 Hello, I'm Victoria Rowell and I play the role of Dr. Amanda Bentley on the CBS TV series Diagnosis Murder. As I've worked on this role over the years, I've had a chance to take a close look at the fascinating field of pathology. Amanda Bentley is a forensic pathologist, one who examines a person to determine the cause of death. This is the area of pathology that has been popularized by television and the movies. However, many pathologists actually work with living persons, researching and teaching about the nature of disease and helping to diagnose diseases early enough to save lives. The program that you are about to watch has two parts. The first part is fictional. It is the story of a teenage girl who learns firsthand about the field of pathology as she tries to resolve a family crisis. The second part of the program features three women who are real-life pathologists working in forensic pathology, surgical pathology, and academic pathology. They will give you a short overview of the career possibilities in pathology and the challenges and rewards of their particular jobs. I ask that you watch this program carefully and consider whether a career as a pathologist might be in your future. Talk with your parents, your teachers, and your guidance counselor, and get as much information as you can about your career options. If you work hard and make the proper curriculum choices now, many exciting opportunities will be open to you. Thanks for watching, and best of luck as you plan for your future. I told you I've been staying at Darcy's. Just who is this Darcy person? You meet her in class or something? Or something? Besides, what's wrong with having a boyfriend? There may even be hope for you someday. Confirm that the victim was Ms. Hammond. I'm not confirming anything, Ms. Perez. Dad caught that case? And we are proceeding with our investigation. Yes, but did she fall? Was she pushed? Is this a murder investigation? All we know at this point is that the young woman's death was caused by a fall. We're talking to Dr. Mangrom on the phone. They don't think it's a homicide. There's no dissemination whatsoever as to the cause of that incident. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have an investigation to run. Tommy, bring the car around and give me that list. That was Detective Sergeant Lou Del Vecchio offering no new details about the tragic death of a university co-ed on Friday evening. Action News has learned, however, that the victim was a sophomore from Chicago named Darcy Hammond. Ms. Hammond was killed after an apparent fall off of the roof of the university residence hall. I got it. Where are you going? Darcy. I don't think so. Wait a minute. The Darcy has gone off the roof. That's your Darcy? Get out of my way. We've been staying these last few days. If Darcy's been dead. And what do you know about all of this? Look, you mean well, Steph. They don't know what's going on. Jenny, don't leave. Dad will go nuts. How do you know her, Jenny? The death of Darcy Hammond. We're here with Assistant Medical Examiner Sharon Mangrom. Who just arrived at the scene. Dr. Mangrom, what about the rumors that Darcy Hammond had cancer? Could this have been a suicide? Ms. Perez, you know as well as I do that I won't comment on an ongoing investigation. The victim has rights. Even if she's dead, she has rights. One of those rights is privacy. That was Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Sharon Mangrom, a forensic pathologist sent here to try and determine exactly what caused the tragic death of university co-ed Darcy Hammond. Dear Ms. Del Vecchio, this is to confirm that beginning this Thursday, our counseling group will meet in the fifth floor conference room at University Hospital at 7 o'clock p.m. instead of 7.30. We look forward to seeing you then. Phyllis Hire, PhD. Dear JD, I saw your question on the discussion board at medqa.com's website. You can get information about intraepithelial dysplasia from CancerNet on the National Cancer Institute website at the National Institutes of Health. Good luck, Neil. Cancer? Jenny, this whole thing is driving me crazy. How can I tell my parents? What am I going to do? Do I have any options? I'm really scared. You're stronger than I am. What are you going to do? Please call me. I need to talk to somebody who understands. Please. Darcy. What's with this Dr. Mangrom stuff? I was there 13 years ago when you were born. I'm sorry, Dr. Mangrom. I think Jenny's in trouble. You know I'll do all I can. I need to know if Darcy Hammond had a condition called intraepithelial dysplasia. Why in the world would you want to know that? I think Darcy and Jenny were in the same counseling group. Come on now. You're going to have to do better than that. Okay. I think Jenny might have it too. It's cancer. I know. But what kind of cancer? All right. I can tell you that. It's cancer of the cervix. Cervical cancer around the opening of the uterus. Did Darcy Hammond have it? Well, an autopsy wouldn't have revealed it. We don't look for that sort of thing in a 19-year-old girl. That may be true. But you can't be a cup's kid without learning some of the procedures. You would have called her doctors to ask about any light-threatening conditions. And by law they'd have to tell you. But by law, I can't tell you. You're not a family member. And Darcy Hammond does have a right to privacy, even after death. Dr. Mangrum, I need to know this. My mother died of cancer last year. And my sister may have cancer right now. Steffi, your mother was my dearest friend. We knew each other way before you were born. But I still can't talk to you about Darcy Hammond's condition. So how about telling me what isn't true? You want to know what isn't true? Yes. Is that okay? Maybe. She wasn't murdered. Was she? No signs of struggle. No skin fragments under the fingernails. No defensive wounds. No hair or fiber evidence. My, my. I guess your father is right. You do want to be a detective. Evidence 101. She wasn't murdered. Was