"Reggie Hilaire was a rookie cop on September 11, 2001. He worked at ground zero for 11 days beside his colleagues -- many of them, including Hilaire, not wearing a mask. He was later assigned to a landfill in Staten Island, where debris from the World Trade Center was dumped."

"For about 60 days between 2001 and 2002, the New York police officer was surrounded by dust.

In 2005, Hilaire was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation. Just months later his doctor told him he also had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that multiplies the body's plasma cells to dangerous levels.

It's a cancer that usually strikes much later in life. Hilaire was 34.

More than 1,100 people who worked or lived near the World Trade Center on 9/11 have been diagnosed with cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

CNN had the story September 11, 2013. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"9/11 Survivors Say Worries about Asbestos and Mesothelioma Still Linger" (Mesothelioma Center) [3]

"9/11 Heroes Likely To Suffer 'world Trade Center Cough' for Life: Study" (New York Daily News) [4]