Results of a long-term study made public Friday, Oct. 9, revealed that New York City police have 50% more cancer diagnoses after 9/11 than they did before the terrorist attack.
New York Post exclusively obtained the study which was conducted by NYPD staff and researchers from Weill-Cornell Medical College and Columbia University. It was found out that cancer rates over all in the NYPD increased about 50% between 2002 and 2014 compared to the period from 1995 to 2011.
"The findings showed 859 cops were diagnosed with cancer, with 11 having more than one case for a total of 870 diagnoses," the Post informed. The largest increases happened in four relatively rare types of cancer: thyroid cancer, non-Hodkin's lymphoma, kidney cancer and malignant brain tumors. However, it was emphasized that these four types of cancer which increases that most surprised the researchers were usually detected after the person showed symptoms rather than through screenings.
The results may support fears that first responders to 9/11 suffered long-term health consequences from collapsing World Trade Centers' cloud of toxic debris which remained for days after the attacks. Scientists also noted that there is consideration with regard to whether enhanced cancer screenings over time may have affected cancer discovery rates over the courts of the study.
The study also divulged that cancer rates for police tend to be lower than the general population owing to the fact the police tend to be in better physical shape than the average American.
"In the 20-year study, the medical records of 40,000 cops were examined," Fox5 New York reported on its website. "Roughly 56 percent of officers who worked at Ground Zero, with a cancer diagnosis after 9/11, were at the site within 24 hours of the attack."
"These cancers are thus troubling - even in their small numbers - due to the fact they have either doubled or tripled in our internal comparison between the pre- and post-exposure periods, and there are no clear explanations for their increased rates," the study claimed.
