Germana Carillo The World Trade Center (WTC) disaster exposed people to, among other things, carcinogens, leading to high cancer rates. Twenty-three years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, disease figures are still high
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The devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, not only claimed thousands of lives but have also caused long-term illnesses for countless others. For many, the intense exposure to toxic dust and fumes proved fatal. For others, it has led to lifelong health conditions affecting the respiratory system, including chronic rhinosinusitis and asthma, the digestive tract, and most alarmingly, an increase in various cancers. Among these cancers, an unexpected and rare diagnosis is emerging: breast cancer in men.
The data
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), recent data reveals that 91 men out of the 98,590 enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“This rate is 90 times higher than the national average based on federal health data“, says attorney Michael Barasch, who represents 54 male breast cancer patients from the WTCHP. These numbers, Barasch warns, could be just the tip of the iceberg. Male breast cancer appears to be exploding.
The findings are particularly alarming given how rare breast cancer is in men. Typically, only 1 in 100,000 males is diagnosed with this life-threatening disease.
Cancers after 9/11: not just breast cancer
The World Trade Center Health Program reports that nearly 15,000 people, including first responders and survivors, have developed cancer since the 9/11 attacks, with almost 800 deaths to date.
A study in 2013 recognized that there was a 15% rise in all kinds of cancer among first responders within the years 2001 and 2008. Also, it showed that this rate is higher for the population having the most exposure. According to a study in 2016, there was an 11% increase in cancer diagnosis among first responders and 8% in survivors.
A growing body of research underlines the long-term consequences of the toxic environment at Ground Zero. To the men who have been facing breast cancer, a diagnosis they never could have imagined, these findings represent a silent but devastating legacy of that tragic day.
