Support John Tidings' Fight Against Cancer

John Tidings recently retired as a Lieutenant of the Albany Fire Department after 20 years. As he settled into retirement with his wife and family, he received the news no one ever wants to hear. An oral pharyngeal cancer diagnosis shook their world, it was not how John or Dee saw the plans for retirement unfolding. They acted immediately, working with amazing medical teams to begin testing and to develop a treatment plan. Currently John is in thick of a grueling and lengthy treatment program, with a long, difficult, and costly road ahead. Firefighter cancer rates far exceed that of the general population, and unfortunately the disease still rears its head after the firefighter has left the job. Those in the fire service know these statistics, but their inherent passion to be there for others, to protect their communities, that is what pushes them onward even knowing the risks. John is amongst far too high a number of firefighters who fall victim to this type of cancer through occupational exposure, and we need to come together as a community to take care of these individuals when that happens.

John spent his career as a firefighter giving endlessly to others, both on the job and off. Anyone who has ever met him knows him for his big smile, bigger sense of humor, and even greater benevolent spirit. John has always found a way to ease the burden of others whenever he saw the chance. Over time, he witnessed firsthand how cancer affected the fire service, and the community at large. Instead of idly watching from a far, he took it upon himself to do something. Founding Brothers Keeper, a non-profit made up of professional firefighters here in Albany, NY he took on the fight for others when it came to cancer. His non-profit had the goal to be the shoulder you needed, whether that was money for treatments, rides to appointments, food delivered while you and your family were overwhelmed during the process, and endless other gestures of kinship and care. Over his 20 years of duty, he worked on his non-profit and personally found ways to raise money and pull together all available resources to give firefighters and countless other community members the financial aid and support system that they needed in their worst moments. John and his wife Dee led annual fundraisers to support Breast Cancer Awareness, during which they would find women in the area with a diagnosis and provide them with grants and "baskets of cheer," which contained gifts and gift cards to bring a little comfort and light to a dark time for those individuals.

I could go on for days about how much time and effort John spent giving selflessly for others, but right now we need to focus on what we can do for him.

He just began nearly 2 months straight of combined chemo and radiation treatment, through Sloan-Kettering, which will be followed up by another 6 months of intermittent follow-up care.

While he undergoes this first 8 weeks, he and his wife have relocated nearly 3 hours from home to a long term rental as the travel would be a logistical impossibility for the frequency of care and would be far too draining on him in that state. The copays have quickly tallied up, and the travel has been costly quickly. They are exhausting financial resources at a scary pace, and they really need our help to ease the burden and take that stress factor out of the picture. One money isn't the hardest part they will be able to focus on John getting well and beating this.

So, we ask you, if you can give any amount it would mean the world to John and his family, as well as all of the rest of us who know and care for him. All money raised will be given solely to John directly, and we hope we can bring enough together to ease the load soon!

Thank you all, and let's all collectively wish John a speedy recovery.