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Show The Salt Lake Tribune BUSINESS Sunday, January 24, 1999 ed dragging. His head throbbed when che lay down. He began locking drinking glasses over. The diagnosis: grade IV glioblastoma multiforme. _ ‘I had a good career,” Albertins says, rubbing his bald head, at Amoco Lab @ From Previous Page the result of surgery, chemotherapyanda decision to shelve a his doctorcalls “the embodiment of evil” because of its frenzied growth — soontookcontrol. He hadto quit driving. His skull swelled so muchSasha unscrewed his glasses so they wouldfit. His proud face was scarred with stitches shaped like a huge question mark running behindhis ear and across his left temple. Doctors drew a florescent pink circle on his skull with an X in the middle —a target for zapping him with radiation. His brain was wi!hering, too. The man whocouldrecite the White Sox rosters for the last 20 years couldn't even remember players’ names while watching them ontelevision. “I can’t believe how stupid I am!” he would sayin frustration. His decline cameas his son’s in- vestigation picked up. “As he becameless able to communicate,” Marios Karayannis says, “I learned a heck ofa lot more.” He hired experts, conducted in- terviews, boned up on polypropylene — the plastic that was his father’s specialty. Nick Karayannis had used heavy metals as catalysts to create plastics cheaper, more quickly and moreefficiently He pored over Amoco documents the company handed over. “T neverfelt I had information being held back,” says Marios Karayannis. But Nick Karayannis wasstill alert one summerday whenhere- ceived call. “He became red,” Sasha re- new $600 wig. “I was pretty well rewarded for whatI did,” he adds. “Unfortunately the price thatI paid, seemply, is more than I bargained rr. Both menare among six Amoco workers Marios Karayannis represents in a negligence suit. Yearsago, he played soccer and bowled with these men in Amoco leagues; they attended White Sox side. But he’s lucky. “He's not going to droptheball.” Fornow,Paschke and Albertins are members of a club no one wants to join. They know the order of their diagnoses. Paschke was No. 11. Albertins was No.13. “It’s very difficult every time another one is identified,” Paschkesays. “It’s not just another number,it’s anotherfriend.” A Daunting Numbers Game: Amoco comparesits investigation to an archaeological dig. Using thousands of handwritten lab notebooks, accounting records and interviews, investiga- tors have tried to recreate 30 years of where people worked, what chemicals they handled, whatprotective gear they wore. “It’s easy to go in and make sure the building is safe today,” says Wells, the Amocoepidemiol- ogist. “It's harder to go back in thepast.” Once Amoco compileda list of the 8,000 employees who had and Europe. too, because researchers who worked near each other may not Amoco employee,says the company should have made doctor re- “Manytimes thereis no environ- straits. Amoco says ethics and medical confidentiality laws pro- hibit that. But newstravels fast among researchers — especially bad news. So when Paschke learned Rusins Albertins was ill, he called im. A hearty-looking retired chemical engineer, Albertins, 61, spent muchof his long Amoco careerin building 502, next door to 503. He took formulas Nick Karayannis developed andtested them. It was June 1997 when Albertins, attending a conference on teaching civics to developing democracies in his native Latvia, rose to speak. Out camegibberish. He began making mistakes on Internet Becoming Popular Place to BuyAirline Tickets @ Continued from E-1 tion aboutdiscounted air fares to anyone who requests it. Other sites are Microsoft's expedia.com and thetrip.com, both of which offer the same typesofservices. have been assigned to the same project.It’s also possible the cancers are a horrible coincidence. “Clusters like this do occur... all over the world,” Wells says. mental explanation.” Marios Karayannis disagrees, just as he doubts Amoco’s view that the benign tumors probably are unrelated to the malignant ones, “If I put you in a room with three known toxins and you get cancer, which of the three gaveit to you?” he asks. “I don't know, but I thinkit’s pretty likely that oneof them did.” No one expects investigators will identify a single compound that caused brain cancer — but they could isolate a class of suspect chemicals. Wells hopestheywill find some connection. “The absolute best thing would ; to get more consumers to use through a travel agent. “We're in this for the long haul," Harbin said. “We'll be doing more and more to encourage people to use our Webpage.” Continental, at www.continental.com, focusesits online specials on last-minute, deeply discounted travel deals. And so far, the only flights available are those that originate from Continental's hub Salt Lake City some- timesis included as a destination city, but the special flights do not originate here. “These are seats that otherwise would have gone unsold,” said Sa- rah Anthony, a spokeswomanfor Houston-based Continental weekendonly.” Anyone who wants to buy the discounted tickets advertised on the Internet can do so by phone, althoughit will cost an extra $20. Lake City is included nearly every week), Customers are alerted when the fares becomeavailable via a free e-mail service. And while the discounted fares must be purchased within a couple of days, they are good fortravel as muchas six months in the future New discounts are advertised online each Tuesday and “how ynuch they are discounted varies, ZCMI CENTER RIVERDALE Salt Lake City 359-5140 Dr. David Smith, 0.D. he died. “My life is ruined,” Sasha says in a near whisper, sitting in her living room. “ButI'd like to find the truth. Other people are suffering.” 