she? Steffi, I'm uncomfortable with this whole conversation. Where are you going with this? I think Darcy Hammond committed suicide. She wasn't murdered. It wasn't an accident. She was looking for help and not finding any. And I think my sister might be in the same situation. I'm sorry, Steff. I can't help you with this. If you want to talk to your father, I can- Right. He plays everything by the book, too. Besides, I'm not sure he can handle this. I think it's up to me. Steffi, you're 13 years old. Don't you think you might be in a little over your head? She's my sister, and I'm not going to let her jump off a roof. Look, can you tell me how cancer of the cervix is discovered? By a pathologist. You're a pathologist? I'm a forensic pathologist. I speak for the dead. I discover how victims die and try to make the killers pay. There are other kinds of pathologists that deal with living persons and save lives. So how do I learn what these other pathologists know? Here. These tapes were made by the woman who made me want to be a pathologist. She's the dean of the department of pathology at my med school. Thanks, Dr. Mangrum. Dr. Mangrum, I hope you respect my sister's privacy and not tell my dad about this. But not until I have a better handle on what's going on. Are there websites not rated by doctors or researchers that can provide more information than a patient can get from her personal physician? Thanks, JD. Jenny. Sorry I ran out on you, but I have to work things out for myself. Don't try to find me the guy who owns this computer doesn't even know my name. Tell dad I'm sorry and not to worry. I know you both care, Jenny. We know about the cervical cancer. How bad is it? I want to help. We can work it out together. I don't know how you figured it out about my condition, but it doesn't surprise me. You're a good little detective. If you haven't told dad yet, I know you will soon. You'll always do what you think is right. My track record isn't as good as yours, but I'm going to do what I think is right. Mom's cancer just about killed him. I'm not going to make him go through the same thing with me. Cervical cancer isn't a death sentence. You don't have to die. Actually, I don't know anything about cervical cancer, but I can learn about cervical cancer that much I can do. Cervical cancer is a malignancy, a tumor of a portion of the uterus. In its early stages, it's a disease that involves young women, much more than older women. It's diagnosed by a technique which is called a pap smear, where the physician or the nurse swabs off some cells from the cervix to see if they're normal. Once the pap smear detects some abnormal cells, the next step really is a biopsy, which can be done very simply, non-painfully, where small pieces or bits of tissue are removed from the cervix. We really think about cervical cancer as four stages of the disease. Stage zero cervical cancer is certainly not a fatal disease. It is a disease which should be 100% treatable and curable. Most people believe that cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted cancer. For certain women, there may be a stigma associated with this, a sense of shame and an inability or an unwillingness to confide in their parents. And through their parents, get the advice of a health professional. Stage zero cervical cancer. Yeah, especially if your dad's a tough cop and your mom just died of breast cancer. Therapy or cryosurgery. And that really consists of freezing of the cervix. What you doing here, Steph? Looks like you're watching a video about cervical cancer. Basically, um, freezes the cells of the epithelium of the cervix. Darcy Hammond had cervical cancer. And you know I don't believe in coincidences. Dad? Mm-hmm. We had to talk about Jenny. Hello? Hi, Steph. Oh, hi, Jenny. Yeah, you knew it'd be me. That's why dad roused that guy, isn't it? So I'd call you. I don't know what you're talking about. The guy whose computer I used? A couple of detectives just hauled him downtown. He was just doing me a favor and he got busted for it. They're not going to bust him. Dad just wants you to come home. Yeah, I saw dad on the news again. He says I'm a material witness in the Darcy Hammond case. I don't know anything about Darcy Hammond. You knew she had cervical cancer, just like you do. That isn't against the law. It also doesn't have to be a death sentence. Look, I need to talk to you in person. Yeah, you, me and dad. No, just you and me. You know if I give you my word, I'll keep it. Does dad have a tap on the phone, too? I honestly don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. Okay, you remember where the two of us went the morning of mom's funeral before church? Of course. Be there in 30 minutes, and if I see any unmarked cars within four blocks of the place, I'm walking. So where are all the troops? I came along. I told you I would. He never do straight from the straight and narrow, do you, Steph? I'll just have whatever she's having. Non-fat latte, light on the milk. Oh boy, here we go. Little Miss Encyclopedia. Better to know too much than too little. And I've learned a lot these last couple of days. For instance, did you know that stage zero cervical cancer is almost never fatal? Right, you mean it won't kill you right away. No, I mean it won't kill you, period. You have a simple outpatient procedure like cryo-surgery or laser surgery. They do it in a doctor's office. Yeah, but there's got to be other complication. No, you can still have children. There's still dad to worry about. I know. It's usually sexually transmitted. So what? He'll understand. Yeah, right. I don't think I understand. How's he supposed to? He's your father. He loves you. Yeah, but will he love me after this? You know he will. There it's done. You don't have to go through this alone. I call daddy. Do I have a choice? Of course you have a choice. I gave you my word. So what's it going to be? Yes or no? Okay. I just want to tell you that I think you did a real good job of detecting. A lot