United Stateafor surgery. Histumorwas: ‘benign. and he“quickly recovered.Atthattifne, “Ke appearedquite¢ healthy’with noindicatiddof the seriousillsdéss.whichwas‘dblaterdeveloy. “‘It.was about 1970; twoYdars before death, that his fatherrecallsthat.he wasbegin- made aware of these symptoms and did not see until September 1972, because in March 1972 our examinations were prevented for political reasons. We found that although he appeared otherwise healthy, his blood tests showed ominoussigns of possible leukemia. _ met with John Anjain and told him of the seriousness of our findings and that it would be necessary to take , back with us for further examinations to arrive at a more definitive diagnosis and to treat him. sOCuE 16 Cc wee we ee et oe ee et ning to show signs of notbéing well, tiringmore easily. Later, he noted that he bruised easily and had somebleeding from his gums.Still later, he developed a swelling in his groin which was treated (unsuccessfully) by a Marshallese woman (B-85). We on the medical team were not The next few months were a sad and trying time. On arrival at BNL. the diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia was confirmed. This disease is almost invariably fatal. We arranged with the Hospital of the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health, one of the jeading medical centers for the treatmentof leukemia, to accept as a patient. Sebeo Shoniber, a medical technician from Majuro, who had participated in manyof our medical surveys, arrived from the Marshal] Islands to serve as a companion and interpreter. underwent extensive treatment at the hospital. He was given continuous intravenous being examined for thyroid tumor. He died six years later of leukemia. injections ofsoverakantiieukemiaagents (in- eludingCytosine Asabinosidayin.an-attempt to killthe cancer celle inhis biged... Rok Ste TOOMMESENAE -wha hag-diea- + -vell-known journalist, who later|wrote several articles about himiB,65, 36,87), : In view of the seriousness of | “iIness, we sent for his parents. Their reunion with | their son was sad, and the next few weeks were extremely painful for them. Increased bleeding in required platelet transfusions. In order to get a more compatible blood, his older brother, was flown in from the islands for a transiusion. In spite of this, j grew gradually worse, developed pneumonia, and died on November 15th. In 1973, JohnAnjain was found to have a sus- picious nodule in his thyroid gland and surgery was performedin the United States. The nodule was not cancerous, and he had an uneventful recovery. He wasthe fifth memberof his family to undergo thyroid surgery. pA sow srewr “1 at REMOVED 27 sre +e. ma musanim etmemp a G. Families Most Affected by Fallout Several families on Rongelap suffered the greatest effects of fallout exposure. This was particularily true of the Anjain family. developed a thyroid In 1966. tumor and, along with several other Rongelap people. was taken to the United States for surgery. She was found to have a cancerof the thyroid which required extensive neck surgery. Hers was thefirst case of thyroid cancer found in the exposed people. Her recovery was satisfactory and we were able to keep her in good health with thyroid treatment. Within the next three to four years, the two older sons developed benign thyroid tumors which had to be removed. In 1963, there was an epidemic of poliomyelitis in the Marshall Islands, and several peopie on Rongelap were stricken. One was a younger _who had been and» son of born since the accident. As a result ofhis 1/]ness, one leg was paralyzed, requiring the use of acrutch.:‘Seeing him hobbling about on a crutch, I could not help but reflect that his infirmity was an example of oneoftheill effects of our incursion into their isiands. who had been exposed to fallout when he was yearold, returned with his parents to live on Rongelap in 1957. Just before he was ready to go away to high school in 1968, he developed a thyroid tumor and was taken to the * PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED