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“Working with first responders gives you a sense of the tremendous amount of sacrifice that patients or people do. When people act heroically, we are thankful, but we don’t realize that when people are doing those things, they are losing something.”
― Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the World Trade Center Health Program at Stony Brook University.
As if the aftermath of 9/11 could not possibly get worse – it has. The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), which compensates responders and survivors with 9/11-related cancers, is running out of money. All VCF awards are now being slashed by 50% – 70%. This will continue and likely get even worse – unless Congress restores additional funding.
Is there a deadline to file a claim for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF)? Yes. All claims must be fully submitted to the VCF prior to December 18, 2020 – but you should consider filing sooner. The $7 billion fund dedicated to providing financial compensation is running dangerously low.
Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancers among survivors of the 9/11 terror attacks, as well as Downtown New York City residents, workers, and students who were present in the area the day of and thereafter. That’s why if you lived, worked, or spent time in Lower Manhattan between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, it’s especially important to know how to identify skin cancer.
You are a cleaner in a downtown Manhattan office building on 9/11. In 2018, you were just diagnosed with 9/11 breast cancer. Your exact diagnosis is invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), the most common type of breast cancer. Almost 80% of all breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinomas. You are only 51 and your family has no history of cancer. You are very scared for you and your family.
The recent passing of a veteran NYPD cop who rushed to the World Trade Center on September 11th is yet another unwelcome reminder that cancers and other illnesses related to that terrible day continue to take the lives of first responders, recovery workers, and others.
9/11 Lung Cancer screening is available through the World Trade Center Health Program for first responders, lower Manhattan residents and lower Manhattan workers.
Joe Battista was an FDNY firefighter who worked for months at Ground Zero after the September 11th attacks, and then spent time sifting through debris at the Fresh Kills landfill looking for human remains. This soul-crushing work eventually took its toll.
For tens of thousands of victims, survivors, and families who have suffered incomprehensible losses as a result of the September 11th attacks, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) and the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) have provided critical compensation and care to help them rebuild their lives. As essential and effective as these two programs have been, one thing that they cannot provide is justice and accountability for those responsible for the tragic events of that horrible day.
The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) was established to provide compensation and resources to those who have suffered as a result of the September 11th attacks. But for New York first responders, rescue workers, and recovery workers, the VCF is not the only potential source of compensation for 9/11-related illnesses. The conditions caused by 9/11 exposure can and do impede victims’ ability to work and support their families. As with other injuries or illnesses which keep people off the job, 9/11-related conditions can be the basis of claims for workers’ compensation benefits.
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