Behind every cancer treatment, every drug, and every recovery, there are scientists and doctors who dedicated their lives to progress. Many of them were women who overcame barriers and refused to let anything stop them.
For Women’s History Month, let’s meet the women who changed oncology forever. Some names you might recognize; others deserve far more attention.
Women in Oncology: Pioneers in Cancer Research
Researchers who challenged assumptions and developed new approaches against cancer built the foundation of modern oncology. These women made brilliant discoveries that shifted how we understand and treat the disease today.
Dr. Jane C. Wright (November 30, 1919 – February 19, 2013)
In the 1940s, chemotherapy was still an unproven concept. Doctors knew toxic chemicals could kill cancer cells, but figuring out how to use them without killing the patient? That was the real challenge.
Then came Dr. Jane C. Wright, a cancer researcher and surgeon who turned chemotherapy into a life-saving treatment. She developed combination drug therapies that targeted tumors while reducing dangerous side effects. Her work proved that combining chemotherapy drugs could shrink tumors more effectively than single-drug treatments.
Dr. Wright also broke barriers as one of the first Black women to lead a major cancer research program. At a time when medicine often excluded women and people of color, she earned respect through relentless innovation. She was the highest-ranking African American woman at a nationally recognized medical institution, authored over 100 scientific papers, and received several awards while raising two daughters [1].
Gertrude B. Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999)
If you’ve heard of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), the first drug to send childhood leukemia into remission, you have Gertrude “Trudy” Belle Elion to thank. She never earned a formal Ph.D. (her grad school rejected her because she was a woman). She quotes, “In my day, I was told women didn’t go into chemistry,” but that didn’t stop her.
Working with Dr. George Hitchings, Elion developed drugs that targeted cancer cells without wiping out healthy ones. Her discoveries led to treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, and even organ transplant rejection. She became a Nobel Prize recipient in 1988 [2], proving brilliance doesn’t always require a fancy degree. It wasn’t until 1989 and 1998 that New York University Tandon School of Engineering (formerly called Polytechnic University of New York) and Harvard University awarded her an honorary Ph.D.
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop (May 20, 1851 – July 9, 1926)
In the late 1800s, most people viewed cancer as a shameful disease with no treatment options. Poor patients especially suffered without care. Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, daughter of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, took matters into her own hands. After physicians abandoned her friend who had cancer, she decided to train as a nurse and commit herself to serving terminal cancer patients.
In 1896, Lathrop established St. Rose’s Free Home for Incurable Cancer in New York, which later became the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. While most hospitals refused so-called hopeless cases, her home welcomed them. She provided pain management and end-of-life care to those society had cast aside. Her work proved that every patient deserved medical aid, regardless of prognosis. Her philosophy influenced modern hospice care [3].
Dr. Angela M. Hartley Brodie (September 28, 1934 – June 7, 2017)
Hormone-driven breast cancers had few treatment options until British biochemist Dr. Angela M. Hartley Brodie discovered the first selective aromatase inhibitors [4]. These drugs work by blocking estrogen production, particularly in postmenopausal women.
Brodie faced skepticism early on, as some thought her approach wouldn’t work. She proved them wrong. Her research gave us anastrozole and letrozole, medications that slash recurrence risk by slowing or stopping the growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells. Clinical trials revealed that these medications are more effective than tamoxifen, a hormone therapy drug, in preventing cancer from returning.
Rose Kushner (June 22, 1929 – January 7, 1990)
In the 1970s, if a woman found a suspicious lump in her breast, surgeons typically performed a radical mastectomy, which involved removing the breast, chest muscles, and lymph nodes all in one operation, without further discussion.
Rose Kushner, a journalist diagnosed with breast cancer, refused to accept this. She demanded informed consent, pushed for less aggressive surgeries, and lobbied for patient rights. Her activism led to the 1998 U.S. law requiring well-informed consent before breast cancer surgery, forever changing how doctors care for breast cancer patients in the United States [5].
Learn about the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) of 1998.
Jimmie Coker Holland (April 9, 1928 – December 24, 2017)
Cancer attacks the body and wounds the soul. Dr. Jimmie Holland, founder of psycho-oncology, understood this mind-body connection better than anyone in the 1970s, when most oncologists focused on tumors rather than the patient’s well-being. She looked at the whole patient and asked, “What good is saving a life if we ignore the person living it?”
At Memorial Sloan Kettering, she built the first psychiatric service for cancer patients from the ground up. Her research proved that patients receiving emotional support tolerated treatment better and, in many cases, had improved outcomes. She gave medical legitimacy to “chemo brain” being real, depression setting back treatment progress, and fears and anxieties warranted support, too.
Today, every major cancer center employs psycho-oncologists because of her work. Dr. Holland proved healing requires treating the disease and the person fighting it [6].
Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher (born 1951)
For decades, scientists dreamed of harnessing the immune system to combat cancer. Dr. Laurie Glimcher is one of the researchers who helped turn that dream into reality. Her work gave us more information on oncology’s biggest mysteries: why the body’s defenses often ignore cancer cells. Her research on T-cell differentiation, particularly CD4+ T cells, earned her the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science and William B. Coley Award, along with other accolades [7].
As the previous CEO of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, she didn’t just run a cancer treatment and research center; she created systems to accelerate immunotherapy development. Under her leadership, researchers advanced PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors from concept to clinic, now standard for melanoma and lung cancers.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn (born November 26, 1948)
Ever wonder why cancer cells keep dividing endlessly? Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn figured it out. Her Nobel Prize-winning research on telomeres (the protective caps on chromosomes) [8] revealed how cells age and how cancer hijacks the process.
Her discoveries opened doors to new anti-cancer therapies targeting telomerase, the enzyme that lets tumors grow unchecked.
Why Their Contribution Matters
These women made discoveries that changed how we treat cancer forever. They faced sexism, racism, and doubters who said their ideas wouldn’t work. But they persisted.
Because of them:
- Childhood leukemia is no longer a death sentence.
- Cancer patients have more options than ever.
- Immunotherapy is saving lives once deemed hopeless.
Women’s History Month recognizes that the next big breakthrough in cancer could come from a woman in the lab today. So, here’s to the women who shaped oncology, and to those who’ll change it tomorrow. Let’s keep their legacies alive by supporting women in science, advocating for research funding, and never forgetting how far we’ve come.
References
[1] Minds, F. F. Y., & Minds, F. F. Y. (2023, August 22). Jane C Wright – A Forgotten Pioneer in Cancer Research – Frontiers | Science news. Frontiers Science News.
[2] Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988. (n.d.). NobelPrize.org.
[3] Dickinson, J. (2017, December 13). Mother of the modern hospice Movement: Rose Hawthorne Lathrop/Mother Mary Alphonsa. Our Unbounded Heritage: 12th Century & Beyond.
[4] Abderrahman, B., & Jordan, V. C. (2017). Angela M. Hartley Brodie (1934–2017). Nature, 548(7665), 32.
[5] Rose Kushner, author, advocate, dead at 60 of breast cancer. (1990, January 19). Cancer History Project.
[6] Remembering Jimmie Holland, a founder of Psycho-Oncology. (2024, July 23). Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
[7] Cancer Research Institute. (2024, October 29). Laurie H. Glimcher, MD – Cancer Research Institute.
[8] The Nobel Prize | Women who changed science | Elizabeth Blackburn. (n.d.).