Nearly 17,000 first responders suffer from cancer more than two decades later – diseases associated with 9/11

More than 45,000 people are living with the physical consequences of the September 11 tragedy more than two decades after it happened.

At least 45,200 civilians and officers of the FDNY, NYPD and the Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey suffer from at least one type of cancer or disease directly related to the largest terrorist attack in history.

The shocking total is 1,408 percent higher than the death toll from the tragedy itself: 2,997 people died in the collapse of the Twin Towers and its aftermath.

The shocking figure reflects the number of victims with documented medical conditions who enter the World Trade Center Health Program. However, because the project only recognizes certain types of cancer and diseases, officials warn that the actual number of sick survivors is far higher.

Civilians

The majority of the sick survivors are those who lived, worked and attended school in the Big Apple during the tragedy and in the weeks that followed, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which compiles data for the health program.

As of March 31, 2024, there were nearly 28,320 “living members with at least one physical or mental illness resulting from their exposure to dust, smoke, debris and the traumatic events,” a spokesperson told the Post.

This huge number does not include the 1,872 program members who have since died.

This shocking total number makes no distinction between physical and mental illnesses.

In addition, it does not include the estimated 400,000 people who lived, worked and attended school in the disaster zone and were exposed to toxic pollutants, the risk of physical injury and physically and emotionally stressful conditions in the days, weeks and months following the attacks, the CDC said.

FDNY

15,500 New York Fire Department first responders are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program because of at least one confirmed cancer or illness—although many suffer from multiple confirmed illnesses.

According to Dr. Prezant, chief medical examiner of the New York City Fire Department, about 200 of these survivors have been diagnosed in the last six months alone.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other survivors whose status remains uncertain as the New York Fire Department tries to persuade the program to expand coverage to other illnesses, such as pulmonary fibrosis – a serious lung disease that has become increasingly common and rapidly progressing among the New York Fire Department's 9/11 survivors in recent years.

“It's not that it's becoming more common. It's that it's evolving in terms of respiratory disease,” Prezant told the Post.

“Fibrosis takes a long time to develop. We know that with asbestosis it takes 20 to 30 years for fibrosis to develop. With cancer it is a combination of sun exposure and the aging process. These things cannot be separated.”

“This tells us that these patients still need to be monitored and treated 23 years later to avoid these evolving, changing and new diagnoses that keep cropping up.”

In the 23 years since the tragedy, the New York City Fire Department has lost 370 members to 9/11-related illnesses, more than the 343 members who died when the Twin Towers collapsed.

Last year, 28 people died, and authorities expect that number to rise. Union leaders are pushing for more funding for the World Trade Center health program.

NYPD

According to the Police Benevolent Association, between five and 10 NYPD officers who responded to the September 11 attacks are diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses each month.

In total, more than 1,400 officers are liable in connection with the tragedy. The most common disease is prostate cancer, the union reported.

When the Twin Towers collapsed, the agency lost 23 officers; this number is now surpassed by the number of police officers who died from disease.

The union honored a total of 377 of its members who died from 9/11-related illnesses at a ceremony in May at its NYPD Memorial Wall, but said the number had already risen to more than 400.

Port Authority

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey lost 37 members on the first day of the September 11 tragedy – the highest number of line-of-duty deaths ever suffered by a police department in a single incident.

Since then, another 16 Port Authority officials have died from confirmed 9/11-related illnesses.

A number of other deaths are still unknown and are still being investigated to determine whether they are related to the tragedy.

The department and its union could not say how many members are still battling illnesses today, but sources said there are “several.”

“For privacy reasons, we do not release specific medical or statistical information about the health of our personnel,” said a port authority spokesman.

The fight continues

Because survivors are still frequently diagnosed with cancer and other illnesses linked to 9/11, government officials are continuing to call for assistance in caring for the surviving but still suffering heroes before 9/11 becomes a distant memory.

Earlier this week, the FDNY hosted a call to support the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2024, which would fund the World Trade Center Health Program through 2033.

“I am 100 percent confident that every one of the 15,500 members of our program who suffer from mild to severe illness would do it again,” Prezant said.

“They would be back. In fact, most of them would say that they would volunteer again tomorrow despite their illness… We must never forget that, despite the tragic illnesses that our members and other volunteers have contracted.”