As a fire chief, Roy Browning risks his life every day. With more than 30 years in fire safety, his career has led him through tough emergencies across the country. In 2019, Chief Browning was running the Command Post for a 170,000-acre wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula. While fighting the Swan Lake fire, those close to him were concerned about an unusual spot on his neck.
He missed his appointment to get the spot checked out, saying he’d get it checked out after the fire was out. The fire lasted for the rest of that summer, and the spot on his neck turned out to be melanoma.
Chief Browning won his battle with melanoma, and he’s been a dedicated advocate for early intervention ever since.
When his health took a turn during the pandemic, he was forced to make repeated trips to Anchorage to find answers. Unfortunately, he found many of his concerns dismissed.
“You have to be your own advocate,” he said. His persistence paid off — this time, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which he caught at the earliest stage. “Early detection is like a smoke alarm,” Chief Browning explained.
“It reduces your risk significantly. The sooner you know you’re in danger, the sooner you can get help.” After Chief Browning’s recovery from pancreatic cancer, he returned to fire safety, where he still serves the Soldotna community.
This fall, Central Emergency Services debuted a pink fire truck in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While pink is widely associated with breast cancer, the truck serves as a reminder for anyone experiencing unusual symptoms that awareness matters.
The message on the fire truck reads: All cancers, all people: screening saves lives. “It’s a full circle thing,” said Chief Browning, at the Surviving and Thriving Through Cancer event in Soldotna, where the truck was unveiled. “I wanted to give back.” Chief Roy Browning is the featured partner for this month’s Aurora Changemaker Spotlight, a series by AIOF to recognize changemakers in Alaska’s cancer care community.