Multiple Myeloma: “Third Wave” of Sickness for 9/11 Responders
Updated July 2007: First responders for the World Trade Center disaster are being diagnosed with several rare cancers such as blood cell cancers and multiple myeloma. These cancers are a “third wave” of illnesses for those exposed to the toxic dust after September 11.
The first wave of disease was the chronic coughing and acute respiratory problems that workers had after they left the World Trade Center site. The second wave of disease was the chronic lung diseases such as sarcoidosis. Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, stated that the workers did inhale cancer-causing agents, and most types of cancers will not develop in first responders for many decades. The cancers that have already developed are just the beginning of the “third wave”.
There have already been a handful of cases of multiple myeloma in very young people. This is very rare because this type of cancer almost always becomes present in older individuals. Multiple myeloma is a plasma cell cancer that spreads through-out bone marrow. More than half of all cases of the cancer occur in people over the age of 70, and only 1% of cases occur in people under the age of 40.
Workers from the 9/11 were exposed to many carcinogens, including asbestos, dioxin, and benzine.