In 1937, Macfarlane proposed her innovative idea of early pelvic examinations to the members of the Medical Women’s International Meeting in Scotland. The president of the Medical Women’s International Association, Dr. Louisa Martindale, disapproved of Macfarlane's idea.
Macfarlane's Proposal
Macfarlane
Dr. Catharine Macfarlane was an obstetrician and gynecologist who lived from April 7, 1877 to May 27, 1969. She graduated from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) with an M.D. in 1898. Macfarlane was incredibly ambitious and she devoted her entire life to being a physician, professor, and medical researcher.
"Often described as a dignified woman with a formidable intellect and temper, she was a pioneer in the detection and treatment of uterine cancer."
~ "Changing the Face of Medicine | Catharine Macfarlane,” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
(Exterior of Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA: Temple University Libraries)
"Whether a given woman is cured or not depends upon how soon her cancer is discovered and treated. Sixty to 70 per cent of cures in early cases dwindles down to no cures in late cases."
~ Catharine Macfarlane, “The Value of the Periodic Pelvic Examination of Supposedly Well Women” (1948)
"More than 16,000 women died of cancer of the uterus in the United States of America last year. Many of these women might have been saved if their cancers had been detected earlier."
~ Catharine Macfarlane, “The Value of the Periodic Pelvic Examination of Supposedly Well Women” (1948)
Ideological Shift
In the early twentieth century, Macfarlane expanded upon the early cancer detection campaigns of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Instead of just encouraging women to consult a gynecologist when they noticed signs of cervical cancer, Macfarlane believed that all women should be screened for cancer even if they did not experience any symptoms. Therefore, she pushed the frontier of cervical cancer detection by advocating for the implementation of periodic pelvic examinations for all women, including asymptomatic ones. She concluded that early diagnosis and treatment for cervical cancer were vital to reducing the mortality rates from this disease.
Medical Women's International Meeting
"Dr. Louisa Martindale said, 'Doctor Macfarlane may be right but I'm sure British women would be unwilling to be examined by a doctor until they had symptoms!'”
~ Katharine R. Sturgis, “First Woman Fellow of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia: Memoir of Catharine Macfarlane”
"Dr. MacFarlane returned home determined to prove that women would participate in the preventive care programs she advocated.”
~ "Changing the Face of Medicine | Catharine Macfarlane,” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
Despite the backlash that Macfarlane received, her confident and strong willed personality allowed her to continue pushing for her controversial ideas.
A year after the meeting, the American Medical Association provided Macfarlane with a grant that allowed her to establish a cancer detection clinic at WMCP in 1938.