9/11 WTC health program adds 50 types of cancer

NEW YORK (AP) - September 10, 2012

Democratic New York Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (KEHR'-sten JIHL'-uh-brand) and Charles Schumer and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced the change Monday. The institute said last June it favored expanding the $4.3 billion health program to include cancer.

Scientists say there's little research to prove exposure to toxic dust from the destroyed twin towers caused even one kind of cancer. Questions about whether dust caused cancer were a reason Congress didn't include it in the initial list of covered illnesses.

But an advisory panel said it was plausible first responders and others who were exposed to the toxic dust might get cancer.

The full list of cancers included:

  • Malignant neoplasms of the lip, tongue, salivary gland, floor of mouth, gum and other mouth, tonsil, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and other oral cavity and pharynx
  • Malignant neoplasm of the nasopharynx
  • Malignant neoplasms of the nose, nasal cavity, middle ear, and accessory sinuses
  • Malignant neoplasm of the larynx
  • Malignant neoplasm of the esophagus
  • Malignant neoplasm of the stomach
  • Malignant neoplasm of the colon and rectum
  • Malignant neoplasm of the liver and intrahepatic bile duct
  • Malignant neoplasms of the retroperitoneum and peritoneum, omentum, and mesentery 6
  • Malignant neoplasms of the trachea; bronchus and lung; heart, mediastinum and pleura; and other ill-defined sites in the respiratory system and intrathoracic organs
  • Mesothelioma
  • Malignant neoplasms of the soft tissues (sarcomas)
  • Malignant neoplasms of the skin (melanoma and nonmelanoma), including scrotal cancer
  • Malignant neoplasm of the breast
  • Malignant neoplasm of the ovary
  • Malignant neoplasm of the urinary bladder
  • Malignant neoplasm of the kidney
  • Malignant neoplasms of renal pelvis, ureter and other urinary organs
  • Malignant neoplasms of the eye and orbit
  • Malignant neoplasm of the thyroid
  • Malignant neoplasms of the blood and lymphoid tissues (including, but not limited to, lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma)
  • Childhood cancers
  • Rare cancers
  • Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.