Lieutenant Joe Minogue: A Heroic Survivor Shares His Story
In 2006, Lieutenant Joe Minogue was diagnosed with head and neck cancer and in 2017, he was diagnosed yet again, but with bladder cancer. Throughout multiple treatments that included chemotherapy and radiation, the WTC Health Program (WTCHP) was always there for Lieutenant Joe Minogue and his family. Lieutenant Minogue feels that being part of the FDNY is "like having a family with [him] the whole way…It was nice and that relationship continues to this day".
Even though his cancers put a stop to his firefighting career, Lieutenant Minogue continues to be an active member of the FDNY community, such as with his work as a Liaison to FDNY for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and as a New York State NFFF Lead Advocate.
Annual monitoring with the WTCHP can help you identify risk, detect illness, or begin early treatment which may enable you to manage your condition, enter remission or find a cure. If you are a member diagnosed with cancer, you are not alone and there is hope. The WTC Cancer Case Management Team can help you navigate your condition(s) with quality medical care and support services each step of the way.
“If it wasn’t for that [WTC Health Program] monitoring, I don’t think I’d be here now.” Fire Marshal Conrad Tinney opens up about his experience battling Stage 3 lung cancer and how he stayed positive and focused on recovery. His illness was detected and diagnosed by FDNY WTC Health Program clinicians during routine monitoring and treatment visits.
Fire Captain Mike Mulqueen will tell you that “every day is a gift”. In August of 2011, at the age of 47, he experienced rectal bleeding. He credits his wife with insisting he gets this looked into. His colonoscopy revealed stage 3 colon cancer.
“It was tough getting through those treatments,” Chief Biesty remembers. “It was hard to picture that life would get better. I don’t know how I could have gotten through it without my wife, children, my entire family and my fire department family."