A father-of-two said he was diagnosed with breast cancer after breathing in the toxic dust and fumes from Ground Zero.
Jeff Flynn, from East Meadow, New York, was working for data-storage company Dell EMC at the Goldman Sachs building when the 9/11 attacks occurred.
He worked in lower Manhattan for six months after, walking by the World Trade Center clean-up site every day.
Ten years later, in 2011, Flynn felt a lump in his chest – and was shocked to discover he had stage III breast cancer, CBS 2 New York reported.
The 66-year-old was even more astonished to learn it likely developed from the months he spent breathing in soot, ash and dust in Manhattan’s Financial District.
Jeff Flynn, 66 (pictured), from East Meadow, New York, worked at Goldman Sachs near the World Trade Center on 9/11 and for six months after
In 2011, he felt a lump in his chest and, at his wife’s insistence, went to the doctor, where he was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Pictured: Flynn, right, with his wife, Maureen, years ago
‘I actually felt a lump a while before that in my chest,’ Flynn told CBS 2 New York. ‘I just remember getting so flushed, my life just changed instantly.’
Flynn went to his doctor at his wife’s insistence to get tested and was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer.
One out of every eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Breast cancer occurs in men too, but the incidence rate is less than one percent.
It is estimated that more than 2,600 men will be diagnosed with the disease in 2019, and about 500 men will die.
According to PIX 11 News, Flynn underwent a double mastectomy – which is when both breasts are removed – chemotherapy and radiation.
He is currently one of 37 men who were diagnosed with breast cancer believed to be related to 9/11.
Attorney Michael Barasch is representing those men and 15,000 others who were sickened as a result of the attacks.
‘The survivors, the non-responders, were breathing the same toxic dust so they’re getting the same cancers,’ he told CBS 2 New York said.
It took years for scientists to document – and for the government to acknowledge -just how much lasting damage the contaminants in the air did.
Flynn (pictured) is cancer-free today and is one of 37 men who have been diagnosed with 9/11-related breast cancer
By the 20th anniversary of the attacks in 2021, the death toll is expected to be higher from 9/11-related illnesses than those who died at the World Trade Center site. Pictured: Fire and rescue workers search through the rubble on September 13
It is estimated that more than 400,000 people, both first responders and witnesses , breathed in pulverized building materials, electronic equipment, and furniture.
According to the Seattle Times, it is expected that – by the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in 2021 – more people will have died from 9/11-related illnesses than the 2,700 who died in the Twin Towers that day.
Flynn is cancer-free today and says he wants to encourage other men, especially those who lived or worked near Ground Zero, to get tested if they feel a lump.
‘I didn’t even know men could get [breast cancer]. It was a rude awakening for me,’ he told CBS 2 New York. ‘I did think I was gonna pass and I’m extremely happy I’m still standing.’