James S. Lawson

James Lawson is an Australian doctor best known as an Aussie rules footballer in his youth and a fine tennis player in his 80s! He studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and went on to have a career as a Director of Hospital and medical services in several Australian States. He has been Professor of Public Health at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, since 1987. He is the author of 10 books and over 200 scientific publications.

He was awarded the Citation of the International Red Cross for meritorious service in caring for the sick of the Congo, Africa, during the troubled period 1960 to 1961. For many years he has been a consultant to the World Health Organisation working in China, the Philippines, Malaysia and the Pacific islands.

In 1999 he noted that despite intense research the huge problems and causes of breast and prostate cancer remained unsolved. He observed that men and women who migrated from the low risk of breast cancer countries such as Japan and China to high risk countries such as the US and Australia, rapidly increased their risk of these cancers. He asked “Why was it so?” At the grand old age of 70 he began to collaborate with local Australian and international colleagues from Pisa in Italy, New York and California, Vienna in Austria and Jerusalem in Israel. It took 20 years but these clever scientists finally found the underlying causes of these dreadful cancers – a handful of very nasty viruses.

Lawson has recently published a new book “Catching Breast Cancer”. He takes readers behind the scenes of these discoveries to the personal stories who have made immense contributions to science and human health. The dry world of scientific papers and journals come to life as one delves into the stories of these bright and brave minds that have driven this progress. Some of the stories are humorous , others sad and poignant, all are fascinating. A Lawson collaborator, Professor Generoso Bevilacqua of Pisa, commented “I have just completed reading your book. It was a fantastic experience! One can find everything in it. Science, history, personal memories and many humorous anecdotes.”

On the cover of "Catching Breast Cancer" is the 500 year old painting of an Italian model with breast cancer of the left breast (see below). Modern anaesthetics would have been required to surgically remove this lethal advanced cancer.