ernie valabona is a former vice cop with the new york city police department. these partners arrived at ground zero within minutes of the collapse. >> we were watching the teams of firefighters going in with their tools and packs. they would disappear. >> from the distance i am to you? >> where your hand, your partner would disappear. i had to grab on to him. i had to hold on to the hood of his jacket. he would disappear. i would lose him. >> nobody had any respirators in the police department. we didn't have any. we were trying to wrap bandanas around our faces. >> in a statement, the city of new york said despite challenges, several hundred thousand respirators were made available to the workers within a week. in the chaos, they say they never got a hold of one. three years later, valebona was diagnosed with cancer. a rare stage of lymphoma. a type that may be caused by toxins in the environment. >> how is everything going with your treatment? >> i finished the last treatment. i have to go back to see if i'm done. >> there are so many rescue workers in his ci