Doctors in Denial: The Forgotten Women in the 'Unfortunate Experiment'

by Ronald W. Jones

When Dr Ron Jones joined the staff of National Women's Hospital in Auckland in 1973 as a junior obstetrician and gynecologist, Professor Herbert Green's study into the natural history of carcinoma in-situ of the cervix (CIS) – later called ‘the unfortunate experiment' – had been in progress for seven years. By the mid-1960s there was almost universal agreement among gynaecologists and pathologists worldwide that CIS was a precursor of cancer, requiring complete removal. Green, however, believed otherwise, and embarked on a study of women with CIS, without their consent, that involved merely observing, rather than definitively treating them. Many women subsequently developed cancer and some died. In 1984 Jones and senior colleagues Dr Bill McIndoe and Dr Jock McLean published a scientific paper that exposed the truth, and the disastrous outcome of Green's experiment. In a public inquiry in 1987 Judge Sylvia Cartwright observed that an unethical experiment had been carried out in large numbers of women for over 20 years. Since that time there have been attempts to cast Green's work in a more generous light. This rewriting of history has spurred Ron Jones to set the record straight by telling his personal a story of the unnecessary suffering of countless women, a story of professional arrogance and misplaced loyalties, and a story of doctors in denial of the truth.

Genres: Book Club

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 10, 2017

Reviews

[Sophia Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a difficult read. Frankly, I skimmed the last 1/2 of the book. It frequently read like an academic report and I struggled to maintain interest despite the gravity of the subject matter. This book isn’t for everyone, but if you are interested in the history of womens healthcare in NZ and the major tragedy that plague our past then you might find it worthy of a read. Like other readers, I preferred the chapters concerning personal experiences.

[C.J. Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheds light on the arrogance of a doctor who decided to undertake an experiment on women with pre-cancerous lesions to see whether if left they would either recover or progress to cancer ... in the days when no one dared to question or oppose head doctors. Unbelievable.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fairly tough read given that Shelley is currently undergoing cancer treatment. Thank goodness times have changed........ just horrendous.

[Gill]

8

[Emily Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tough read which absolutely breaks your heart over and over again but an essential one that I personally think is a must read to educate yourself on the full story behind the Cartwright enquiry.