Love Island star says cancer-linked pregnancy drug has impacted his health

A former Love Island contestant has become the first man to speak out about how a cancer-linked pregnancy drug taken by his grandmother in the 1970s has impacted his own health.

Maxwell Samuda has a number of issues with his reproductive system which he believes have been caused by exposure to diethylstilbestrol, commonly known as DES.

His mother, Natalie Samuda, 50, and grandmother, Maureen Day, 78, also believe their health problems, which include breast cancer and autoimmune conditions, are linked to the drug.

The 26-year-old, who appeared on the ninth series of the ITV show, described the situation as a “scandal” and backed calls for a full public inquiry.

DES is a synthetic form of the female hormone oestrogen given to women from the 1940s to the 1970s to prevent miscarriage, suppress breast milk production and treat symptoms of menopause.

According to the campaign group DES Justice UK (DJUK), it was given to about 300,000 women, leading to  infertility, reproductive abnormalities and increased risk of cancer.

The drug was linked to a cancer of the cervix and vagina – clear cell adenocarcinoma – in 1971, prompting US regulators calling for it not to be given to pregnant women.

However, it continued to be prescribed in Europe until the late 70s.

DES is also linked to other cancers such as breast, pancreatic and cervical.

Mrs Day, from Herne Bay in Kent, believes she took DES in 1972 and 1973.

She already had one daughter – Ms Samuda’s older sister – and took the drug during her second pregnancy to prevent miscarriage.

After her son was born prematurely and passed away, she took the drug again to stop breast milk production.

Mrs Day was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.

Ms Samuda had pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix at the age of 25, had her fallopian tubes removed because of fluid, and had a full hysterectomy last year.

She also suffers from multiple autoimmune conditions.

Meanwhile, Samuda required surgery as a baby for undescended testes, where one or both testicles fail to move into the scrotum before birth.

Five years ago he found a benign lump on his scrotum, and was told by medics that he has varicocele, enlarged veins in his scrotum.

A semen analysis also revealed he has a low sperm count.

Samuda, who works in finance and now lives in Dubai with his mother, told the Press Association: “I do a lot to keep myself in shape, to keep myself fit and healthy. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke.

“Having a family is something that I’m really keen on doing one day, if I get the opportunity.

“Being told that you might potentially have issues with that – something I’ve always taken for granted in my head – I all of a sudden thought, ‘oh, I’m not actually guaranteed that’… it’s definitely an unsettling feeling.

“And it can be very frustrating to know that it’s off the back of something that happened 50-odd years ago that I had no control over.”

The family are now backing DJUK’s call for a public inquiry and a compensation scheme for those impacted by DES.

Ms Samuda, a former midwife, told PA her older sister has experienced no health problems.

She added: “Coming from a healthcare background myself, it needs a full inquiry to understand how, what, why and when, to ensure that this can’t happen again.

“So many people’s lives have been affected.

“I’ve literally had, with all the auto immune issues, eight to nine years of really feeling unwell almost on a daily basis.

“And constant treatments, medications, appointments, surgeries; it’s had a really big impact on my day to day life.”

Samuda said he is speaking out on the issue as there is “no shame or nothing to hide” when it comes to his health.

“When it comes to men, sometimes it can be a habit of just keeping issues to yourself and overlooking certain things,” he said.

“The main thing that I would want men to take away from this situation is when there is something that you spot, get it looked at straight away.

“There’s no reason to hide or to not feel comfortable about what it is that you’re experiencing, especially when it can come to things like our reproductive system.

“It can be quite a touchy subject for men. But I think when it comes to something like this, where it is such a big scandal, where so many people have been affected, I think people do need to come together to really vocalise how it has impacted them.”

Mrs Day added: “We always wondered why my eldest daughter never had any health problems but Natalie did.

“I didn’t realise that it had that impact until I saw coverage of DES on the news.

“For it to have affected Natalie and Maxwell is extremely upsetting. We also don’t know if it will impact Maxwell’s children if he is able to have them in the future.

“I wish I had never taken it and the fact that so many women were allowed to is disgusting.

“I want justice for all of us and compensation for everybody affected.”

DJUK now has more than 500 members and met with Health Secretary Wes Streeting last month as part of a push to get a public inquiry into what it describes as a “silent scandal”.

It also wants an NHS screening programme to identify those who may be at risk following DES exposure.

Clare Fletcher, partner at Broudie Jackson Canter, which represents DJUK, said: “The story of Maureen, Natalie and Maxwell is a tragic but all too familiar one which shows that this isn’t a historic injustice, but one that is affecting lives today.

“So many families have had their lives blighted and devastated because they trusted doctors and the government.”

Compensation schemes have been set up for DES victims in the US and Netherlands, but the UK does not have one.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “For too long, GPs and other health professionals have been unaware of the impacts of DES and support that should be offered to those exposed, despite so many women continuing to endure its devastating impacts a generation on.

“This government has gripped this issue by alerting cancer alliances to ensure NHS clinicians are aware of the impacts of DES and NHS screening guidance.”

The spokesperson added that health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed met with DES campaigners last month “to discuss what more we can do to support women exposed, including the need for further clinical guidance and boosting research into the long-term, generational harms of the drug”.