'9/11 didn't end on 9/11.' Civilian cancers now outpace first responders
Nearly 3,000 people died on Sept. 11, and at least 9,400 more people have since died from 9/11-related illnesses - more than triple the original death toll.
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It's been 25 years since 9/11 - but the health crisis left behind is far from over.
Federal data shows the number of people with 9/11-linked cancers is still growing - especially among civilians.
Michael Barasch, who represents more than 50,000 people in the 9/11 community, says for the first time, civilian cancer cases have surpassed those of first responders.
That increase is staggering: more than 3,200% in a decade.
Nearly 3,000 people died on Sept. 11, and at least 9,400 more people have since died from 9/11-related illnesses - more than triple the original death toll.
Over the years, News 12 has covered far too many funerals for first responders who breathed in the toxic dust at ground zero, but now the face of the 9/11 health crisis is changing.
"They were all breathing the same toxic dust. They came back to work. They came back to school after the EPA assured us that the air was safe," says Barasch.
Not surprisingly, civilians are all coming down with the same cancers as the first responders.
"They're dying from the same cancers. 9/11 didn't end on 9/11," says Barasch.
The data also reveals extraordinary rates of rare and ultra-rare cancers - some hundreds of times higher than the national average.
And as more people get sick, pressure is growing on the program created to care for them.
Congress secured full funding earlier this year but Barasch says the World Trade Center Health Program remains understaffed by 40 positions - creating sometimes dangerous delays for a surging patient population.
"These delays, sadly, cause a delay in diagnosis many of the times, and I don't have to tell you a delay in a cancer diagnosis can often be fatal," says Barasch, who is a two-time cancer survivor himself. "Early detection is the key to not dying of cancer."
Twenty-five years later, the message from survivors remains clear: for the thousands of civilians who breathed in ground zero’s toxic air, 9/11 isn't ancient history, it's an ongoing fight for survival.
A CDC spokesperson released the following statement:
"The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program currently has 82 federal employees on staff and remains committed to providing high-quality health care to the 9/11 responders and survivors it serves. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Human Resources, the Program is actively working to fill all remaining vacancies and is making steady progress toward reaching full operational capacity."
