Arizona firefighter battling rare cancer, neurological issues

PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) — An Arizona firefighter dedicated to helping others is now fighting for his life. The father and husband is battling job-related cancer while also dealing with neurological issues that doctors believe could be linked to the cancer diagnosis.

Matt McFadden, 35, has worked for the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority in Prescott Valley for 14 years. Those who work alongside him call him “Smiley,” someone who always has a good attitude and a smile. But this past year has been challenging for him and his family.

Last May, the husband and father of two young girls started noticing he was slurring his words and had issues with his balance. McFadden went about his normal routine and months later got hurt during a fire training exercise. At the time, he was going to physical therapy, but doctors didn’t have any answers for the neurological symptoms.

He had a cancer screening done through his department, and that’s when doctors discovered he had testicular cancer. They believe it was caused from his career as a firefighter. The news only got worse.

“His last scan showed that it metastasized to his lungs,” his wife Kahley said.

McFadden is spending five days a week going through chemotherapy. Kahley says she never imagined this would happen so young.

“Every fire wife I know goes through the fact of we’re never really worried about fires, it honestly is cancer,” Kahley said. “I thought it could be decades from now, not this second.”

As McFadden fights that battle, doctors are still trying to find out exactly what the neurological issues are. They believe it could be a rare condition linked to the cancer.

“They say it’s attacking the brain,” Kahley said. “If it keeps getting worse and they can’t figure it out, it’s getting to the point where he won’t be able to walk on his own.”

Kahley has had to step up in many ways while operating as a single parent. Their youngest daughter has special needs and relies on a feeding tube, which means she needs constant care.

CAFMA Battalion Chief Rob Zazueta has spent many shifts at the fire station with McFadden.

“His absence is very obvious,” Zazueta said. “Everyone is concerned about him. Everyone is feeling he is not with us.”

He said the crew misses him immensely and wants McFadden to know their fire family is with him and his family every step of the way.

“It’s a surreal feeling because we know the statistics and we know the stories across the country of this kind of thing happening to somebody in the fire service. I don’t think we ever expect it to happen this close to home so when it does, there’s a lot of shock factor with it. A lot of moments of questioning why,” Zazueta said. “Matt we are keeping your seat warm my friend, we miss you. Stay strong, keep smiling and we are all here for you.”

Members of the fire department have created a GoFundMe to help Matt and his family.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.