Wednesday, April 1, 2009

9/11 victim dies from dust exposures?

There is a small tiny little bitty article in some sort of news service maybe from a university in New Mexico that wrote about a 9/11 victim who was helping people get evacuated died as a result from getting sarcoidosis due to dust exposure.


9/11 victim dies from dust exposures?

I wrote, "This was written without any basic research of what sarcoidosis is. Medical science does not know what causes sarcoidosis, whether it’s hereditary or environmental. There is also no cure and the most frequently used treatment is steroids to suppress the immune system and inflammation since it is believed to be an auto-immune disease. Only 3-5 percent of patients die from sarcoidosis. I agree with the fact that the dust from 9/11 may have been the reason he got sarcoidosis since there are many cases. In fact a spike at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NY who treated many firefighters. However there is no proof or for that matter I wonder if there is a study being conducted at all.

The statement, “died from sarcoidosis which was caused by the World Trade Center dust exposures.” Is not a fact but more like an opinion because it can’t be proven.

Again I agree that may have been the case but I would’t want to ill inform people about this disease.

Oh, how I wish we had more facts."



I wish people that call themselves a news source would research a little bit before the writing. Maybe whoever wrote the article would have had more to write about. Thanks for writing about it anyways because we really need the exposure. Even it it's just this little piece.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suffer from Sarcoidosis and it as caused by dust from the 9/11 attacks on the WTC. I was living and working in downtown NYC and I was continuously exposed to that toxic dust cloud for weeks.

My Sarcoidosis as diagnosed via Kveim test at Mt. Sinai.

My Sarcoidosis is really chronic and pretty aggressive attacking not just my lungs but eyes, skin and joints. Last month I was hospitalized for a week because my Sarcoidosis attacked me so bad I was going into respiratory arrest.

So yes, I believe that person died of 9/11 caused Sarcoidosis. Just my humble opinion.

Sincerely,
Rebecca

DRojo said...

Becca, Your Humble opinion always welcomed here. Sorry to hear about your suffering. I take it your doctor was Dr. Teirstein? Either way your in good hands at Mt. Sinai.

Hopefully more will be learned about how the dust affected people in the coming years.

Anonymous said...

Thanks DRojo,
I'm actually living in San Francisco now and under the care of the UCSF Interstitial Lung Disease Group. They are experts in Sarcoidosis. I forgot who my Doctor was at Mt. Sinai. Sorry

jenne said...

I just happened to find your blog this morning by accident and I’m really glad I did. My brother died a little over two years ago due to the sarcoidosis he was told he contracted by being a volunteer at Ground Zero from 9-11 until 9-15-01. He was a lieutenant in the US Army and an ER Nurse as well. He didn’t ever think he’d die from it but it was very chronic and aggressive. I know he would have liked your blog a lot. It would have given him some hope.

Anonymous said...

Becca I know it took a lot of courage for you to start this blog this is coming from a 35 year old woman who was dx with Sarcoidosis a little over a year ago. Since there is no official etiology but I was told that it can be caused by environmental factors including toxins in the air. I have to say that I did go to Mt. Sanai and I really was not impressed by their services at all a particular doctor there told me once that my symptoms were not due to sarcoidosis since he'd suspected that there was going to be a law suit for malpractice. The weird thing about this disease is that most doctors don't seem to know much about it. Well I've finally found a specialist who is trying his best to stabilize me. It's tough at 35 being on disability due to Sarcoidosis. I hope you're getting the proper treatment that you so well deserve.

DRojo said...

Anonymous, Becca didn't start this Blog, I did. She was kind enough to leave a post responding to the article of 9/11 victims and dust exposure.

Thanks for leaving a comment and BTW do you remember your Doctor's name at Mt Sinai?

Sarcoidosis United

Sarcoidosis United
Sarcoidosis United