Diane Cotter discovered a problem that no one wanted to accept. And she was attacked, shunned and abused on social media as she gathered the evidence to reveal a big problem with firefighting gear. When Diane’s husband, Paul Cotter, was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of 55, they were surprised and wondered if it was related to his job as a firefighter. And then, Paul began getting calls from firefighters at his station in Worcester, Mass. — all of them with prostate cancer. …While Paul was keeping his list, Diane was googling to find out where there might be risks in the equipment used by firefighters. And she began writing to everyone who might know something. Hardly anyone responded to her emails. …Lung cancer and heart attacks used to be the biggest killers of firefighters. Now it is cancers like kidney cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer. …Listen to The Poison Detectives‘ first podcast episode.