventive care access for U.S. firefighters.
Read reportVersioned · stamped on every report
The evidence base
Fourteen screening entries, each with rationale, eligibility, limitations, a coverage note and dated sources. Drafted from public guidance; clinician review is the gate before wider use.
Read reportEngage With Us
Built for the institutions that can move this forward
Whether you represent a fire department, research institution, or funding body — there is a clear path to collaborate.
Fire Departments
Deploy structured intake and exposure-aware routing for members at elevated occupational cancer risk.
Department PartnershipsResearchers & Clinicians
Collaborate on evidence synthesis, protocol development, and translational preventive care pathways.
View ResearchFunders & Institutions
Support infrastructure that connects frontline workers to screening and preventive care before disease progresses.
Request BriefingCredibility & Impact
Built on evidence, moving toward measurable outcomes
We cite public guidance by date, say plainly what has not yet been reviewed, and track platform deployment — not marketing claims.
Evidence grounded in
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Screening recommendations and grades, cited by publication date
IARC and NIOSH
Monograph 132 (occupational exposure as a firefighter, Group 1, 2022); the pooled firefighter cohort study (Daniels et al., 2014); the National Firefighter Registry
NASEM
Guidance on PFAS exposure, testing and clinical follow-up (2022)
NFPA and IAFF/IAFC
NFPA 1580 (2025) and the Wellness-Fitness Initiative medical evaluation (4th edition)
Platform milestones
Live
Exposure intake platform deployed
14
Screening entries, every claim sourced and dated
37
Public sources behind the evidence base
0
Entries clinician-reviewed so far; review is the current gate
Pilot metrics — screening uptake, referral completion, and outcome tracking — are being instrumented as department partnerships scale.
Leadership
Siddharth Shukla
Founder & Principal Researcher
Leads evidence synthesis, platform architecture, and partnership development for ThePharmaBridge.
View profile →
Advisory council
Clinical and fire service advisors are being onboarded as pilot partnerships expand. Inquiries welcome from occupational medicine and fire leadership.
Grant & institutional partnerships
ThePharmaBridge is actively pursuing foundation and federal grant opportunities to scale preventive access infrastructure for firefighters and high-risk occupational cohorts.
Partner with us to scale preventive access
We welcome conversations with fire departments, clinical partners, researchers, and funders who share our commitment to occupational health equity.