The country comes together to mourn the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States every year. In New York City, a beautiful monument stands at the World Trade Center in the shadow of the space the twin towers used to stand to honor the victims of those lost on that tragic day. Unfortunately though, the list of 9/11 victims continues to grow. Thousands of people have died or are currently suffering from 9/11-related cancers or other illnesses. Now, those victims are being honored as well.
On May 30, 18 years to the day that clean-up concluded at Ground Zero, a monument called the Memorial Glade was dedicated to all of those who suffered and those who continue to suffer. The monument is meant to honor the rescue and recovery workers, as well as the victims who lived, worked, or went to school around the World Trade Center and returned to the area believing the air was safe to breath.
Read MoreThe World Trade Center Health Program was set up by the federal government to help people with health problems related to the attacks and to pay for the cost of their care. While around 80,000 people have registered with the program for screening and care, Dr. Gaetane Michaud, who is the Chief of Interventional Pulmonology at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, said a huge number of people are not getting the care they need and may not even know about the health risk they face.
If You Were There, Get Tested: A 9/11 Responder’s Story
"I feel heartbroken to know that if at the lowest number, we're saying there's about 400,000 people that should be benefiting from the World Trade resources, and about 80,000 are actually benefiting from them, that's a real big discrepancy,” Dr. Michaud told SurvivorNet. “There's a lot of people out there that really need help and really need to be vigilant. It's not just lung cancers. It's lung cancers, breast cancers, esophageal cancers, thyroid cancers. These patients, these people should be screened and be watched. Even if you think even just beyond cancers, there's all kinds of other World Trade related lung diseases."
Common 9/11-linked illnesses include chronic cough, asthma, sinus congestion, certain cancers, stress-related disorders, and many other diseases, according to the WTC Health Program.
Dr. Michaud also pointed out that in the population of firefighters who responded to the attacks, and are very well-monitored, lung function drops much quicker than in a person who was not exposed. “They lose about 12 years off of their lung age from their exposures, from working at Ground Zero. You think about that, what about all those other people who have lost all this lung function that we're not even caring for?"
As the Memorial Glade shows, many people have already died of 9/11-related illnesses. But it’s important to note that some cancers take many years to develop — so vigilance when it comes to health is really important.
"When we think about 9/11 exposure, it's not just the day of," Dr. Michaud told SurvivorNet. "It's actually the weeks and months thereafter. Where that ends, whether that's four months or six months, we don't actually know. The air quality was really poor and there was a lot of debris. There were a lot of gases. So people who didn't even realize they were exposed were exposed."
When we think of people who may be at-risk for 9/11-related illness, we typically think of first responders, but there were many people who lived, worked, or attended school in the area who may be at-risk as well because people were told that the air in lower Manhattan was safe.
Last year, SurvivorNet interviewed Amit Friedlander, who was the senior class president at Stuyvesant High School, located about four blocks from the World Trade Center. Amit developed cancer when he was a college student. He said he’s not sure if his disease was directly linked to the attacks, but it would make sense. "When I was in college, I got sick a lot, and then I found out that I had cancer. Did I think there was a connection or did I think I just got dealt a bad hand? Maybe both?"
It's worth noting that the 400,000 figure is an estimate — a best guess based on several studies and statistics. While Dr. Machaud calls it a conservative estimate, others believe putting a number on the exposure rate is impossible. Dr. Steven Stellman, Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, said the estimate is likely derived from a 2007 article on the matter that was published in Statistics in Medicine. Dr. Stellman, who has published extensively on 9/11 health effects, noted that the 400,000 figure encompasses several distinct groups, including rescue and recovery workers, residents living south of Canal street, employees in buildings south of Chambers St. on 9/11, students, school staff, and tourists and passersby.
"No one really knows how many people were 'exposed' to 9/11, because exposure came in many different forms and ranged from low to extraordinarily intense," said Dr. Stellman. "Most exposure estimates after [the attacks] have been based largely on people's experiences (when did workers arrive at Ground Zero, how long did they work there, how far away were area residents' homes, how much and what type of dust permeated their homes, etc.)."
If you believe you may have been exposed to dangerous air after the attacks on the World Trade Center, there are resources.
What To Do If You Are Worried About Exposure From 9/11
If you’re worried about your 9/11-linked illness risk, you can go to CDC.gov/WTC to apply for free screening. Dr. Michaud strongly urges people to tell their physicians if they believe they may be at risk, or were in lower Manhattan at the time.
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