Prostate Cancer Linked to WTC Dust: Deadline to Register for Compensation is October 21

There is an upcoming deadline for 9/11 responders who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  If you worked at Ground Zero in the wake of the terrorist attacks, there is a legal presumption that exposure to the WTC toxic dust caused your prostate cancer.  The deadline to register for compensation for 9/11 cancers is generally two years from the date of diagnosis. However, the deadline for anyone diagnosed with prostate cancer after September 11, 2005 is October 21, 2015. Don’t miss this deadline! Read the information below, then take the steps necessary to secure your benefits.

What every 9/11 responder should know about prostate cancer

Prostate cancer was not among the original 9/11-related illnesses covered by the World Trade Center Health Program, and it took quite a fight for healthcare professionals to get it officially approved in 2013. However, the New York Post was reporting as late as December of 2014 that the WTC Health Program wasn’t even screening for prostate cancer and that potential cancer patients didn’t even know they weren’t being tested. Instead, most prostate cancer diagnoses were coming from the responders’ primary care physicians and not WTC Health Program screeners. While we can hope the situation has changed, we encourage all men who worked on 9/11 rescue and recovery efforts to be proactive about this potentially deadly disease.

Here are important facts that you should know about prostate cancer:

• Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, after skin cancer. About one in seven men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in his lifetime.
• Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, after lung cancer.
• Survival rates for prostate cancer are very high. When caught early, the five year survival rate is almost 100 percent.
• The notion that prostate cancer surgery ruins sex or causes incontinence is a complete myth.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, prostate cancer is often asymptomatic. A man only learns he has an issue during a routine medical exam. Other men do experience symptoms, which include:

• A need to urinate frequently, especially at night
• Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine
• Weak or interrupted flow of urine
• Painful or burning urination
• Difficulty in having an erection
• Painful ejaculation
• Blood in urine or semen
• Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or upper thighs

If you are troubled by any of these symptoms, make sure you consult a qualified physician. If you need help establishing your eligibility for 9/11 benefits and compensation, call Barasch & McGarry today at [ln::phone] or contact our office online to schedule a free consultation.