'Dust Lady' Marcy Borders, Shown in Iconic 9/11 Photo, Dies of Cancer
Marcy Borders, the woman who became known as the "Dust Lady" after she was photographed in an iconic image taken in the midst of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, died of cancer on Monday, the Washington Post reported.
Borders had begun working for Bank of America at New York's World Trade Center only a short time before the attacks, and the picture photographer Stan Honda took of the then 28 year old seemed to perfectly capture the horrors of that Tuesday morning. It was distributed by Agence France-Presse and seen by a global audience, the newspaper recalled.
9/11 survivor - Marcy Borders 'Dust Lady' - dies after battle with cancer https://t.co/Q7gnnqr8of #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/fc7DUb5p1J
— Steven Bognar (@Bogs4NY) agosto 26, 2015
"There was a giant roar, like a train, and between the buildings I could see huge clouds of smoke and dust billowing out," Honda said years later. "A woman came in completely covered in gray dust. You could tell she was nicely dressed for work and for a second she stood in the lobby. I took one shot of her before the police officer started to direct people up a set of stairs, thinking it would be safer off the ground level."
Honda said he took Borders' photo after the first World Trade Center tower had collapsed, Voice of America detailed. After Sept. 11, the woman struggled for years with depression and alcohol and drug abuse. A year ago, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer that she believed was the result of her exposure to toxins at the site of the terrorist attacks.
"I definitely believe it, because I haven't had any illnesses," she told the Jersey Journal. "I don't have high blood pressure ... high cholesterol, diabetes."
Borders herself tried to avoid looking at the iconic image of herself as much as possible, USA Today noted.
"I try to take myself from being a victim to being a survivor now," she explained. "I don't want to be a victim anymore."
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, meanwhile, extended his condolences to her family via Twitter. "Marcy Borders' passing is a difficult reminder of the tragedy our city suffered nearly 14 years ago," the mayor wrote. "NYC holds her loved ones in our hearts."
Marcy Borders' passing is a difficult reminder of the tragedy our city suffered nearly 14 years ago. NYC holds her loved ones in our hearts. — Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) agosto 26, 2015
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