Marcy Borders, subject of iconic 9/11 'Dust Lady' photo, dies after battle with stomach cancer
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Wednesday, August 26, 2015, 12:04 AM
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STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGESThe photo Marcy Borders covered in dust right before the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed became one of the most iconic images of the tragedy.
Marcy Borders, the woman who became known as the “Dust Lady” from the iconic 9/11 image taken of her, dazed and covered in ash, after the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, has died of stomach cancer, according to her family. She was 42.
“I can’t believe my sister is gone,” Borders’ brother Michael Borders wrote on Facebook of her death Monday. The mother of two was a native and lifelong resident of Bayonne, N.J. She was diagnosed with cancer last August and had been undergoing treatments, according to NJ.com.
Borders was working as a legal assistant for Bank of America on Sept. 11, 2001. Her office was on the 81st floor of 1 World Trade Center when terrorists attacked the twin towers with a pair of commercial airplanes. Then 28, Borders forced her way down the stairwell to the street and stepped onto the sidewalk just as the south tower began to fall. A stranger pulled her into the lobby of a nearby building as the other tower began to tumble, and photographer Stan Honda snapped a photograph.
PATRICK SISON/APBorders was working as a legal assistant for Bank of America on Sept. 11, 2001. Her office was on the 81st floor of 1 World Trade Center.
The ghostly shot of Borders, dust-caked and stunned, became one of the most vivid images of the terrible tragedy that took more than 2,900 innocent lives. Borders was haunted by her experiences on 9/11, struggling with addiction and depression for more than a decade. In 2011, she checked into rehab and remained sober, she told The Jersey Journal last year.
When she was diagnosed with cancer, Borders openly questioned if it was related to 9/11. “I’m saying to myself ‘Did this thing ignite cancer cells in me?’” she said to The Jersey Journal. “I definitely believe it because I haven’t had any illnesses. I don’t have high blood pressure . . . high cholesterol, diabetes.”
STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGESBorders was diagnosed with cancer in Aug. 2014 and had been undergoing treatments for the past year.
MICHEL MOUTOT/AFP/GETTY IMAGESStan Honda took the iconic photo of Borders as she took cover in a building lobby.
Borders’ friends and family turned to social media to express their sorrow. “Please keep my Family the Borders Family in prayer for We lost our very own hero Marcy Borders,” Elnardo Borders wrote. “May God Comfort (us) in our time of sorrow. My emotions are all over the place right now.”
John Bordes, Marcy Borders’ first cousin, called her “my HERO” in a Facebook comment and said she “unfortunately succumbed to the diseases that (have) ridden her body since 9/11.” “In addition to losing so many friends, co-workers, and colleagues on and after that tragic day …,” Bordes wrote, “the pains from yesteryear has found a way to resurface.”
Mayor de Blasio took to Twitter to offer support. “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,” he wrote.
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my condolences to her family and also my support to all to sept 11 survivors who are suffering from cancer.
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