Answer to Question #227 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

I purchased and I'm reading a relatively new book by Dr. John Gofman that was published in 1999. The title of the book is Radiation from Medical Procedures in the Pathogenesis of Cancer and Ischemic Heart Disease: Dose-Response Studies with Physicians per 100,000 Population. I'm an engineer at Intel Corp. so my background in engineering and physics makes it relatively easy for me to understand the analyses in this book. I think this monograph of Dr. Gofman's is very important and links a significant portion of cancers and ischemic heart disease in the United States to radiation from medical procedures. Has anyone reviewed the book? I would be very interested to know if there has been any type of peer review of this book and the analyses presented in it. Personally, I became very interested in this subject about three or four months ago. My wife recently had breast conserving surgery for a small low-grade cancer and I've learned a lot about treatment, causes, recurrence, etc. So, I would like to understand all points of view of radiation-induced cancers. If you have reviewed Dr. Gofman's recently published book, please pass your review on to me or let me know where I can find a copy of it. Sincerely, Nick Righos

A

We just learned of Dr. Gofman's new book this week due to your question about the book directed to the American Academy of Health Physics. We were able to find the book in its entirety on the website of the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility. The book has been reviewed in both the Health Physics Society's Newsletter and the Health Physics Journal.

Gen Roessler, Editor
HPS website