sort will simpley not be tolerated, that justice will in fact be both swift and severe. I pray that a situation such as this will never again be faced by a group of people. If this statement to you, the Congressional Committee, does anything to help in the name of justice, then my Father's death and the sorrow and hardships that his familty faced, will not have been completely in vain. Thank you. Ms. Catherine O. Hager 590 Delta Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45226 513-871-8773 April 7, 1994 #051 To: Total Body Radiation Subcommittee and Whom it may concern;" In January, 1994 I began noticing articles in The Cincinnati Enquirer regarding Total Body Radiation experimentation done on cancer patients in the 1960's at Cincinnati General Hospital. Since I knew my father, Joseph Mitchell, was treated at that hospital for cancer during that period of time, I contacted Linda Reeves at The Cincinnati Enquirer. After a brief discussion with Linda, it was determined that my father had indeed been involved in the Total Body Radiation experimentation as patient #051, the first patient to be identified. From this point, my husband and I, along with the assistance of the news media attempted to piece together any records available regarding my father's treatments at the hospital. In October, 1963, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer in the right lung, and was admitted to Cincinnati General Hospital. Surgery was scheduled for November, 1963. Although there is no notation of this scheduled surgery in his medical records, we have a letter which was written by my father to my sister detailing the planned operation. For some unknown reason the surgery was canceled on the day it was scheduled to take place, with no explanation. The surgery was never rescheduled. Instead, my father was given a schedule of dates to return to the hospital for Cobalt Treatments. At this point, I asked the doctor why the surgery was canceled...He told me he was too weak for surgery and decided to opt for the Cobalt Treatments Instead. In reality, my father was not in a weakened state at that time but was in relatively good health, still working and living a normal life. It wasn't until the Cobalt Treatments started that my father began to go down hill. After 35 days of treatments my father was so weak that he had to retire from work and move closer to my family so we could help care for him. In early 1965, my father was again admitted to Cincinnati General Hospital with severe chest pains. It was at this time he was subjected to the Total Body Radiation. He immediately started on a drastic downhill spiral. After much suffering, my father died on July 14, 1965 - 74 days after the Total Body Radiation. (5 PADS) Total Body Radiation Subcommittee April 7, 1994 Since Total Body Radiation had not been performed on cancer patients at Cincinnati General Hospital prior to the Government funding of 1960, I feel that my father, along with other cancer patients, were hand picked and used in Total Body Radiation; not as a treatment for cancer, as they had been told, but as a cover-up for a study performed for the Department of Defense to determine possible effects on soldiers in nuclear warfare. It might be noted that at the time my father died, two of my brothers were in the U.S. Air Force. One in Vietnam in the war zone. The Red Cross had to locate him and bring him home for the funeral. Both brothers have since retired from the Air Force. Isn't it ironic that two of my brothers were serving this country in the military, while at the same time The United States Government was sponsoring experiments which shortened or ended their father's life. Respectfully, Catherine C. Dager Catherine O. Hager (Mitchell) COH;cmh Enclosure |