A-bomb survivors in N. America examined by Hiroshima doctors

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19 Kyodo -
Atomic-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, now living in North America,
received health checks from a group of Japanese doctors Saturday at a suburban
Los Angeles hospital.
The medical delegation, consisting of physicians and administrative personnel
commissioned by the Japanese government and Hiroshima prefectural government,
conducted medical exams including interviews, blood tests and
electrocardiographs on the survivors.
''I can't ask detailed questions to American doctors due to the language
barrier,'' said Eiko Fukushima, 78, a Hiroshima native who lives in Los
Angeles. ''I am really happy that these doctors thoroughly explained (my health
condition) in a Hiroshima dialect that sounded familiar to me.''
Officials of Hiroshima and Nagasaki prefectures answered some questions
regarding applications for health pass books and associated benefits for
overseas A-bomb survivors and other administrative procedures.
About 1,000 A-bomb survivors currently live in North America and some 600 of
them received health pass books and benefits for recognized survivors.
Health management associated with aging has become a priority issue for the
A-bomb survivors in North America.
According to Makoto Matsumura, a member of the medical delegation and a
physician of the Hiroshima Prefecture Medical Association, the average age of
the atomic-bomb survivors in North America, including those in Hawaii and parts
of Canada, has reached 77.
The checkups in North America by dispatched Japanese doctors have been
conducted every two years since 1977, and later will be conducted in Honolulu,
San Francisco and Seattle.
The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during
World War II and the survivors still suffer physical and mental scars after
more than 60 years.
==Kyodo
2009-09-20 20:58:04