Day 034 - 11 Oct 94 - Page 57
1 can imagine, the interactions between psychiatry and
2 cancer are numerous. However, that is quite different
3 from the work of an oncologist who plans the anticancer
4 treatment specifically.
5
6 Q. It is also different, is it not, from the work of somebody
7 who spends his life, whether he be medically qualified
8 person or a statistician or a biochemist, or whatever,
9 spends his life studying the aetiology of cancer?
10 A. The practice of psychiatry being different from that?
11
12 Q. Yes.
13 A. Yes. The practice of psychiatry is different from the
14 study of cancer research, that is correct.
15
16 Q. How much of your time is spent looking after your medical
17 patients, your psychiatric patients?
18 A. Currently?
19
20 Q. Yes.
21 A. One morning per week.
22
23 Q. What do you do the rest of the time?
24 A. I write books, I conduct research and I work at the
25 Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine with the
26 other physicians and staff we have there.
27
28 Q. You see, I am willing to concede that somebody who has a
29 preliminary qualification of general medicine, may in one
30 sense have an advantage over a judge sitting in court in
31 England or a barrister standing on his feet in that he
32 will more readily understand the biological or
33 physiological mechanisms of terminology. The other
34 qualification which I imagine -- you correct me if I am
35 wrong -- you propose for your presence in this case is
36 that you have spent a lot of time reading the literature;
37 is that right?
38 A. I have spent a great deal of time reviewing literature
39 and talking with experts about its meaning.
40
41 Q. That is a task which can as easily be performed by an
42 intelligent layman, or very nearly, as it can be by you?
43 A. I certainly have always encouraged lay persons to
44 learn as much as they can about the links between diet and
45 disease. If they care to spend their time dusting off the
46 medical literature in the library, I would encourage that.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is the answer to Mr. Rampton's question
49 "yes" or do you have reservations about that?
50 A. Did you ask me if a layman could understand the
51 medical literature as easily as a physician?
52
53 MR. RAMPTON: I was asking you whether an intelligent layman
54 could as easily read and understand the sort of medical
55 literature which you have reviewed for the purpose of this
56 case very nearly as easily as you could?
57 A. No, certainly not.
58
59 Q. Why is that?
60 A. Well, there is a tremendous amount of medical methods
