“When I saw that young girl collapsed on the street outside the station, I called for help on my radio and looked for a place to tie up my dog. I rushed back and picked the girl up in my arms. As I held her she began talking to me. There was a small hole in her blouse where the bullet had entered. There was very little bleeding so I really believed she’d be alright. She started to cry and I just kept holding her close to me. I told her everything would be fine but she died in my arms while we were waiting for the ambulance. It was over twenty-five years ago and I still think about her.” —Barry GalfanoA Sneak Peek of Chapter Ten — Barry Galfano
After the interview with Barry Galfano:
Barry was diagnosed with small intestine cancer in November of 2008. His doctors are almost positive it is the result of nine months of exposure to the toxins at Ground Zero. Barry said he knew there was a good chance he might get cancer from the air he was breathing during the months he spent at the World Trade Center site, but he didn't think the cancer would appear so quickly. “
I thought I would have at least ten to twenty years before any cancer appeared,” he said. “I never thought it would happen in seven.”
The surgery to remove a tumor that was blocking the opening of the small intestine took nine hours. He was in the hospital for twenty-five days and lost thirty pounds. He underwent six months of chemotherapy until his immune system crashed. He was hospitalized for a week in North Carolina while on a family vacation. For the next six months he worked out and regained the thirty pounds he lost. In December five new tumors were found in his lung and the doctors told him there was nothing more they could do. “
Instead of giving up I got mad,” he said. “I started doing my own research into natural immune system boosters and natural herbs and mushrooms and other supplements that have had success in shrinking tumors. My courses in biology finally came in handy. I read hundreds of science journals and medical studies on natural supplements. By January I was using up to thirty different supplements. I was totally focused on rebuilding my body and my immune system.
“For twenty-five years as a cop I felt that I had to save the lives of others. Now it was my own life I needed to save and I decided I wasn’t going down without a fight. I am closer to my parents, children, and girlfriend than I was before. They have been my support system from day one. I am also spending a lot of time with my granddaughter, Emma. When she’s around I forget all the pain.”
Barry adds that his friends from the NYPD and especially the cops from the Emergency Service Unit, have taken tremendous care of him since the first day he went to the hospital. “My guys have given me the strength to keep on fighting. They call and email me and tell me I am in their prayers. I have never lost hope, I never felt ‘Why me?’ In many ways it was a blessing to have cancer. It made me set priorities and spend quality time with my family. I am closer with my family now than I have ever been and I truly believe that I am a better person today than I was before I got sick. I have faith in God, faith in my family and friends, and faith in myself. I fear nothing and believe in the saying, That which does not kill you, makes you stronger.”
Barry Galfano, who retired at the rank of captain from the NYPD, was considered one of the nation's leading experts in the care and training of police dogs. Once Barry learned he would be the commanding officer in charge of the care, health and job performance of fifty dogs working in the NYPD’s Canine Unit, it was the fulfillment of his life long love affair with police dogs. When Barry was just ten, he began training his first German Shepherd. “I wanted him to be just like Rin Tin Tin,” he said. The basic course for police dogs and their handlers is sixteen weeks. Training the dogs to find dead bodies, narcotics, and other search and rescue tasks takes another twelve weeks – that’s a total of twenty-eight weeks, almost a half year. Barry supervised all the dogs who responded to the attacks in NYC on 9/11. His long hours at Ground Zero spanning many months, is the reason his doctors say he got cancer. After a superhuman struggle against the disease, Barry finally succumbed to his illness on June 26, 2011.
Click on this link if you want to see what Barry had to say just weeks before he died
Or go to YouTube and search for “Barry Galfano”