9/11 anniversary: Eric Shawn reveals Ground Zero cancer

Family members, survivors and officials gathered Thursday at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania to mark the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, as Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn revealed on live television that he has been diagnosed this year with a cancer tied to exposure at Ground Zero. The announcement came as relatives of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks joined dignitaries and volunteers for ceremonies and memorial events across the country.

Shawn, reporting from Lower Manhattan, told cohosts on a morning broadcast that he has two diagnoses covered by the federal World Trade Center Health Program and has suffered long-term respiratory problems that preceded this year's cancer diagnosis. "Back then, I remember thinking maybe 20, 30 years later I'll get something. Well, here it is, 24 years," he said, later adding, "We're all in this together," as he urged national unity in remembrance. Shawn said his on-the-scene reporting on September 11 exposed him to the toxic dust that blanketed lower Manhattan, and he described losing friends to illnesses linked to the attacks.