3,700 first responders who rushed to Ground Zero to assist with the rescue and recovery work following the collapse of the Twin Towers have been diagnosed with 9-11 linked cancers in the 14 years after the attack.

These include 1,100 New York fire fighters, 2,100 Police officers as well as other first responders, and almost 500 survivors, according to the New York Post.

And many of them have more than one type of cancer. As suggested by the U.S. Center for Disease Control, so far, 4,385 cancers have been detected in 9/11 responders and survivors. Other diseases found include autoimmune disorders, asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease, and gastro esophageal reflux disease.

Furthermore, over 110 firefighters and as many as 85 police officers have died from 9/11-related illnesses.

However, the heroes are not only worrying about the diseases, but also the legislation providing free health care which is due to expire soon.

The "James Zadroga Health Compensation Act ", established under the name of James Zadroga, a New York police officer who died in 2006 due to respiratory disease after spending 450 hours cleaning up Ground Zero, is slated to end in October 2016, if congress does not reauthorize it in the coming weeks.

The U.S. government has been under criticism for not taking quick action to reauthorize the law.

Advocacy groups for first responders in the US are urging Congress to turn the 5-year Act into a permanent one since the latent period of some cancers could be quite long.