Kirk Robinson, a local firefighter and lifelong Mercer Islander, is battling stage 4 cancer. But Robinson, a lieutenant with the Bothell Fire Department, doesn’t look - or act - like you might imagine, and now he’s fighting for a bigger cause.
In early 2017, Robinson felt a lump on his side, and was soon diagnosed with stage 3 (now, stage 4) cancer - metastatic melanoma. “They call it ‘presumptive cancer,’” Robinson said. “The doctors presume I got it from absorbing toxins on the job.”
Firefighters are 9 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the average citizen, according to a recent study.
Robinson admits he was floored and frustrated at first, but after some time had passed, a pep talk from his father helped him transform his attitude from despair to certainty.
“I can’t explain why. I just know it," he said.