Barasch & McGarry Recognizes Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

If you were there as a first responder or you worked, lived, or studied in Lower Manhattan on or after 9/11, you have a higher risk of developing many respiratory illnesses and 68 different types of cancer resulting from exposure to Ground Zero toxins, including lung cancer.

Within days of 9/11, the E.P.A. claimed the air near Ground Zero was safe to breathe.

But 9/11 didn’t end on 9/11.

Later medical research found the air at Ground Zero wasn’t safe – it contained cement dust and particles, asbestos, and chemicals called persistent organic pollutants, many of them known carcinogens.

Barasch & McGarry represents nearly 1,000 members of the 9/11 community who have been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Remember that if you are diagnosed with 9/11-related lung cancer, your family medical history and pre-existing conditions will not affect your eligibility for free health care or compensation. 

If you were there in Lower Manhattan, the government presumes your cancer was the result of exposure to Ground Zero toxins.

According to a report from the American Cancer Society, an estimated 236,740 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2022.

The major risk factors for lung cancer are smoking tobacco, working with harmful substances such as asbestos, air pollution, family history, and exposure to toxic chemicals such as Ground Zero toxins.

Symptoms of lung cancer can include a persistent cough, coughing up blood, hoarseness, chest pain with breathing or laughing, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, and feeling tired or weak.

If you are a 9/11 first responder or survivor, share this information with your primary health care provider and stay alert to the symptoms.  

If you are diagnosed with lung cancer or any other 9/11-related cancers or respiratory illnesses, Barasch & McGarry can help you access resources through the free World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). 

The free health program provides comprehensive medical care to 9/11 victims for their 9/11-related illnesses.

The victim fund offers tax-free awards for pain and suffering, lost earnings, and benefits for surviving spouses and family members.

For the WTC Health Program, the exposure zone consists of all of Manhattan below Houston Street and parts of Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO in Brooklyn.

For the 9/11 VCF, the exposure zone includes the area of Manhattan south of Canal Street and west of Clinton Street.

Barasch & McGarry, Lawyers for the 9/11 Community, represents more than 30,000 members of the 9/11 community.

Visit 911victims.com or call 212-385-8000 today.