Concern is mounting over a startling increase in male breast cancer cases in the vicinity of New York City's Ground Zero, marked by a rate that now stands at 90 times the national average, according to recent reports. The New York Post has learned that the federal Centers for Diseases Control has acknowledged 91 diagnoses among men in the World Trade Center Health Program, reflecting a significant uptick from figures previously reported in 2018.
With breast cancer being a relatively rare condition in male patients, an occurrence of 91 out of 98,590 men enrolled in the health program is causing alarm among experts and survivors; towed the continuous stream of debris-laden trucks during the extensive cleanup after the September 11 attacks bringing hazardous materials across New York City, something Jeffrey Glennon, a worker at the site, recalls vividly and connects directly to his breast cancer diagnosis, he revealed this in an interview obtained by the New York Post.
This surge in breast cancer incidence among men in the exposed area is believed to be linked to the plethora of toxins released into the atmosphere following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, highlighted by a report in the Mirror. "These numbers may be the tip of the iceberg,” said lawyer Michael Barasch, who represents 54 of the male breast cancer patients in the World Trade Center Health Program according to information provided by the New York Post.
Survivors like Joseph Polcaro, a former volunteer at a tent for the city morgue, have provided vivid anecdotes of the aftermath of the attacks and the potential exposure to harmful carcinogens that many believe led to their diagnoses the New York Post reported he remarked on the "dusty body bags" and his non-existent genetic predisposition to the disease when shocked by his own diagnosis of bilateral breast cancer. Such harrowing tales have instigated calls for men, particularly those who spent extensive time in the Ground Zero zone, to proactively engage in self-examination and regular medical check-ups as advocated by the same legal representative, reinforcing the known but often ignored fact that men are indeed vulnerable to breast cancer too.
Whilst the New York City Health Department has yet to provide a formal response to these emerging figures, a 2022 study suggested a lower prevalence of breast cancer in women around Ground Zero compared to the state average, a seeming contradiction to the male data and a detail worth noting as considerations and reviews of this health crisis continue amidst the afflicted community as further analysis appears necessary to fully understand the scope and implications of these health patterns in the post-9/11 landscape.
