Day 017 - 25 Jul 94 - Page 04
1 Q. Are you presently contributing to a text book to be
published by the Oxford University Press?
2 A. Yes, there is a book which, hopefully, will be
published in the very near future, which is the Oxford
3 Textbook of Oncology. I have contributed to the chapter
on the treatment of colon rectal cancer, not just the
4 treatment of it. It is also the pathology, the aetiology
of colon rectal cancer.
5
Q. One final question about yourself, then we go on to the
6 learning. Have you been an examiner of medical students?
A. Yes. I have examined under graduates and I have also
7 examined post graduates; I am currently an examiner for
the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. I have been
8 an examiner for the Royal College of Radiologists here in
London. I have also examined, as I say, under graduates
9 and also radiographers, taking examinations through the
College of Radiographers.
10
Q. I will ask this question now, if I may. I will come back
11 to it again in a bit more detail later on. Have you read
the two reports submitted on behalf of the defendants
12 which were written by a Dr. Neil Barnard in this case?
A. Yes, I have.
13
Q. If you were examining Dr. Barnard in relation to an essay
14 written on the aetiology of cancer, and those were the
essays which he submitted to you for examination, what
15 mark would you give him?
A. I think I would actually have to fail him because when
16 you are marking papers by post graduates or students, you
are looking for a balanced presentation of the evidence
17 for or against a particular causation. And you want the
candidate to show he is able to analyse the pros and cons
18 and make a judgment based on that evidence. Dr. Barnard
in his report produces only one side of the evidence. He
19 does not look at the other side of the coin. I would,
therefore, in those circumstances, have to fail him, I am
20 afraid.
21 Q. Can I ask you a little more about cancer itself. Are
there different kinds of cancers?
22 A. There are many different kinds of cancers. It is
popularly supposed that cancer is one illness, but it is a
23 collection of illnesses. We can categorise cancers
dependent on the tissues from which they arise.
24
Q. What are the words used to do that?
25 A. The tissues -- the cancers which arise from the
covering tissues of the body, such as skin, or the lining
26 tissues of the intestine, are called carcinomas. Tumours
which arise from the structure of the body, like bones and
27 fibres of the body, the muscles, these are called
sarcomas, and then there are intermediate tumours which
28 arise from the lymph system, which is in many ways the
sort of drainage or defence system of the body, called
29 lymphomas. Allied to them are tumours which arise in the
marrow or from the blood forming cells which are called
30 leukeamieas.