Radithor: Radiation therapy killed Eben Byers

Eben Byers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, lived the good life: Born in 1880, he grew up in a wealthy family, studied at Yale, and joined the Girard Iron Company, which he later managed. He also assumed the chairmanship of family-owned AM Buyers. He also worked in other big companies. In his spare time, Byers enjoyed participating in sports. Played racquetball and tennis. As an amateur golfer, he also achieved some notable victories. He also competed in horse racing and owned racing stables in the United States and England. But in 1927, an accident occurred that changed Byers' life forever.

On the way home from the Harvard-Yale football game, Byers fell from the top bunk of a sleeper car and injured his arm. His physiotherapist Charles Clinton Moyer prescribed Radithor, a tonic for pain and general strengthening. Byers followed Moyer's advice and soon felt better. Believing in the positive effect of Radither, Byers did not stop using it, but continued to use it conscientiously. Loud “New York Times” In the years since the accident, he swallowed the contents of “two or three bottles of 60 milliliters each” every day.

After a few months, the feeling of well-being gave way to health problems: At first, Byers complained of stabbing headaches, nausea and vomiting. In 1930 his teeth started falling out. This was accompanied by severe jaw pain. According to New York x-ray expert Joseph Manning Steiner, the symptoms are similar to those of the “radium girls” who painted dials with radioactive paint in the studios of the American Radium Corporation and poisoned themselves in the process. “Time Magazine” After Byers' death in 1932. Byers confirmed that Manning Steiner had radium poisoning.

Byers had recorded radioactive material himself – with a radiator. All in all he hoped to improve his health. It is well known that ratite contains radium. But at the time it was considered a miracle cure (see box).

An obituary in the New York Times says of radither: “It was previously thought that the liquid contained such small amounts of soluble radium salts that it was harmless.” In Byers' case, however, small amounts of salt were absorbed through the blood vessels and “destroyed the bones.”

Investigations into the suspected connection followed Manning Steiner's suspicions. Byers also interviewed. Lawyer Robert Hiner Wynn said of his encounter with her: “It's hard to imagine a more horrific experience in such a wonderful environment.” Met Byers at Winn's house.

His further description sounds like something out of a horror movie: “Still young and mentally, I can [Byers] rarely speak. His head was bandaged. He underwent two consecutive surgeries in which his entire upper jaw and most of his lower jaw were removed except for two front teeth.

Byers spent the last month of his life in a hospital in Manhattan. He died there on March 31, 1932. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be cancer. It pierced his bones and led to pus forming on his brain. According to media reports, about 36 micrograms of radium, a “lethal level”, were found in his bones. Byers was buried in a coffin made of lead because his remains continued to emit radiation.

As sad as Byers' fate was, it did good things. This is how the case was conducted legally. As a result, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was given more powers and radioactive “cures” increasingly disappeared from the market.