Specialist in breast cancer and author of pioneering Forrest Report
Professor Sir Patrick Forrest Born: March 25, 1923; Died: August 7, 2021.
PROFESSOR Sir Patrick Forrest, who has died in Edinburgh aged 98, was a most distinguished clinician and a highly respected member of the medical profession in Scotland. He was one of the foremost specialists in breast cancer and was widely respected for his research into the disease.
His contribution to the countrywide introduction of breast screening proved fundamental in improving the monitoring of the condition. The report, Breast Cancer Screening, published in 1986, became known as The Forrest Report and led to the 1988 NHS Breast Screening Programme.
It was then carried out throughout the UK and was the first comprehensive screening in the world and undoubtedly alleviated much anxiety and saved many lives.
In 1971, Forrest was appointed to the Regius Chair of Clinical Surgery at Edinburgh University and, through his groundbreaking research into cancer, established Edinburgh as one of the leading international centres in breast disease research and treatment. He lectured at many learned medical symposia and was given many academic awards.
Notable awards included the prestigious Mckeown and Lister Medals by the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh and England respectively. The citation for the latter read, “in recognition of his outstanding contribution to surgical science, particularly in the field of breast cancer.”
Emeritus Professor James Garden, professor of Clinical Surgery at Edinburgh University, was a friend and colleague of Forrest’s for many years. “I started at Edinburgh Medical School in 1971 at the same time as Pat was Regius Chair of Clinical Surgery,” he said.
“Like many others, I am grateful for his mentorship of my early career and was fortunate to have served as his surgical house officer at the
Royal Infirmary. He transformed the management of breast cancer and strove for excellence in all that he did.
“Pat’s leadership in establishing breast cancer screening as well as clinical trials in the management of local and advanced breast cancer was transformational.
“It established Edinburgh’s reputation in academic surgery. Pat has left a legacy in academic surgery the likes of which will be difficult to match.”
Andrew Patrick Mcewen Forrest (known to all as Pat) was born in Mount Vernon, the son of the Rev Andrew Forrest and Isabella (nee Pearson). He attended Dundee High School and then read Medicine at St Andrews University. He graduated as a Bachelor of Surgery and as a Master of Surgery with the Gold Medal in 1945. He did his national service as a Surgeon Lieutenant in the RNVR and then spent a year in Rochester, Minnesota as a Mayo Clinic Fellow.
Forrest returned to Glasgow to serve as the senior lecturer (1956-62) at the Western Infirmary where his groundbreaking research into peptic ulceration was recognised with his becoming a Master of Surgery with Honours and the Gold Medal.
In 1962, Forrest was appointed professor of surgery at the University of Wales College of Medicine. He stayed in Cardiff for a decade and continued research into breast disease. He also served as chairman of the Welsh National School of Medicine. In 1971, he was appointed
to the Regius Chair of Clinical Surgery at Edinburgh. He led a dedicated team that he inspired with stimulating and innovative ideas on treatment. His clinical expertise and meticulous research ensured the department became one of the international centres for breast research and treatment.
Forrest also established the standalone breast unit at Longmore Hospital – then in Newington, now part of Edinburgh’s Western General.
The Forrest Report led to the
introduction of mammographic breast screening analysing the costs and benefits in terms of the quality of life for the patients. It cogently argued that screening would reduce the death rate of breast cancer by almost one third with few harms and at low cost.
Retirement in 1990 did not mean any let-up in Forrest’s schedule. He spent two years in Kuala Lumpur and then a year with Malaysia University advising on screening techniques. He also served as adviser to the Australian National Cancer Centre, which necessitated several trips to Australia. In 1999 he was appointed chairman of the Scottish Cancer Foundation, which he had co-founded two years earlier with Professor John Evans.
Their vision was to create a charity that would facilitate research aimed at addressing the high incidence of cancer in Scotland, and the poor outcomes in patients who develop the disease.
Forrest wrote several books and academic papers on cancer including, Breast Cancer: The Decision To Screen (1991) and served as president (1974-76) of the Surgical Research Society amongst many other appointments in academia. He was knighted in 1986.
Forrest was a keen golfer and spent much of his spare time sailing his yacht on the Forth. He had been an Elder at St Giles Cathedral s ince 1975.
He married Margaret Hall in 1955. She died in 1961 and in 1964 he married Margaret Steward. She and their daughter, along with a son and daughter of his first marriage, survive him.
He transformed the management of breast cancer and strove for excellence in all he did