tattered memories
brotherhood, rewritten
same fires. both got cancer. one survived, one is dying. both need to be heard.
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Tattered Memories Productions is a fiscally sponsored project. IRS EIN: 95-444-5418
a coin for every brother and sister who carried this fight.
Firefighter challenge coins are tokens of brotherhood — carried in turnout pockets, passed hand to hand. We're minting a limited run tied to this film's production, with proceeds going straight into finishing Brotherhood, Rewritten.
back us on seed&sparkwritten out of the brotherhood
Firefighting is built on brotherhood — a promise that no one carries the weight alone. But when the enemy isn't fire, it's cancer, that promise runs into the fine print of state law.
Suzanne LaFollette and Malinda both spent years inside burning buildings breathing the same carcinogens. Both were later diagnosed with cancer. One is still fighting. One is dying. Texas law recognizes some of what happened to them — and excludes the rest.
Brotherhood, Rewritten follows their stories across 12 states, asking why the brotherhood that shows up at 3am for a house fire disappears when the fire is inside your own body.
"We ran into the same fires. We breathed the same smoke. Why does the law only remember one of us?"
12 states. one fight.
the carcinogenic truth
In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified firefighting as a Group 1 carcinogenic occupation — the same category as asbestos and tobacco smoke.
Every firefighter who enters a structure fire breathes the same toxic byproducts of combustion, regardless of gender. Yet coverage laws across the country were largely written decades ago, based on cancers most commonly diagnosed in men.
IARC carcinogenic classification for firefighting, 2022
the map of neglect
Presumptive cancer coverage laws vary wildly state by state — and almost all of them were built around a male firefighter's body. Reproductive cancers like breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer are frequently excluded outright, leaving women who served the same shifts, in the same gear, breathing the same air, without the same safety net.
write to your senator
HB 1639 study results are due September 1, 2026. Lawmakers need to hear from constituents before that deadline — not after.
find my senatorthe crew
Malinda Baum
Malinda Baum is a former firefighter and breast cancer survivor turned documentary filmmaker. She was diagnosed with ER/PR-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer in December 2008, at age 45, while serving with the Richardson Fire Department — and was terminated during her chemotherapy treatment.
That experience became the seed for Brotherhood, Rewritten. Malinda is currently an MFA candidate at Maharishi International University.
Tattered Memories Productions
Liberty Hill, Texas