If you were alive on September 11, 2001, you will very likely remember precisely what you were doing, and how you felt, when you heard the horrific news that our nation was under attack by as yet unknown forces. In the aftermath, photos wound their way through media, some of which became iconic images of the horror we experienced that day, images just like this one:

Marcy Borders eventually came to be known as the “Dust Lady,” her iconic 9/11 photo literally encapsulating a thousand words in one quick snapshot. But life was difficult for Marcy following the strikes. After fighting depression and drug and alcohol abuse, demons that plagued Borders for a decade after the attacks on 9/11, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer one year ago, openly wondering if her illness was 9/11 related.

“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.