Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the health catastrophe linked to the toxic aftermath of the World Trade Center’s destruction continues to grow, with the number of certified 9/11-related cancer cases surging nearly 1,700% over the past decade and civilians now accounting for more cases than first responders.
Figures compiled by the World Trade Center Health Program show that cancer certifications among first responders, survivors, downtown Manhattan residents, workers and others exposed to conditions around Ground Zero have climbed from 3,204 in 2015 to 57,044 this year — an increase of approximately 1,680%.
“Sadly, we lose roughly two clients a day and see a new cancer certification every 50 minutes,” said lawyer Michael Barasch, whose firm represents thousands of people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.
The latest numbers also mark a significant and sobering shift in the long-term impact of the attacks. For the first time, cancer cases among civilians who lived, worked or went to school in the vicinity of Ground Zero have exceeded those recorded among firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel who spent extended periods at the site.
Survivors now account for 28,913 cancer cases, compared with just 694 in 2015 — an increase of 4,066%. Responders account for another 28,131 cases.
Health officials are also seeing growing numbers of uncommon forms of cancer among both survivors and responders exposed to the toxic dust and debris unleashed when the Twin Towers collapsed.
Among those diagnoses are 82 cases of thymus cancer, which affects the thymus gland located behind the breastbone in the upper chest. Tumors of the thymus are extremely rare and make up less than 1% of cancer cases overall.
Another 591 people have been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancers, rare tumors that can develop in areas including the pancreas, bowels, lungs and adrenal glands. Among 9/11 survivors, the number of neuroendocrine cancer cases rose 6% between March and June alone.
Male breast cancer has also emerged among those exposed to Ground Zero contaminants. There are currently 188 certified cases involving men, an unusually high figure for a disease that is rare among males.
Brain cancer has affected another 163 people in the 9/11 population. That figure increased by 14 cases, or 9%, during the most recent quarter.
Part of the continuing rise in cancer diagnoses is believed to be connected to the aging of those who were exposed following the attacks. Many Ground Zero survivors and responders are now in their late 50s, 60s and early 70s, when the likelihood of developing cancer generally increases.
But the statistics among World Trade Center Health Program members remain striking. CDC data through June show that 67% of the program’s 145,275 current members have been certified with at least one of 69 cancers associated with 9/11 toxic exposure. By comparison, the lifetime risk of developing cancer among Americans overall is approximately 40%, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The mounting death toll from illnesses associated with the aftermath of 9/11 has also far surpassed the number killed on the day of the attacks. At least 9,425 people have now died from post-9/11-related illnesses — more than three times the 2,977 victims killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
“9/11 did not end on 9/11. The cancer clock is ticking 24/7,” Barasch said.
Among those living with the consequences is Leslie Lane, now 76, who worked for Merrill Lynch in the World Financial Center across from the World Trade Center. She was inside her office when hijacked planes struck the towers.
As Lane made her way out of the area that morning, she remembered encountering the massive cloud of debris that engulfed lower Manhattan.
“You could taste the dust. You could taste the fuel, greasy gas,” she told The Post.
Two days after the attacks, Lane reported to another Merrill Lynch office at 222 Broadway to help arrange the relocation of the company’s lawyers. By November, she had returned to working downtown.
Nearly two decades later, during a routine medical examination in 2020, doctors discovered that Lane had thymus cancer.
“I was lucky. The cancer was caught early,” she said.
Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering subsequently removed the tumor surgically, and Lane has remained free of a recurrence.
Lane believes the cancer resulted from the contaminants she breathed in following the destruction of the World Trade Center.
“Thymus cancer is a very rare form of cancer. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke,” she said.
She also recalled how the air continued to carry the unmistakable residue of the disaster long after officials assured people that conditions were safe.
“For months afterward, you could taste the fuel in the air in the back of your throat and mouth. They kept telling us the air was safe. I don’t think it was,” she said.
Electrician James Ryan, 65, also spent extensive time at Ground Zero following the attacks. His work included providing lighting at locations throughout the disaster site, including areas in and around the Pile, as well as rewiring portions of the World Trade Center PATH train facilities.
Years later, Ryan went for a routine medical checkup and doctors detected blood in his urine. An MRI followed, leading physicians to discover pancreatic cancer while it was still at an early stage.
Ryan underwent surgery in 2019 in which doctors removed part of his pancreas.
“I got very lucky,” Ryan said.
Despite the enormous number of people already being treated or monitored, Barasch said thousands more who were exposed to the toxic environment surrounding Ground Zero may still be outside the system.
He estimates that only about 15% of civilians exposed to 9/11-related toxins have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.
Among the people represented by his law firm are individuals who were students at schools and colleges near the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks and who later developed serious illnesses at relatively young ages. Students at Stuyvesant High School, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Pace University and nearby elementary and middle schools were among those potentially exposed.
Barasch is urging anyone who was in the affected area and may have been exposed to enroll in the World Trade Center Health Program and undergo appropriate medical screening.
“Early detection is the difference between life and death,” Barasch said.
{Matzav.com}
