Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a synthetic estrogen. Known as DES in the United States, it is more commonly known as stilboestrol in the UK and Australia. It was the first synthetic estrogen produced, developed by Sir E. Charles Dodds and colleagues in the UK in 1938.Constructed from a chemical base, it produced the same feminizing effect […]
In a previous article, I wrote about how, as a DES daughter, I felt I had a distinct advantage of gaining my understanding of cervical cancer and cervical screening programs before the human papillomavirus (HPV) was even detected; and before HPV tests and HPV vaccines were developed and marketed. I think I would have struggled […]
DES daughters have unique credentials and knowledge regarding cervical cancer. We have become cervical cancer “experts” based on our own shared experiences and through our knowledge of DES research. We also have the advantage of acquiring this knowledge about cervical cancer before HPV was even detected; and before HPV tests and HPV vaccines were developed.We […]
To treat young healthy prepubescent girls with a known carcinogen to stunt their adult height sounds like a bizarre science fiction experiment, but it is unfortunately true. From 1959 through the 1970s physicians and researchers from the Royal Children’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne, gave adolescent girls of tall stature a powerful estrogenic hormone […]