North Collier firefighter beats cancer, educates others on safety

David Perez is an engineer paramedic with North Collier Fire.

“I went to paramedic school at Miami Dade College,” said Perez. “I put in for an application at North Collier Fire, which was North Naples at the time. And it’s been it’s been a roller coaster ever since to say the least.”

He’s a father, son, friend and mentor, but for the last four years, he’s been in a battle for his life.

“We have our yearly physicals, our department physician. He actually saw that my labs were a little bit irregular. They’re a little bit low, had low platelets, low red blood cells, low white cells, high calcium and high protein,” explained Perez.

In January 2020, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of cancer affecting a person’s white blood cells.

“When I got the diagnosis, I was like unsure of that because I was like, there’s no way I feel fine. There’s no cancer in my family. So, there’s no way I’ve been done. There’s no way I have cancer,” Perez said.

He took some time off from work and stopped the chemotreatment, but then, Perez got a mantle cell lymphoma diagnosis in September 2022.

“That was really tough. Really tough chemo,” said Perez. “That was the type of chemo that my hair started to fall out. I lost a lot of weight, my blood, my immune system, was completely nonexistent. For the first time, I needed blood transfusions, and I needed platelet transfusions. And it was a rough time. It was a rough time inpatient chemo for four or five days at a time.”

His coworkers at North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District have shown their support from the start by walking, running and cycling in the Dolphins Challenge Cancer and Symposium in Miami, all in an effort to raise money for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center part of the University of Miami Health System, where Perez has been a patient for over four years.

“When I did get the diagnosis and had to take time off, that’s when you could definitely tell the brotherhood and where it really shows who is this talk and who’s actually there for each other,” Perez said. “And the amount of support that I received over the last month for the last almost five years is something that I wish I can pay back to my brothers and sisters.”

David has been a firefighter for 17 years and is one of at least four North Collier Fire Rescue District employees who’ve recently beat cancer or are still battling it.

“Firefighters aren’t dying from going into burning buildings. They’re dying from as a result of going into those burning buildings and the toxins that they’re exposed to,” said Heather Mazurkiewicz, Public Information Officer for North Collier Fire Control And Rescue District. “So, watching a firefighter who is big and strong and has that mentality of I’m 10 foot tall and bulletproof, it’s a difficult thing to watch them go through that process of having no control over a disease.”

“Fast forward to now, like maybe 250, or 240 days out from my stem cell transplant, and I’m completely cured from both cancers free, and I’m ready to live the rest of my life,” said Perez.

Perez said good health habits have become a priority, and having a positive attitude and mindset is everything. He continues to exercise at home, and doctors officially declared him cancer-free in September of 2023.