Those of us old enough at the time to follow the news in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks will remember the haunting photo of the woman wearing a business suit and pearls; covered head to foot in white dust as she held her hands in front of her trying to make her way out of the World Trade Center's North.

The woman in the photo became known as the “Dust Lady,” but her name was actually Marcy Borders. Borders’ picture was captured by an Agence France Presse photographer as the second of the Twin Towers fell.  A good Samaritan had just pulled her to safety, and she was covered from head to toe in debris from the collapsed building.

According to the Jersey Journal, Borders battled depression and drug addiction following the attacks, but she checked into rehab and found sobriety in 2011. As fate would have it, just as Borders had begun to get back on her feet, she learned that she had cancer and swore that it was a result of that fateful day in September of 2011.

On August 25th, almost 14 years after the attacks, Borders lost her life to stomach cancer at the age of 42.

Borders isn't the only survivor of the September 11th attacks to end up with cancer. Not by a long shot.  As of May of this year, 3,700 survivors and first responders at the World Trade Center site have been diagnosed with cancers resulting from the terrorist attack, according to the CDC's World Trade Center Health Program.

CDC.gov
CDC.gov
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