“It made me feel like losing them wasn’t for nothing,” says Emily Broderick, the widow of Mike Broderick
NEED TO KNOW
- Des Moines, Iowa, firefighters Mike Broderick, Malcolm Cortner and Brian Stoaks all died of cancer within an 18-month period
- Their widows along with the local firefighting community lobbied state lawmakers to pass legislation to expand the disability benefits for firefighters to include all forms of cancer
- “We were able to turn our pain into purpose,“ says Emily Broderick, Mike’s widow
In December 2023, Des Moines, Iowa, resident Emily Broderick shared the story of her husband, Mike Broderick, a veteran firefighter who’d been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, several months earlier.
“He is quite honestly the healthiest person I know,” Emily told PEOPLE at the time. “Cancer was the last thing on our radar.”
On Jan. 14, 2024, Mike died at the age of 51, leaving behind Emily, his wife of 25 years, and their four children…