The growing press surrounding 9/11 related illness laws has helped draw attention to the still-suffering victims of 9/11 and the compensation available.

In a post on the website Cancer, Updates, Research & Education, known by the acronym Cure, former New York resident and cancer survivor Shira Z. details how the media attention helped her seek compensation from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

Shira, who now lives with her family in Jerusalem, writes that she worked in Manhattan when the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook the nation. She recalls appreciating the “grandeur” of the World Trade Center buildings and contrasts this beauty with the horrific site of workers jumping from the highest floors of the building in an attempt to escape in her post.

After the terrorist attacks, Shira writes that she remembers being stuck in her apartment for days due to traffic restrictions as emergency workers attempted to clean up the rubble and begin recovery. In her article, she recalls the “cloudy skies” and “acrid smell” that lingered in her neighborhood for months, but notes that she and other residents had no clue that the air they were breathing could be unsafe.

When the towers fell, tons of toxic chemicals were released into the air in the form of smoke and dust. The dust included pulverized concrete, glass, and even carcinogens and toxins such as asbestos, mercury, and lead. These toxins continued to fill the air in the months following the terrorist attacks and have been linked to 9/11 related illness cases.

Although Shira says she eventually moved uptown where “the air felt fresher and the sun didn’t have to fight to shine through the haze and dust,” she couldn’t completely escape the effects of breathing the toxic dust. Shira says that at age 41 she was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was soon fighting for her life.

Less than a year after Shira went into remission, she was scrolling through Facebook when she chanced upon a related Buzzfeed article. It featured comedian Jon Stewart blasting Congress for its inaction on reauthorizing the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

Shira had never heard of the fund and quickly started to do research. She was shocked when she discovered that so many beloved facets of her former home were within the 9/11 Exposure Zone and NYC Disaster Area. Soon, the pieces started clicking in her mind and she finally realized her seemingly unexplainable cancer had a cause.

“As the anniversary of 9/11 looms, it’s with great sadness that I have a new connection to the attacks of that day,” Shira wrote. “I can no longer say that I was just a witness, today I am a 9/11 survivor.”

Shira quickly applied for the World Trade Center Health Program and was accepted into the healthcare program. If her illness is certified by the program, Shira will be eligible for compensation under the recently reauthorized 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

Individuals like Shira who have struggled with 9/11 related illness and cancer have options. They can submit a claim with the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and seek monetary help for the horrors they’ve experienced as a result of the terrorist attacks.