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Leukemia in Astronauts
Having watched the news last night about the death of Alan B. Shepard, the commentator mentioned Admiral Shepard's inner-ear problem that kept him temporarily "grounded" from the program until the Apollo-14 flight to the moon. Logically, it would be assumed that his fellow astronauts - those still living - spent more time in outer space than did Shepard and were more at risk from cosmic-ray exposure. If one or two more succumb from leukemia, then perhaps eyebrows can be raised due to the relatively small population, but the man was going on 75; not that old by today's medical standards, but not that young either.
Frank L. Bordell
fbord2@ctaz.com