Lasting Memories

Robert F. Cathcart
1932-Oct. 17, 2007
Portola Valley, California

Dr. Robert F. Cathcart, an orthopedic surgeon who later specialized in allergy, environmental and orthomolecular medicine, died Oct. 17 at Stanford Medical Center. The Portola Valley resident was 75.

"Orthomolecular" was a term coined by Nobel laureate Linus Pauling for nutrition and preventative medicine. In the early 1970s, looking for a treatment for his chronic hay fever and stuffy nose, Dr. Cathcart discovered the merits of vitamin C after reading Mr. Pauling's "Vitamin C and the Common Cold." He was fascinated with the idea that with the onset of a viral illness, the body can process increased amounts of vitamin C without causing unpleasant side effects. His research led him to coin the phrase "bowel tolerance theory of vitamin C," a concept that the more potent the viral disease, the higher the dosage of vitamin C that can be used for treatment. He wrote many medical papers describing treatment with vitamin C.

Dr. Cathcart was also well-known for designing a prosthesis to replace the top of the femur bone, located in the upper leg. The "Cathcart Prosthesis" has been implanted in over 100,000 hips.

Dr. Cathcart was born in San Antonio, Texas, and moved to Hillsborough as a child. After graduating from Stanford University, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1955 and was stationed in Germany. He received his medical degree from the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco in 1961.

He did his surgical internship and residence at Stanford Hospital and was an instructor of orthopedic surgery at Stanford from 1966 to 1967.

From 1970 to 1979 he was the only doctor in Incline Village on Lake Tahoe's north shore. In 1980 he relocated to San Mateo, and in 1985 moved his practice to Los Altos. In 2002 Dr. Cathcart was awarded the Linus Pauling Award by the Society for Orthomolecular Health-Medicine, one of many professional honors he received during his lifetime, say family members. He was a longtime member of the Stanford Alumni Association and the Los Altos Rotary Club. He retired earlier this year.

He is survived by his partner of 27 years, Alice Schenk; children Lisa Cathcart, Holly Cathcart, and Rob Cathcart; stepchildren Suzanne Schenk and Debra Schenk; and brother Allen Cathcart.