Listen Up! Picture this: our podcast audience is a classroom. Imagine Tom asking, "How many of you know someone within SOF or a veteran of SOF that has been diagnosed with cancer?" We can guarantee every hand would shoot up. This is why you need to listen in to this episode with Dennis Downey.
Dennis Downey is a retired Army officer who spent 26 of 29 years on active duty in Special Forces. He served in a variety of assignments with the 10th and 1st Special Forces Groups and had extensive deployments to both Iraq and the Philippines.
Since retirement in 2010, he has led the First In Asia Association which is dedicated to honoring the fallen from the 1st SFG (A). In 2013, after the death of several friends in the 10th SFG (A), he has been heavily involved with assisting Special Forces Soldiers, their family members, and other Special Operations Forces personnel (CA, PSYOP, Ranger, 160th SOAR, NSW, AFSOC) afflicted with cancers.
He has written to the VA in support of numerous SF Soldiers who are battling for recognition of their cancer as service-connected. He has written both the Commanders of USSOCOM and USASOC to provide information on cancer trends and to help raise awareness of cancer within the force and in the veteran and retiree SF populations.
SF and SOF members and their family members fighting cancer or serving as caregivers to someone with cancer can join the SOF Cancer Fighters Facebook Page for support and information.
Let's dive right into this episode!
Honorable Mentions:
TRICARE covers the following cancer screenings as part of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Benefit:
- Breast cancer exams
- Cervical cancer exams
- Colorectal cancer exams
- Lung cancer screening
- Oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer exams
- Prostate cancer exams
- Skin cancer exams
- Testicular cancer exams
- Thyroid cancer exams
Below are Dennis's best recommendations for websites for cancer information, awareness, and testing programs:
Special Operations Forces support organizations:
Navy SEAL Foundation - A Nation of Support
Diagnostic Testing:
Top five cancer treatment hospitals in the US:
For more information about All Secure Foundation, visit https://allsecurefoundation.org/
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