1065 W.Riverdale Rd. MURRAY FAIR OREM 967-9048 1448 South State 224-0451 Dr. Brent Hadlock 0.D. WestValley City Dr. Jerry Downard, 0.D. solving this mystery. OPEN SUNDAYS 572-4421 Dr. David Mortensen, O.D. Eye exams available Monday-Sunday Dr.GaryCutler, 0.. 228 East 6400 South Murray 263-9125 But her son, a man trained in the law, knowsthereare limits to SOUTH TOWNE CENTER 392-6216 Dr. Robert Gray, 0.D. “I need to search for whatlikely is the truth,” he says. “And that’s the best that can be hoped for.” At the funeral, Marios Karayannis recognized one of his fa- See ECM EALEL) ther’s colleagues from building 503. As the mourner walked to the front of the church, Marios noticed his freshly scarred, shaven head. He knew the manrecently had a biopsy. The diagnosis: brain caner. The club had one more mem- ‘6O0St FRAMES pair of With ‘Some frames not: subject to discount. Offer cannot be combined with any other coupon, by discount, or insurance benefit. Valid prescnption requred. scheduling an Offer vaid al participating locations. Coupon must be eye exam today. [presented at time of order. See store for details Nobody cares for eyes better than Mar PEARLEVision” ber. TTI TSI TTT TTI ITTOTTO ehts shrink. avuimmGS Grow. LPs C220U L make YOu believe in here once was a couple whose monthly payments were so high, by the time they'd paid theirbills there was nothingleft to put into savings. So they walked into a Zions Bank branch wherefriendly folk helped them open a veryspecial account. The account consolidated their debts into one lower monthly payment. The money they saved in interest was automatically deposited into a savings account every month, which grew and grew. The End. Visit any Zions Bank Branchand ask about the Freedom Plan Zio 1 : os Fredo, > m Plan “They are advertised early in the week for travel the following eo courting them varies wideMi “You could see how sad Marios was. Many times, I'd say, ‘Go!’ ” sherecalls, shooing her hand. Nick Karayannis was 66 when available anywhere else,” said their Web pages, the way they go For example, Southwest, at www.southwest.com, offers weekly specials via its Web site (Salt Sometimes, Sasha recalls, Mar- ios couldn't bear to see his once vital father so helpless and would butit's a bigger discount than is Newark. While mostairlines are trying its. The athlete who loved swimming and soccer couldn't lift his Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman. The fares are not available to those who book via Southwest’s reservations number or sites, including www.frommers- he said. Thescholar and studentof language could only utter one-word could go to the employees and cities — Houston, Cleveland and finding the lowest fare possible,” only blow them kisses. be to understand that something is behind this,” he says, “then we Salt Lake City financial planner David Hatton uses several Web .com and www.lowestfare.com to huntforlow air fares. He receives e-mail messages throughout the week from thesesites and others alerting him to cheapair travel. “T travel all around the world and the Internetis a greattoolfor with his two grandchildren could men worked on nine of the same projects. But that could bea blind alley, His tumor, a Schwannoma, was ferrals and notified brain tumor victims about others in similar The grandfather who once could frolic on the floor for hours through more than 100,000 chemical research projects before focusing on 34 in which two brain cancervictims overlapped. Three benign, though helives with the stomach-churning fear of having worked in building 503 more than 20 years — within 150feet of four men diagnosed with brain cancer. Paschke, who remains an grandson and namesake, Nick, fed him Italian mints until he couldn’t remember to suck them. sit in an adjoining room. commitment in view of his fa- It has been a daunting numbers game. Investigators also havesifted Hehad golf ball-sized tumor in his head. His family brought him Godiva chocolates and papaya. His little ther’s death,” Paschke says. Members of a Club: It was After four operations, Paschke hasno hearing in his right ear. He can't blink or chew on his right on a couch. handsto feed himself. worked at the research center since it opened in 1970,it located the 1,800 from the 500 complex andused people-tracking agencies to find some as far away as Asia July 1996 when Ed Paschke called his bridge partner. One More Member: Nearthe end, Nick Karayannis was bedridden in his family room, beneath an oil portrait of himself as a young man. Sashasleptat his side games together. That’s when he wassimply Nick’s son. “He certainly has a personal calls, ‘He said, ’Oh, no! Don’t tell e that. “I don’t believe it,” he said as he put the phone down. “Paschke’s come down with it.” say, ‘We have an answer.’ ” 3 Deadly Mystery Claims Lives his computer. His right leg start- A unique plan combining low loan rates and monthly savings. Apply today. Even small airlines such as Frontier are beefing up their Web presence. Frontier last week announced it is embarking on a ma- jor overhaulofits online booking capabilities, which in the past have been unreliable. “The online booking system is something you want working really well,” company spokeswoman Elise Eberweinsaid. “It saves the airline money and our customers have been telling us it's something they want.” ZIONS BANK www. clonsbank.com TR Member PDIC 1 1 : I 1 I |
