Norwich — Firefighters at Norwich Fire Department will donate $1,000 to breast cancer program at the William W. Backus Hospital and will wear pink T-shirts throughout October to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Firefighters will sport pink T-shirts, designed by BMTees of Taftville, to raise awareness about the need to fight breast and other cancers.

“Firefighters are motivated to get involved for many reasons, and often it’s because they have been personally affected by the disease,” said fire Lt. Michael Dziavit, vice president of IAFF Local 892, in a news release issued Friday. “We are supporting breast cancer awareness and prevention by encouraging others to give so that no breast cancer patient goes without life-saving treatments or having hope for a cure.”

Dziavit announced that Norwich firefighters will donate $1,000 to Backus Hospital’s breast health initiative and encouraged others to make donations as well.

Firefighters exposed to carcinogens and other chemicals while on the job are disproportionately diagnosed with breast cancer — just one of many cancers linked to the work firefighters do, the news release said.

With one in eight women diagnosed each year, an estimated 246,660 new cases of breast cancer and 40,450 deaths will be reported in 2016. Among all women affected, 85 percent have no family history, the news release said.