Jonathan Lin The Jersey Journal
Bayonne, NJ– After a yearlong battle with stomach cancer, Marcy Borders — the woman known as the “Dust Lady” from the iconic photo taken of her as she escaped from the Twin Towers on September 11 — has died, according to Facebook posts by multiple family members.
Marcy Borders, of Bayonne, the woman known by most as the “Dust Lady” from the iconic photo snapped of her, distraught and covered in dust, shortly after she escaped from the Twin Towers, died on Aug. 25, 2015, after a battle with stomach cancer. She is pictured here on Nov. 26, 2014. Reena Rose Sibayan, The Jersey Journal
Michael Borders, Marcy Borders’ brother, said in a Facebook post at 11:22 a.m. yesterday that he needed everyone to pray for her, before posting about 12 hours later: “I can’t believe my sister is gone.”
John Bordes, Marcy Borders’ first cousin, called her “my HERO” in a Facebook comment and said that she “unfortunately succumbed to the diseases that (have) ridden her body since 9/11.”
“In addition to losing so many friends, coworkers, and colleagues on and after that tragic day, the pains from yesteryear (have) found a way to resurface,” he said.
Marcy Borders’ family members couldn’t immediately be reached today via Facebook or in person at her Bayonne home.
The famous photo shows Marcy Borders, a Bank of America employee at the time, distraught and covered in dust in the aftermath of the attacks in Lower Manhattan.
The Bayonne native fell into a decade-long depression that led her to abuse alcohol and drugs after her traumatic experience on 9/11. In 2011, Borders checked into rehab, and has stayed clean since, she told The Jersey Journal last year.
Borders, a mother of two, was just getting back into the working world — helping with a candidate’s local campaign for mayor — when her doctor told her in August 2014 that she had stomach cancer.
Borders, 41 at the time, told The Jersey Journal in November that she had undergone chemotherapy and that she was scheduled to undergo surgery in December and then radiation and chemotherapy afterward.
At the time, she wondered aloud if her cancer was related to 9/11.
“I’m saying to myself ‘Did this thing ignite cancer cells in me?'” she said. “I definitely believe it because I haven’t had any illnesses. I don’t have high blood pressure…high cholesterol, diabetes.”
Borders told The Jersey Journal at the time that she was struggling to pay off $190,000 in medical bills, as she didn’t have a job or health insurance.
When asked if she ever looked at the “Dust Lady” photo of herself, Borders said she avoided doing so as much as possible.
“I try to take myself from being a victim to being a survivor now. I don’t want to be a victim anymore,” she said.
