First responders, volunteers and surviving victims of the
September 11 attacks in 2001 have suffered from a wide variety
of illnesses and conditions caused by exposure to smoke and
toxins at the World Trade Center site. On Monday, the federal
government added 58 types of cancer to the list of illnesses
that will be eligible for coverage, according to cnn.com. "The
publication of this final rule marks an important step in the
effort to provide needed treatment and care for 9/11 responders
and survivors through the WTC [World Trade Center] Health
Program," Dr. John Howard, the program's administrator, said in
a statement Monday. Those who meet qualifications — and the
estimate is that 950 to 2,150 people will — could activate the
coverage. Experts told CNN that cancer may develop decades after
exposure. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the decision
on Monday. "We have urged from the very beginning that the
decision whether or not to include cancer be based on science;
Dr. Howard's decision, made after t