‘Dust Lady’ Marcy Borders Immortalized In 9/11 Photo Dies From Cancer At 42

Marcy Borders, the woman immortalized as the 9/11 “Dust Lady” has died from stomach cancer at the age of 42, according to reports from Fox News.

Borders was employed by Bank of America where she worked on the 81st floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, Borders was ordered to remain at her desk when two commercial airliners, operated by Al Qaida operatives, crashed into the twin towers in the day of infamy.

The woman who became known as the “Dust Lady” fled the buildings and was pulled into the lobby of a neighboring building right before the north tower collapsed. Photographer Stan Honda was on hand to record the image of the terrified and dust-caked legal assistant that would become an icon of the horror of the day.

The “Dust Lady” spoke with Fox News in 2002 about the trauma she and thousands of others endured.

“When I saw it, I was like: ‘Oh my God, I really don’t like the image America sees. It shows me.’ I might have been asking God: ‘What do I do? What’s going on? What’s happening?’ It shows fear. People look at this picture and see elegance. I don’t see it.”

The “Dust Lady” was a native of Bayonne, New Jersey and was 28-years-old at the time the photograph was taken.

Pix11 reports that the “Dust Lady” suffered from depression, like so many others, in the years following the 9/11 attacks and began using drugs, which led to a period of time spent in rehab. “Dust Lady” Borders was reported clean when doctors diagnosed her with stomach cancer in 2014.

Borders herself wondered if the dust and chemicals she was exposed to on 9/11 may have played a role in the development of her cancer – something that many 9/11 rescuers, victims, and their families have pondered, for which few solid answers have been forthcoming.

“I’m saying to myself ‘Did this thing ignite cancer cells in me?'” the “Dust Lady” was quoted. “I definitely believe it because I haven’t had any illnesses. I don’t have high blood pressure…high cholesterol, diabetes.”

Though remembered by the nation as the “Dust Lady,” Marcy Borders’ cousin John Borders called her a “HERO.”

“I can’t believe my sister is gone,” Michael Borders, brother of the “Dust Lady,” grieved in a Facebook post. Several other family members joined in remembering the iconic woman’s life.

[9/11 Photo by Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images – ‘Dust Lady’ Screenshot Courtesy Inside Edition YouTube Account]