Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed

HICARE invited a doctor from the Santa Cruz Hospital in Brazil for one month of training at Hiroshima University Hospital.

Debora Mery Oka
General Practitioner at Santa Cruz Hospital

My grandfather and grandmother left Japan for Brazil before the Second World War. Even though they could not tell me of the disaster of the A-bombing in 1945, I had opportunities to learn of it from history books. That being said, I have felt that the history of Hiroshima has a deeper meaning, beyond that contained within history texts.

Staying in Hiroshima, I studied numerous medical techniques for the treatment of Atomic bomb survivors. Beyond that however, I began to understand the suffering and difficulties that survivors face even to this day.

I was deeply impressed by HICARE’s world-wide promotion of knowledge and medical support, based, of course, on their numerous past achievements with regards to Atomic Bomb survivors and radiation disease research.

I would like to sincerely thank the hospitals and institutes for their warm welcome. I will never forget the chances that have been given to me in Hiroshima.

In Brazil, I work as a doctor of internal medicine at two hospitals.

Brigadeiro Hospital
Medical care for out-patients and in-patients; Instruction of interning doctors

Santa Cruz Hospital: Medical care
We receive a lot of Japanese/people of Japanese descent at Santa Cruz Hospital. I often have opportunities to speak Japanese during medical examinations and consultations. Additionally, I participate in several volunteer groups who support the elderly and intellectually disabled.

In October, 2004, I joined a Japanese doctor’s delegation to perform check-ups for Atomic bomb survivors.