Prostate Cancer Risk Ignored by 9/11 Health Center

Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the foremost experts in 9/11-health related problems. The hospital includes a World Trade Center Health Program that is devoted to treating and studying 9/11 health ailments, including cancer. Despite its status as the place to be screened and treated for 9/11-related diseases, it does not currently screen for prostate cancer.

This omission is cause for concern and has sparked health authorities in the past to push for it to be included on the list of 9/11 cancers. However, it continues to be left off and patients who suffer from this form of cancer generally find out through their primary care doctors. For some of these patients, they do not catch it until it is in its advanced state. This is partially due to the fact that many of these patients assume they have already been screened for the cancer.

Mount Sinai’s World Trade Center Health Program gets its guidelines from the US Preventative Services Task Force. That agency recommends against screening for prostate cancer through the use of a prostate-specific antigen test. Because of this, it has been left off the list of cancers for which the Program screens and offers diagnostics.

Despite the fact that the Program does not screen for prostate cancer, it does treat the disease. This arrangement puts patients in the position of being screened by one doctor and treated by another. This can be an inconvenience and an uncomfortable experience for patients who are dealing with the emotional and physical stress of being diagnosed with cancer.

If you were exposed to toxins following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and you now suffer from prostate cancer or any other disease, speak with a compassionate personal injury lawyer at Barasch, McGarry Salzman & Penson in New York to learn more about your options.