50,000 9/11 Survivors, First Responders Diagnosed With Cancer: CDC

The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program, which provide medical monitoring and treatment for certified WTC-related health conditions, published the latest data last month.

Rachel Acenas

Published: 9/9/2025, 2:21:36 PM EDT

50,000 9/11 Survivors, First Responders Diagnosed With Cancer: CDC — The WTC 9/11 flag is unfurled at the 9/11 Memorial during the tenth anniversary ceremonies of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site, in New York City on Sept. 11, 2011. (Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images)

The number of first responders and survivors diagnosed with cancers linked to the Sept. 11 attacks has continued to rise to nearly 50,000, according to an updated report from the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program.

The latest data show 24,660 first responders and 23,919 survivors have been diagnosed with cancer over the course of the WTC Health Program.

Non-melanoma skin cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer among women are the most common cancers among currently enrolled members, according to the recently published report.

The surge in cancer cases could be attributed to the advancing ages of the exposed individuals, Dr. Steven Markowitz, an occupational medicine expert at Queens College, told the New York Post. Additionally, longer latency periods for some diseases linked to toxic exposure means it takes time for signs and symptoms to appear.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the disaster area were exposed to dust, debris on and after Sept. 11, 2001, the CDC says. Additionally, first responders were also exposed as they performed rescue, recovery, and clean-up services while many others lived, worked, and went to school in the disaster zones.

“Examination of the dust and other hazards or stressors revealed numerous toxic substances at all 3 disaster areas that could cause or aggravate short and long-term health conditions to those exposed,” according to the CDC. The contaminants, the CDC says, remained in lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn for months after 9/11.

NTD reached out to CDC seeking comment on the latest data, but did not receive a response by publication.

The updated data also show more than 10,000 applications to the WTC Health Program were received in 2024, more than 2,000 applications from the previous year.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) weighed in on the latest data and said it’s important that the program continue in order to monitor first responders and survivors who are battling 9/11-linked cancers and diseases.

"Twenty-four years later, our 9/11 heroes and survivors are still paying the price," Garbarino wrote on X. "Nearly 50,000 are now battling cancer. Protecting the [WTC Health Program] is a moral imperative to honor their sacrifice and ensure they receive the care they earned."

Congress created the WTC Health Program to provide medical monitoring and treatment for certified WTC-related health conditions with no out-of-pocket costs to those directly affected by the 9/11 attacks in New York, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was launched in July 2011 and has 136,000 members, according to the latest data.

President Donald Trump will commemorate the 24th year of the Sept. 11 attacks by visiting the Pentagon Memorial on Thursday morning, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.