[1] Pfeifer was one of hundreds of brave 9/11 first responders disaster who suffers from stage 4 cancer as a result of working in the toxic soup and ‘piles’ to help others.

“The Lancet Medical Journal report is the first comprehensive cancer study of New York City Firefighters after 9/11. This federally funded study shows firefighters working at the site had ten percent more cancers than the general public and 19 percent more cancers than firemen not involved. In all, there were 263 cancers among almost nine thousand exposed firefighters.”[2]

“The study clearly shows that World Trade Center exposure in these firefighters led to an increase in all types of cancer,” said David Prezant, FDNY chief medical officer and one of the co-authors of the study published Thursday in The Lancet. “But this is not an epidemic — thank God.”[3]

Cancer is not currently among the conditions covered by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which was signed into law in January to provide health care and compensation for New Yorkers sickened by the dust from the World Trade Center attacks. Over 50,000 workers were exposed while responding to the incident as they rescued survivors, recovered victims, and cleaned or cleared the site and surrounding buildings.

According to The World Health Organization, every year, more than 125 million people are occupationally exposed to asbestos worldwide and more than 107,000 people die from asbestos-related diseases.

As we remember our loved ones on September 11, let us not forget what the late great Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

On a personal note, I was an American Airlines flight attendant for over 20 years.  My dear friend, John Ogonowski, was the captain on American Airlines Flight #11 which was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  John, you will always be remembered.

In unity,

Linda Reinstein

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