'We are being heard': Uterine cancer finally covered by World Trade Center Health Program

A rose is placed on a name engraved along the South reflecting pool at the Ground Zero memorial site during the dedication ceremony of the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York May 15, 2014 in New York City.
A rose is placed on a name engraved along the South reflecting pool at the Ground Zero memorial site during the dedication ceremony of the National September 11 Memorial Museum on May 15, 2014, in New York City. Photo credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Fifty women who worked as first responders at Ground Zero following the 9/11 attacks developed uterine cancer, but it wasn't on the list of the 90 cancers covered by the World Trade Center Health Program.

Cheryl Hall, a retired Con Edison employee, was one of them.

"I just felt like it was unfair, but now I feel like we are being heard," she said.

Now all forms of uterine cancer have been added to the list of World Trade Center health conditions covered by the federal government's program.

Dr. Iris Udasin, director of the World Trade Center monitoring program at Rutgers University, said the delay was due to the fact that cancers were added as people developed them, but few women worked at Ground Zero.

Udasin said it's better late than never.

"Even though the process might have taken longer than we would like, it's there, and our people are going to be taken care of," she said.

The coverage will also cover past treatment, and those women are eligible for money under the 9/11 victims' compensation fund.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images