better than I did. It wasn't that hard. Maybe you could be with the FBI. Go to law school. I think I maybe want to be a doctor, a pathologist. You mean like Sharon Mangrum? That would be great. We could always use another good medical examiner. Like Dr. Mangrum, maybe. But maybe another kind of pathologist. What Sharon does is very important stuff. I know. She's a medical detective. And that's cool. But other kind of pathologists are like detectives too. They solve medical mysteries soon enough to save lives. I'd like to save some lives, daddy. I'm so sorry, daddy. Oh, sweetie. There's nothing to be sorry about. Jenny, you're going to be fine. Okay, ladies. Let's go home. Now let's review some of what we've learned from this drama with a few questions. A pathologist is a scientist who, A, investigates the cause of death. B, does research to determine the cause of death. C, studies the nature and treatment of a disease. Or D, all of the above. The correct answer is D, all of the above. A pathologist is a scientist who investigates the cause of death. Does research to determine the cause of death. And studies the nature and treatment of a disease. Cervical cancer is, A, not necessarily fatal. B, best treated in early stages. C, often a result of sexual activity in younger women. Or D, all of the above. The correct answer is D, all of the above. Cervical cancer is not necessarily fatal. Is best treated in early stages. Is often a result of sexual activity in younger women. A pap smear is, A, a diagnostic tool for detecting cervical cancer. B, not recommended for younger women. C, only detects cancer at its fatal stage. Or D, all of the above. The correct answer is A, a diagnostic tool for detecting cervical cancer. Note that the other answers to this question are incorrect. The pap smear is recommended for younger women. And it detects cancer in its earliest stage. Now let's hear about pathology from free real life practitioners. My name is Deborah Powell and I'm a pathologist by training. But currently I'm the Dean of the University of Kansas School of Medicine. I think pathology is such a wonderful career because there are so many different career options in pathology. People who go into pathology can choose to be in private practice. They can stay in academic medicine and teach and do research as well as practice pathology. As surgical pathologists they work with surgeons and other clinicians to make diagnoses. Some of them immediate while the patient is in the operating room and really serve as sort of the first line to diagnose diseases that patients have. The chief of surgical pathology here in the laboratory pathology at the National Cancer Institute. When we are on service we are in charge of providing the diagnosis and we are also in charge of assisting with frozen sections. If we are called from the OR in which circumstances in which the surgeons need immediate answers. By helping the clinicians and helping the patients identify what type of lesions they have we are able to guide the clinicians as to what kind of treatment the patient will benefit most. There is a tremendous boom in searching for a cure for cancer obviously. So we are working together with the researchers to identify more prognostic markers more of these proteins or genes that can be altered that will lead not only for the cure for cancer but also will assist in the prevention of the developing of cancer. Pathologists can do a large number of things. They can be diagnosticians and also of course they can do forensic medicine. My name is Dr. Mary Case. I practice primarily as a forensic pathologist we provide evidence of crimes and all sorts of information about how individuals died and we do that primarily by doing this autopsy examination to determine basically for example the cause of somebody's death. Society wants to know when somebody is murdered but they also want to know for example if there is a dangerous product that is causing somebody to die. If there is an infectious disease it might be a public health threat. Many many types of deaths are only known about because the medical examiner or the forensic pathologist is the one that first finds out that hey these people are dying so how can we prevent those individuals from dying? To prevent people from dying we look to the dead to tell us how someone got that way that's how we learn so that we can help people from having the same thing happen to them. It's not just homicide it is all manner of death and all types of death and the dead do speak for those of us that are living. I think the pathologist's major contribution to the treatment of cervical cancer or really any cancer at all is in providing an accurate diagnosis first of all of the cancer. Pathologists and this is what's really exciting about pathology I think are contributing to eliminating cancer through research and their understanding of disease processes and pathologists are contributing to an understanding of the biology of cancer and are really helping us understand the way cancers develop because what we would ultimately like to do is stop cancers before they start. The incidence of death for cervical cancer has certainly declined it's one of the conditions that we have fortunately been able to decline because with the utilization of the pap smear and now we can detect the cancer at a very early pre-malignant stage and treat them accordingly people have to think of the consequences of what we do and being sexually active at a very young age is something that requires to be thought about for all the complications that eventually may bring. Pathology I think I loved because it gave me the opportunity to understand a lot about disease and the disease process in patients and as a surgical pathologist I felt that I knew something about almost every patient in our hospital. So I think that the field of pathology promised to be very interesting and actually more exciting with the application of new molecular biology for the new generations.