Barasch & McGarry Recognizes Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month

September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month.

There were nearly half a million first responders and people working, living, and studying in Lower Manhattan on and after 9/11 who have a higher risk of developing respiratory illness and 68 different types of cancer linked to the WTC toxins, including thyroid cancer.

Barasch & McGarry represents dozens of 9/11 community members who have suffered from thyroid cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 44,280 Americans will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2021 – almost three-fourths of them women.

The risk factors for thyroid cancer include gender (more common in women), age (women in their forties and fifties, men in their sixties and seventies), family history, high body mass, and exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals such as Ground Zero toxins.

People with a high risk of thyroid cancer should share this information with their primary health care provider and stay alert to the symptoms. Early detection could substantially improve the likelihood of survival.

Common symptoms include a lump in the neck, swelling in the neck, pain in the front of the neck, hoarseness or other voice changes that persist, trouble swallowing, trouble breathing, and a constant cough.

If you are diagnosed with thyroid cancer or any other 9/11-related cancers or respiratory illnesses, we can help you access resources through the free World Trade Center Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. 

Visit 911victims.com or call 212-385-8000 today.