A copy of the statement I intend to give on Wednesday 21 June 2000.

  I draw your attention to my submission sent to the Cancer Research—A Fresh look enquiry called Hypothyroidism and Cancer[1].

  I am a biomedical scientist, a member of the executive committee of Breast UK and a member of TAG (Thyroid Action Group). I have personal experience of both breast cancer and hypothyroidism. I wish to use this time to emphasise the links between them and show how it can devastate one's life.

  From my research I have realised that I have suffered from low thyroid for most of my life. This meant that as a child with a poor immune system I suffered recurrent bouts of tonsillitis, bronchitis and pneumonia as well as all the childhood illnesses and hepatitis A. As an adult an over stimulated pituitary struggling to tell the thyroid to produce enough thyroxine also over stimulates the production of oestrogen. This, coupled with a poor immune system, resulted in a huge fibroid uterus, constant anaemia, a hysterectomy and breast cancer three times.

  I can't emphasise enough that I am just one of thousands out there suffering because moderately low thyroid disease goes unrecognised, is under-treated and the interpretation of basic laboratory tests is flawed and does not give the whole picture. The great sin is that Broda Barnes published his work when I was a child. I and millions of others could have been saved a lot of misery if only he had been taken notice of.

  As an example, a study in Italy found an incidence of 46 per cent thyroid disease in breast cancer patients compared with 14 per cent of controls—post op before treatments. The treatments then often affect the thyroid eg:

(i)  Scattered radiation from radiotherapy

(ii)  Tamoxifen. In the blood thryoxine needs circulating oestrogen to be transported. All the side effects listed for Tamoxifen are the symptoms of low thyroid. How many times have I heard that these are negligible? Always said by those who haven't had to take it.

  I would like to see:

1.  A review of all existing studies and trials, and then NOTICE taken.

2.  A review of the reporting of thyroid lab tests.

3.  GP's to be made more aware of the symptoms so that patients are not left untreated for years. This could drastically reduce the incidence of cancer—people would have a decent immune system to "nip it in the bud".

4.  Particular attention to testing of cancer patients. This would increase the success of treatments and improve quality of life. (A study in rats showed that if those seemingly cured of cancer then had their thyroid glands removed they soon presented with secondaries).

5.  Patient representatives to be part of the teams designing the research. Only patients know what is important to them. Breast UK would be delighted to help.

June 2000