Philadelphia Dentistry In Memory of Officer Mark Meier

On 9/11 after the first plane hit the World Trade Center tower Mark Meier and five other Port Authority Officers stationed at the George Washington Bridge volunteered to go and help. That day he was responsible for saving the lives of many while risking his own.  He was a true hero. All his family knew was that he was sent down to Ground Zero in a squad car and they did not get any more information until late that night when he walked into the house, covered in black dust. The family was lucky, he came home, he made it. He survived that heartbreaking day of tragedy. He was awarded a medal from Mayor Giuliani and his family was so proud of him. It was in October 2015 when the family learned of his illness due to toxin exposure at Ground Zero. He was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, commonly known as AML. The majority of his roommates at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital- and he has had many- were also First Responders Ground Zero. Over the last few years, the amount of people with newly diagnosed cancers related to 9/11 has more than doubled. It’s being called “The Second Wave.” Many of these cancers-including Mark Meier’s- are rare, aggressive and particularly hard to treat. After two years of an extremely tough and taxing battle the cancer took his life. This is a tragedy and could have been prevented if this senseless act of terror never happened.

We his family and the staff at Philadelphia Dentistry are honored to celebrate his life and keep his memory alive by sharing his story with you all. His daughter, Dr. Jessica Meier, is a dentist along with Dr. Ken Cirka at Philadelphia Dentistry in Center City Philadelphia. The staff are regularly involved in community outreach and charitable work in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Sincere thank you to the Travis Manion Foundation for giving us the opportunity to do this.