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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVE
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BNL
BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY
AOL9TS
AUJ
ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC.. UPTON, LI, N.Y. 11973
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
7
TéLerHONe: ($16) 345-3577
November 22, 1972
REPOSITORY
The Honorable Edward Johnston
High Commiasioner
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950
COLLECTION
BOX No.
FOLDER
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SAAT. " CRDA
3
B/O- MEO OR. CONHLD
O/ THAU L2L A972
Dear Ed:
It was with deepest sorrow that I learned of the death of
last week. At the time I was in Cleveland where the two
Marshallese girls were undergoing thyroid surgery,
I went immediately
to Washington to be with the family and help with final arrangements,
Ac the NIH Clinical Centcr, probably the best hospital in the world
for the treatment of leukemia,
was given the best known chemo-
therapeutic agents and everything possible was done for him.
However,
in spite of all this, pneumonia, complicating the leukemia, proved to
be too much for him resulting in his death.
I was sorry I was not
able to leave with the family but Mr. William Scott, from this laboratory,
who has worked with me on many surveys and knows the Rongelap people well,
agreed to accompany the family to Rongelap for the funeral. Dr. Knudsen
was already out there,
I was happy that Peter Coleman was able to go
also.
I understand that after some difficulties in getting the remains
to the islands, the funeral was finally held yesterday.
It was good of
you to arrange the sea plane.
I was at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital for thyroid
surgery on the two girls done by Dr. Brown Dobyns.
The nodules were
successfully removed.
In one case (
), benign adenomatous
nodules were found, and in the other case (
), a small
papillary carcinoma was found.
However, no metastases or lymph nodes
were found,
The prognosis in both cases is excellent.
The girls had
uneventful recoveries and by now should be on their way to Majuro.
I
am writing Dr. Taman about follow-up care in these patients.
Assuming that the surveys are to continue, we would like to plan
the next one for March to include examinations of all exposed and
control Rongelap people,
In view of the finding of the case of leukemia,
the usual careful hematological examinations will include bone marrow’
study if indicated, and we also plan to carry out additional examinations
of the blood on the Rongelap exposed people at six-month intervals.
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