Dr. Raja Flores: 25 Years Later: Ongoing Health Toll of 9/11

As a kid, I used to ride my skateboard in between the Twin Towers. I worked there during college. I worked for UPS delivering through all those buildings, and on the first floor was where our little stalls used to be. So when those buildings went down, a piece of me died with it. A kid in my high school that I graduated with died in those buildings. So it's a very personal thing. Now what's happening at the twenty fifth anniversary, there's a new moment of silence for people who have died from 9-11 related illnesses. And more people have died from 9-11 illnesses now that died on that day. What people don't understand is that there are people out there that are still alive. So in my practice as a thoracic surgeon, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, mesothelioma, I have patients who've been cured of those diseases who are still suffering. They're being treated. They're alive. But there's no moment of silence for them. There's no bell that's ringing to focus on them. They're lucky if they get health care. From my perspective, as thoracic surgeon, I still see the effects of 9-11, not just physically, but emotionally. So from a exposure perspective, they were exposed to asbestos, pulverized concrete, heavy metals, etc. These are carcinogenic. These cause cancer. When you look at the effects of 9-11, the number one thing is chronic sinusitis. Number two is cancer. So we've got to be aware of what is happening with these patients so that we can treat them and so that we can screen them. So many patients ask, Doc, I was exposed twenty five years ago. Do I still need to be worried about it? The typical thing, mesothelioma. You get exposed to asbestos, you don't get measles till thirty years later. And I think that's what's happening with 9-11. Many people were exposed. Some don't even know that there are programs that they can join to get monitored. And then they show up with advanced cancer. It's not just the first responders, the police officers, firefighters, construction workers. You had a bunch of kids in school there, Stuyvesant High School. You had a bunch of people who lived in Tribeca, in Brooklyn, where you saw that plume of smoke over downtown Brooklyn. And I think you just need them to know that this is a possibility. There are many things that are screenable, and that's how we can help now, is to make sure that we can screen patients who are at high risk. There's a lot of cancers that we are seeing from 9-11, and from my standpoint as a thoracic surgeon, I want that patient screened with a low dose CAT scan. You should be getting screened. A doctor should be looking at you at least once a year.