Settlement Weighed as 9/11 Firefighter Battles Cancer

NEW YORK (March 12) -- Ken Specht knew that his career choice was dangerous. But he never thought being a firefighter would leave him bedridden before his 40th birthday.

"I knew this job could take years off my life. I get that," he told AOL News. "But I didn't anticipate that it would take decades."

Specht, now 41, is one of some 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers who could settle their lawsuit against the city of New York and affiliated contractors today.

A firefighter who started working with the city's fire department when he was only 21, Specht was hands-on at ground zero for months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Although he wore protective equipment, Specht said, everyone on his crew had no choice but to pull their gear off while in the contaminated areas.

"We stopped to eat there, we drank our water there, we literally ingested every contaminant through our mouths, noses and eyes," he said. "There was nowhere to go to get away."

Three years later, Specht was rushed to the hospital for emergency gallbladder surgery. He's since suffered from chronic gastrointestinal problems, including ongoing heartburn, digestive trouble and stomach pain.

And that was only the start of his health problems. At 37, he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Specht has undergone three surgeries, including removal of his thyroid gland, but the illness is still ravaging his body. Today, as U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein reviews the $657 million settlement, Specht will be meeting with his doctor to review his latest round of blood tests.

"I absolutely attribute my medical problems to what I went through at ground zero," he said. "It's getting worse with every day that I live. I wake up, and each day is harder than the last."

Still, Specht considers himself lucky. His health insurance has paid most of his medical bills, although he still shells out several hundred dollars a month for co-payments on doctor visits and the four daily medications that he anticipates taking for the rest of his life.

Seeing fellow firefighters die of their own illnesses since 9/11 spurred Specht to team up with colleagues and start the NYC Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation. The nonprofit raises money and offers resources for firefighters and their families.

He decided to join the lawsuit to protect the financial future of his wife and 13-year-old stepson. "We're living on a fixed income, and I don't think I'll ever work again," Specht said. "I never thought I'd be retired at 40."

Today, though, Specht isn't sure whether he'll consent to the settlement, and says he's left with more questions than answers. "Why did it take this long? How many people have died waiting for their share of this money?" he asked.

Specht is also dissatisfied with the suggested payout, which he doubts will make much of a dent in his monthly living expenses. "You've got 10,000 people splitting those millions," he said. "Some of whom can hardly even prove they were at ground zero."

A nonsmoker and nondrinker who exercised daily before he got sick, Specht said he's still stunned at how his life has changed. "Money won't change that I can't get out of bed," he said. "It just shouldn't have come to this."