HIROSHIMA — It is Aug. 6 again, and the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the most destructive act of the 20th century, near the end of World War II. As a medical doctor who has treated atomic-bomb survivors for 48 years, I think it's worthwhile to report on what is happening now with the A-bomb survivors.
In 1962, Hiroshima University Hospital opened a clinic for A-bomb survivors, when I joined its staff as a hematologist. From the 1960s to the 1970s I devoted myself to treating A-bomb survivors with leukemia and cancer, without effective medicine for these diseases. Since 2001 I have been chief director of three nursing homes for 500 A-bomb survivors.
Among the survivors, various types of malignant tumors developed over time because of their exposure to atomic radiation. The occurrence of leukemia started to increase three years after the bombing, thyroid gland cancer eight years after, breast and lung cancer 10 years after, and stomach and colon cancers 15 years after.