In all, 297 cops that came to the scene of the September 11 terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan have been diagnosed with cancer since late 2001. 56 of them have passed away from their illnesses and the average age of diagnosis is only 44 years old. Less than half of that number — 23 police officers — were actually killed on the scene at Ground Zero.

The latest numbers come after a just-released study was published out of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, and they say that the number of cancer deaths in the last decade is growing in “astronomical numbers.”