Megan Navarro
BUDA — Jason Eckstrom has known a brotherhood and community that comes with being a first responder for more than a decade. After discovering that he was going to have to endure another battle with cancer, even strangers have stepped up to help.
The Buda Fire Department firefighter moved to the city with his family, including his wife, Megan Eckstrom, in 2009. Knowing since he was a little kid what he wanted to be when he grew up, Jason started volunteering at the fire department in 2010, before officially joining the force in 2011 and then, getting hired on as a full-time firefighter in 2013. He’s also an emergency medical technician (EMT) and relief driver/operator, alongside having swift water and rescue certifications.
“They’ve been the only place I think I would have really ever liked to work. It’s family. It’s growing like crazy, but it’s been incredible,” Jason said. “I love my job. I always say, ‘It’s the best job in the world.’”
Jason was recently diagnosed with stage 4 rectal cancer that has spread to other parts of his body; however, this is not the first time that he has heard the news of a cancer diagnosis.
In 2022, after years of his doctor asking him to get it done, he had a colonoscopy. When he came out of a procedure, he was told that he had rectal cancer, which was a shock.
“I was very healthy. I was trying to do my best to take care of myself … I was an older firefighter, so I had to be bigger, stronger than the younger guys or at least that's what I tried to tell myself. So, I never thought anything like this would happen to me, like I'm the last guy. Well, it happened. And so, it's kind of a shock. It took me probably about three months to really kind of come to terms with, ‘Wow, this is really happening,’” Jason said.
During that time, Jason shared that he wrestled with thoughts of mortality and his family, but eventually, he just said, “Whatever is supposed to happen is going to happen and we are all enjoying each other to the fullest right now.”
After having an ileostomy bag for nine months and rounds of chemo to get it reversed, he had several clean bills of health and was ready to go back to work. But, later in 2024, it was discovered that the cancer moved to his lungs and then, to his clavicle.
Most recently, just a few months ago, his equilibrium, fine motor skills and quick-thinking were off. With what they’ve had to go through with the multiple diagnoses, procedures, pinpoint radiation and more, Megan asked for the doctors to do a scan of his brain.
“It turns out, now I have lesions in my brain and so, the large one is on my cerebellum, which is causing swelling, which is just making me not be able to walk,” Jason said. “I mean, it was literally like I was drunk. It was a crazy feeling and I've been free from that. I wouldn't say free, but I would say I'm like 85% right now with my balance.”
“[They have done] pinpoint radiation on his brain — five different treatments of that — and so, it’s based on steroids and stuff like that. It’s reduced the swelling,” Megan said. “Everything, right now, is holding stable where we are right at this moment today.”
It’s been scary for the whole family, Megan said, just to think that they are getting over one obstacle of a diagnosis, but then to turn around and another one comes.
“Everything kind of has felt ‘Oh, it's gonna be fine. We're gonna be fine. We have treatment’ until this last one because when it goes to the brain, it's super scary and everybody kind of freaks out about it,” she said. “It's just fear of the unknown as far as that goes and just hoping that something will work.”
Up until this point, Jason has not had any outward symptoms. Megan shared that he would be tired after chemo, radiation and other treatments, but other than that, he was completely normal until the cancer spread to the brain.
“It's never been symptoms of the disease that you can see,” he said. “It's always been the treatment.”
For Jason, firefighting is his dream job and he couldn’t see himself doing anything else, but the doctors believe that it could have been the cause of his cancer.
“They basically put it back on carcinogens and all the things that you're susceptible to whenever you're a firefighter. Unfortunately, he loves it and that's the best job in the world and all he wants to do is get back to it,” Megan said. “That’s what caused it. It’s a catch-22, but if he could have one wish, it would be to be better and go back to the department.”
Several members of the community who are local to Buda — neighbors, friends, family and first responders — but also, those who are outside of the city limit sign, have decided that Jason and his family should not fight this battle alone.
This includes AJ Hernandez, a firefighter with Kyle Fire Department for three years, who is donating $50 from every booking made through the end of July with his business, First Due Yard Rentals, directly to support Jason. So far, he has raised approximately $500.
Though he has only been with KFD for a short period of time, he knew that he wanted to help a fellow first responder who is in his backyard after finding out Jason’s story on Facebook through the firefighter network.
“I’ve seen firsthand what this job takes physically, mentally and emotionally and we're all trying to run towards the problem and be the helpers, but we're not really good at asking for help ourselves,” Hernandez said. “So for me, I think that's why I feel that supporting first responders matters so much because behind the uniform and all that, we're all people with family and, sometimes, battles that we can't face alone. So, when one of us [is] struggling, I think it's important for the rest of us to help carry them and support them through their rough time.”
He added that he has never met Jason in person, or spoken to him, but he knows that he is a firefighter, husband, man of faith and, ultimately, a person who is serving others. To Hernandez, a cancer diagnosis or any other difficult situation could happen to anyone, so he hopes the community would circle around him because he deserves every bit of support he can get.
Additionally, Chris Vidal, who has been running Code 3 Fence Solutions as a fencing business for three years and serving as a firefighter and paramedic in the city of Kyle, has also pledged to donate 20% of the profits from every job booked through the end of July. He has raised approximately $400 so far.
“I think a lot of first responders, we have this service before self mentality. I know it's one of my core values from the Air Force,” he said. “So, we tend to always just focus on other people. We never focus on ourselves. We don't ask for help. Being able to help someone, that’s just one of those things we need to do and try to push out there.”
The community has, and are continuing to, help Jason and his family. This includes a charity golf tournament to be held July 28, donations from businesses, Eckstrom’s Fight merchandise sales and even people who have shaved their heads in solidarity.
“I think we all try to help each other and show that you're not alone, like we are standing in solidarity with you,” Vidal said.
“I think it was a beautiful visual representation to show Jason that he's not alone,” Hernandez said. “Shaving your head does not cost a dime, all it takes is having a desire to want to make someone feel a little bit better about themselves. They achieved that with Jason on that day.”
The support has not gone unnoticed, according to the Eckstroms.
“We have so much support around us from not only just friends and family, but complete and utter strangers, fire departments, police departments and emergency service districts that we've never met and we've never heard of. It's just crazy. The brotherhood is real. It's a real thing and it's just wild. You kind of have to find out that it is when you are under circumstances like this,” Megan said. “[One guy] said, ‘Brotherhood doesn't end at the city limit sign.’”
From the jump, this has been scary for everybody who is involved, Megan said, as BFD has not dealt with anybody who has had multiple diagnoses that ended up being caused by firefighting.
Because of this, both Jason and Megan highly recommend for firefighters — as many are signing up at a younger and younger age — to get a colonoscopy done and not wait.
“This is not a joke. My husband put it off and had he not, maybe, just maybe, we could have found it at a lower stage,” Megan said.
Those interested in making a donation to the Eckstrom family can visit the GoFundMe page at bit.ly/4nDZqqG. More information about other ways to support Jason’s fight can be found at www.facebook.com/eckstromsfight.
