With Courage: A Kansas City Firefighter faces the battle of a lifetime

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Kansas City Firefighter is in the fight of his life after recently finding out he suffers from stage four colon cancer.

Now, his colleagues are rallying behind him to ensure he and his family can spend quality time with one another.

Doctors have told John Parison his cancer is untreatable but, he is keeping the faith, and so are his fellow firefighters.

Parison, or JP as he is known at Station 35, has been with the Kansas City Fire Department for more than 20 years. His colleagues said he is a leader on the job and overall a good guy. When they learned of his diagnosis, they began an online fundraiser. In the last five days, they have raised more than $28,000 for the married father of two.

“JP has spent his career giving back to his community in any way shape or form. It doesn’t matter who it is, where they are time of day, if you call JP, JP’s going to be there,” said Kristian Lockridge, KCFD.

Occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths for firefighters. According to the International Association of Firefighters.

JP’s colleagues have set an initial fundraising goal of $35,000.

If you would like to donate, go to Free JP for more information.

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