A-Bomb Survivors Gather at PacMed for Medical Screening

An estimated 50 survivors of the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be gathering at the Beacon Hill campus of Pacific Medical Centers this weekend for medical screening.

Katie Floyd with PacMed sent along this email with more details:

SEATTLE –  For the past 32 years, Pacific Medical Centers has collaborated with the King County Medical Association (KCMA) and a team of Japanese doctors from Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association to conduct comprehensive medical evaluations of Pacific Northwest residents who survived the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

The biennial exams began in 1977, since then the study has continually tracked survivor’s health to determine the after-effects of atomic radiation.  More recently the study has broadened the focus to include the children of survivors; with the goal of understanding what, if any lingering effects there are on the offspring, from the radiation their parent’s were exposed to in the bombings. 

“There’s a lot we can learn from the survivors about the after-effects of atomic radiation, and we’re grateful that they’re willing to participate and share their stories with us” said Tom Yetman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Pacific Medical Centers.  “We see many of the same people every year that we conduct these studies and we are excited to share with them the new findings from the 2007 exams. The exams are important because there is still a lot we don’t know and each visit reveal’s new information.” 

The medical examinations will take place Saturday and Sunday at the Beacon Hill location of Pacific Medical Centers, located at 1200 12th Avenue South.

The examinations will be led by the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, in cooperation with the King County Medical Association (KCMA). Held every two years, the exams are intended to provide medical assistance to U.S. and Canadian citizens of Japanese and Korean descent who survived the atomic bomb blasts and to study the long-term effects of atomic radiation.  Approximately 50 participants are expected in Seattle this weekend.

History

More than 200,000 people died during and just after the bombings on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima and three days later in Nagasaki. About 340,000 atomic bomb survivors of the attacks  – called hibakusha in Japanese – are alive today. Among them are about 1,000 Americans and Canadians, including some 60 living in Washington State and 20 in British Columbia.  A number of Canadian survivors will be traveling to Seattle for their examinations, as well as individuals from Oregon and other states as far away as New Jersey. Many will be accompanied by family members since they are elderly.

Many of the atomic bomb survivors were U.S. citizens who were either visiting relatives or attending school in Japan when the war began and were stranded there. Others were born and raised in Japan and became naturalized citizens or permanent residents here after the war. About three in four are women – some of whom married U.S. servicemen before resettling – and most are in their 60s, 70s and early 80s, having been between the ages of 5 and 24 when exposed to the bomb. Some children of hibakusha also participate.

Many hibakusha still suffer from physical, emotional and financial hardship as a result of their radiation exposure. Increased incidence of cancer is reported among atomic bomb survivors, and many exhibit signs of exhaustion or fatigue, loss of vigor, and failure of memory, according to the findings from the 16th biennial visit in 2007. 

Leading the Japanese team will be Dr. Shizuteru Usui and Dr. Jitsuro Yanagida.  Dr. Usui is the President of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association and Dr. Yanagida is the executive director of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association. 

In addition to the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, the medical examinations are sponsored by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan,  Hiroshima City, and the Radiation Effects Research Foundation.