Over a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, numerous people are still being impacted by the events in the form of World Trade center cancer.

Numerous New York residents have reportedly developed World Trade Center cancer as a result of breathing in toxic substances released during the terrorist attacks, with victims ranging from citizens to first responders.

Not to be confused with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the World Trade Center Health Program is a separate victims assistance program that provides medical care to victims of World Trade Center cancer and other long-lasting effects of the attacks.

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center Health Program are just two of many compensation programs to help the numerous victims still impacted by the terrorist attacks. Over one million people were exposed to toxic substances released from the terrorist attacks during the eight-month cleaning period necessary to pick up the debris.

Overview of World Trade Center Cancer Statistics

According to a report from the World Trade Center Health Program, 5,400 patients have been diagnosed with World Trade Center cancer and have been enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program since 2001.

This statistic comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s World Trade Center Health Program, from World Trade Center cancer cases consolidated on June 30, 2016. According to this report, this number of 9/11 cancer cases was triple the number of members since January 2016, which only had 1,822 people registered at the time.

The World Trade Center Health Program noted the number of 9/11 cancer cases were increasing on an annual basis by 1,535 between January 2013 to January 2016. However, experts state the actual number of World Trade Center cancer cases is most likely much higher because this statistic only reflects the participants in the World Trade Center Health Program.

There have been a total of 6,378 World Trade Center cancer cases diagnosed in the program, with administrators of the program giving certification for eligible participants. The World Trade Center Health Program currently consists of 75,000 members and 12,000 who have been diagnosed with mental health conditions, which allegedly developed due to the terrorist attacks.

The members of the victim’s compensation fund will receive funds to cover current treatment costs, as well as victims who may develop World Trade Center cancer in the future. There have been over 70 different variants of World Trade Center cancer identified in victims who had breathed in toxic substances like glass, aluminum, burnt jet fuel, and glass that caused cancers including, but not limited to:

• Lung Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Ovarian Cancer
• Bladder Cancer
• Non-melanoma Skin Cancer
• Melanoma
• Thyroid Cancer
• Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Multiple Myeloma
• Leukemia
• Mesothelioma
• Head, Neck, Nasal, Mouth Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Kidney Cancer
• Stomach Cancer
• Esophagus Cancer
• Bone Cancer
• Liver Cancer
• Brain Cancer

People who may be eligible to participate in a 9/11 victim compensation fund, should consider consulting an attorney to help migrate through the complicated filing process. The most common participants in these programs are people who were around or present at Ground Zero and anywhere near Lower Manhattan below Canal Street.