of the American Cancer Society. The program
now includes:

a. A review of systems and a complete

medical examination.
b. Advice on decreasing risk factors and on
self-detection of lesions.
c. Pelvic examinations with Papanicolaou
smears.
d. Stool testing for occult blood.
e. Amammographyunit anda flexible 65cm sigmoidoscope have been recently
acquired.
2. Pursuant to the intent of PL 95-134, the
examinations and procedures listed under (1)

are performed more frequently than proposed

by the American Cancer Society for populations
not at increased risk for cancer. Therefore, the
physical examinations are annual and include
a pelvic examination and Pap smearforall
exposed women. Annual mammograms, using
a new low-dose mammography unit, will begin
at age 35. Routine mammography was not
begun earlier because older machines produced
doses of x rays which were judged unacceptable
for routine annual screening of a population
already at increased risk for radiogenic breast
cancer. Rectal examinations andstool testing
for occult blood are done annually, starting at
least by age 40. Routineflexible sigmoidoscopy
will be offered before age 50 and will be repeated
every other year, or more frequently if clinically
indicated.

3.

The delayed effects of radiation exposure

are generally considered to
be limited to
malignant disease. The exposed Marshallese,
however, receive additional attention for two
reasons.First, their radiation exposure was ofa
unique type, and a tabulation of risks derived
from the statistics of other irradiated pop-

ulations may not cover the range of late con-

eal

sequences that could befall them. Second, data
now collected by the Brookhaven medical program suggest previously undocumented late
effects of radiation exposure in man. These
include an increased incidence of pituitary
neoplasms and a trend toward lowerblood cell
counts (Adams etal. 1984a, 1984b). Another late
effect, hypothyroidism, was documented in
some of the exposed Rongelap during earlier
years of the program (Larson et al. 1982),
Therefore, nonmalignant endocrine neoplasms,
endocrine dysfunction, and hematologic abnor-

malities are actively sought. To this end, the
medical program providesthe following:
a. Annual’thyroid examinations by an
endocrinologist or surgeon.

b. Thyroid functiontesting for all exposed

persons, annually for the people of Rongelap and biennially for those of Utirik.
c. Thyroid suppression (Synthroid) for all
the Rongelap exposed. The intent is to
decrease the likelihood of thyroid malignancy.
d. Serum prolactin levels on all exposed
persons every three years. The most commonly encountered pituitary tumorin the
United States is the prolactinoma.
e. Annual complete blood counts, including a platelet count.
f. Evaluation for ‘‘paraneoplastic’” evidence of neoplasia, such as monoclonal
spikes on serum protein electrophoresis
(myeloma, lymphoma) and abnormal
serum calcium levels (parathyroid adenoma, hypoparathyroidism, metastatic
tumor).

4. There is ongoing evaluation for clinical
evidence of depression in immunocompetence.
The more recent medical surveys of serum
immunoglobulins, toxoplasma antibodies, serologic markers of hepatitis B, and tuberculin
sensitivity reveal no good evidence that the
exposed Marshallese have a significant impairment of their immune mechanisms (Adams et
al. 1984b). However, the matter should not be
considered settled, and continued surveillance
for evidence of increased risk for unusual
manifestationsof infectious diseaseis a part of
the medical program.
5. The treatment of any neoplastic process
which could conceivably be radiation related is
done in referral facilities, generally in Hono-

lulu, Hawaii. The exceptionsare thyroid nodule

surgery, which continues to be performed by Dr.
Brown Dobyns, Professor of Surgery at Case
Western Reserve University, and therapy for
pituitary neoplasia, which has been done at the
NationalInstitutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Few such lesions can be adequately
treated in the health facilities of the Republic of
the Marshall Islands. The medical program
also refers almost all diagnostic workups for
malignancy to Honolulu. For example, if the
cause of persistent occult blood in the stool is not

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