Ignoring the silent killer… Top medic accused of not listening to cancer campaigners

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has been accused of ignoring the danger posed to thousands of people exposed to the silent killer drug stilbestrol.

While US campaigner Caitlin McCarthy flew thousands of miles to deliver evidence to a Holyrood meeting that could help save the lives of those exposed to the powerful synthetic hormone, Scotland’s chief medical officer (CMO) Sir Gregor Smith was notably absent from the parliamentary round table.

Stilbestrol, which was given to thousands of Scots ­including forced adoption mothers to dry up their milk, is now known to cause aggressive deadly cancers and other devastating health conditions for those who received it, and their children.

McCarthy said: “It was ­disappointing the Chief Medical Officer did not attend, considering Scotland led the way in exposing what is a hidden public health disaster affecting ­thousands of lives around the world.”

Scottish Conservative MSP Miles Briggs said: “The failure of Sir Gregor Smith to attend was unacceptable. I have repeatedly asked his office to give me an update on his progress over the awareness campaign promised by Nicola Sturgeon almost two years ago, and I have yet to get a proper reply.

“The evidence we heard from campaigners and specialists was deeply disturbing.

“It’s abundantly clear we need positive action to warn both the public and the medical profession about the dangers associated with this drug, and that is the job of the CMO.

“I will be writing to the World Health Organisation to see what evidence they have about the risks of stilbestrol, and what we need to do to protect lives.”

The meeting, earlier this month, had been called by MSPs to examine what has been done to raise awareness over the dangers of the drug, also known as DES, which had been given to forced adoption victims and thousands of other women at risk of miscarriage and other maternity illnesses until it was withdrawn in the early-1970s when it was proven to cause cancer.

When she delivered the forced adoption apology on behalf of the Scottish Government in March 2023, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was so concerned over the dangers of the drug, she also made the first formal apology in the world to women given stilbestrol.

She said: “We will continue to explore with those affected the key challenges they face with regard to adoption records and the lasting health impacts faced by mothers who were given stilbestrol. On that point I want to emphasise the importance of women attending their routine breast and cervical screening appointments.”

As well as increasing the risk of deadly cancers, stilbestrol is also known to cause infertility and deformities in reproductive organs in up to three generations of children whose mothers were given the drug. The powerful synthetic hormone was used to chemically castrate Enigma hero Alan Turing because he was homosexual.

One of Scotland’s most ­eminent gynaecologists and government adviser, Dr Wael Agur said doctors today are often unaware of the drug. He said: “Because stilbestrol was withdrawn in the very early 1970s, many younger doctors may not have been trained about the dangers of exposure to it, or what they should be looking for.

“It’s quite clear that, while we need a public awareness campaign, we also need to ensure doctors are trained and made aware about stilbestrol, which can cause a rare but aggressive cancer known as clear cell carcinoma. The person who needs to sanction this is our CMO.”

The doctor said stilbestrol was not only given to forced adoption victims to dry up their breast milk when their babies were taken, but also to other women suffering complications during their pregnancies.

And he warned the current national cervical screening programme would not adequately highlight the women affected by the drug as the risk of cancer continues throughout their lives.

Agur said: “The national ­cervical cancer screening programme ends when a woman reaches 65. But the kind of cancers caused by exposure to stilbestrol can appear spontaneously at any time, including after that age.

“Women exposed to ­stilbestrol need to continue with screening long after they would be removed from the national programme.”

Evidence at the round table was delivered by international campaigners.

Lily Arthur, from Australia, said: “International ­co-operation is imperative. Women here were also given the drug, but there has been no proper attempt to determine how many suffered cancers.

“We do know anecdotally that high numbers of forced adoption victims developed cancer but, despite us calling for research and records to be examined, nothing happened.”

McCarthy was affected by stilbestrol after her mother was given the drug. She said: “Doctors around the world remain uninformed about the effects of stilbestrol and, without that knowledge, lives will continue to be lost, and victims silenced. Not one single drug company has apologised for what happened, despite legal claims for damages from the sons and daughters of women who were given stilbestrol being secretly settled for millions.

“I urge Scotland to continue leading the way forward, and to encourage others to do what is urgently needed to expose one of the biggest public health ­disasters of modern times.”

Forced Adoption Scotland campaigner Marion McMillan, 74, who was given stilbestrol both when she was forced to give up her baby, and later when she experienced medical problems during subsequent pregnancies, said: “Around the world women like me were given extremely high doses of stilbestrol to dry up our breast milk quickly.

“Thousands were exposed to the drug, so it would be naive in the extreme to believe we all managed to escape getting cancer or any of the other known side effects no matter how rare they may be. The proven danger to second and third generations cannot be ignored.”

After 50 years of silence, victims of Scotland’s forced adoption scandal demand redress

The Scottish Government said the CMO had “other diary commitments”, and added: “We have the utmost sympathy for the women who were affected by abhorrent historical adoption practices, including those prescribed stilbestrol. Ministers are engaging with various campaign groups to understand their experiences of forced historic adoption. Medicine licensing is the responsibility of the UK Government and any investigation of stilbestrol would ultimately be a matter for them to consider.

“The most recent ­guidance advises that routine cervical screening is appropriate for those who believe they were exposed to stilbestrol in utero, and we would encourage all women to attend their routine breast and cervical screening appointments.”