Advocates anxious to have uterine cancer added to World Trade Center Health Program coverage list
NEW YORK -- The World Trade Center Health Program covers 68 forms of cancer related to exposure to toxins near ground zero.
But uterine cancer is not on the coverage list. Advocates tell CBS2's Tony Aiello they're anxious for the federal government to fix that.
"I just knew I needed to do something and help," New Jersey chiropractor Dr. Tammy Kaminski said.
Twenty years ago, Kaminski provided treatments to first responders at Ground Zero. Long days exposed her to toxic air and dust.
When Kaminski was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2015, she learned it was not on the list of cancers covered by the World Trade Center Health Program.
"Shocked, especially when I found out that all the other reproductive cancers were," Kaminski said.
"I'm gonna call it an oversight ... When the original bill was passed in 2010, there was no cancers linked to the toxins. It was more of a respiratory illness exposure," said Sara Director, of the law firm Barasch & McGarry.
Director says over time, the science justified adding various cancers to the list.
In 2020, the World Trade Center Health Program reviewed studies and finally proposed uterine cancer as a 9/11-related health condition.
"They will be monitored. They can get secondary health insurance for their uterine cancer treatment, medication, follow-ups, and then they can make a claim to the Victim Compensation Fund for compensation," Director said.
But two years later, regulators in Washington are still reviewing the proposal, with no timeline for final approval.
"It's kind of like what they say, red tape, right?" Ground Zero volunteer Karen Biss said.
Biss developed uterine cancer after working and volunteering in the exposure zone south of Canal Street.
"It would be so immensely helpful to be able to have that additional insurance to help with the cost of it," Biss said.
"Federal government doesn't move fast, but cancer does move fast," Director said.
Advocates are urging regulators to finalize the decision, recognizing uterine cancer as a consequence of exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.