Title: Toxic Exposure: The True Story Behind the Monsanto Trials and the Search for Justice
Author: Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA
Length: 328 pages
Published: February 2023, Johns Hopkins University Press
About the Author
Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA, is a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist who has treated patients with lymphoma for years. He has worked in diverse health care settings and is the creator and host of the Healthcare Unfiltered podcast. He currently serves as the chief medical officer and head of strategy for Ryght, a leading health care technology company. He has written more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and book chapters, including essays in the “Art of Oncology” section of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is also the author of two books, Toxic Exposure and hot-off-the-press The Cancer Journey.
About the Book
Toxic Exposure provides an insider’s view into the first three lawsuits filed against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, a popular herbicide. Glyphosate is the major ingredient in Roundup and is patented by Monsanto. For about 50 years, farmers have been using Roundup to kill weeds in fields used for crops such as corn and soybeans; however, information regarding its safety is disputed. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer, whereas in 2015, the International Agency of Research on Cancer declared the chemical a “probable human carcinogenic.”1
Monsanto and its German owner, Bayer AG, have stated that exposure to Roundup does not pose a threat to human health and remain caught in litigation brought forward by thousands of patients with cancer who claim that exposure to Roundup caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Dr. Nabhan served as an expert witness and fierce patient advocate for the foremost trials implicating Roundup exposure as a cause for lymphoma. Each of three plaintiffs — Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, Edwin Hardeman, and Alva and Alberta Pilliod — eventually won against Monsanto.
Toxic Exposure speaks to a wide audience, relives the Monsanto litigation stories, and addresses the important connection between Roundup and cancer.
Highlights
The subject of the causal link between toxic exposure and cancer resonates with each of us involved in the care of people with cancer. The struggle to distinguish causation from association is real. “Why did I get leukemia?” is a question asked frequently in my clinic. Recently, a patient’s wife reached out to me to inquire whether her husband’s diagnosis of polycythemia vera (PV) was related to his use of Roundup for a few years on a food plot for deer. She had read that there may be a correlation in blood cancers, especially non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and was seeking my advice on whether they should investigate the connection further.
In my literature review, I was unable to find any information on Roundup and PV, but came across a PV cluster investigation in northeast Pennsylvania that identified toxic chemicals in the groundwater with potential for DNA damage.2 Eager to learn more about Roundup and cancer, I started browsing Toxic Exposure through Audible and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the entire book was narrated by Dr. Nabhan himself!
Dr. Nabhan provides an authentic narrative of the courtroom drama and includes details on each of the petitioners, starting with San Fransisco Bay area groundskeeper Lee Johnson’s journey to seek justice against Monsanto. Dr. Nabhan combined his expertise in lymphoma with critical thinking skills and composure and played a pivotal role in the historic ruling in 2018, whereby Mr. Johnson was awarded $289 million. Soon after, Dr. Nabhan served as the expert witness for the Hardeman and Pilliod cases against Monsanto; the Pilliods were awarded $2 billion in damages.
Providing a lighthearted break from the legal proceedings, Dr. Nabhan shares his personal journey in a chapter titled “Coming to America,” in which he relates how he immigrated from Syria to Boston to take the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination. His book draws on his deep-rooted interest in journalism from his early years, prior to pursuing a career in medicine, and reveals his motivation to help people. Through Toxic Exposure, he shares a critical message with the public and highlights a key issue of environmental exposures and cancer.
Summary
Toxic Exposure is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the evidence surrounding the association of Roundup and lymphoma. Dr. Nabhan’s compelling contributions to the positive outcomes of three major Monsanto trials speak volumes about his ability to navigate a complex subject and provide convincing individualized evidence in each case. He is an exceptional advocate for patients with cancer, and I look forward to his latest release, The Cancer Journey: Understanding Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention.
References
- Benbrook CM. How did the US EPA and IARC reach diametrically opposed conclusions on the genotoxicity of glyphosate-based herbicides? Environ Sci Eur. 2019;31(2).
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Polycythemia vera cancer cluster investigation in northeast PA. Accessed October 4, 2024. atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/polycythemia_vera/docs/tox_assay_fact_sheet_508.pdf.
To learn more about Dr. Nabhan and his work, check out the article, “A Day in the Life: Joining Forces With Others,” published in ASH Clinical News.
