The Cancer Letter

Inside information on cancer research and drug development

Black History MonthGuest Editorial

Remembering Jane Cooke Wright, a Black woman physician, who was among seven founders of ASCO

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print
BYLINE
IN THIS ISSUE
BYLINEDOWNLOAD PDFTABLE OF CONTENTS

Sometime in 1995, Edith Mitchell, a U.S. Air Force oncologist who at the time served as commander of the 131st Medical Squadron at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, first heard the name Jane Cooke Wright.

Karen Antman, then president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, wanted to know whether Mitchell, who is Black, has heard that a Black woman oncologist was among ASCO’s seven founding members.

Mitchell had no idea.

Antman reached out to Wright, inviting her to the 1995 ASCO annual meeting. Mitchell, too, reached out to Wright. This started a friendship with Wright and her family members.

Wright died on Feb. 19, 2013, at age 93.

A photo archive chronicling Wright’s life is posted here.

The text of a eulogy by Mitchell, now a professor and associate director for diversity services at Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered on behalf of the National Medical Association at a memorial service for Wright is published on the Cancer History Project.

Byline
Edith P. Mitchell
Clinical professor, medicine and medical oncology, Department of Medical Oncology, director, Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities, associate director, diversity affairs, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson; 116th president of the National Medical Association
Table of Contents

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

White House

Tracking Trump’s early impact on cancer policy
Research and care disrupted, NCI programs face unpredictable future

The Trump administration did exactly what it said it would do to disorient anyone involved in making policy or touched by it. The president and his crew have “flooded the zone”—the term and the image are theirs, as is the strategy of dropping a flurry of executive orders and memoranda that shake the foundations of the American system of government, raising questions of legality and constitutionality, and, above all, making it a challenge for anyone to see the entire picture and think strategically.
By Paul Goldberg
Capitol Hill

With a spotlight on vaccines, abortion, Medicaid and Medicare, RFK Jr. goes before the Senate
The MAHA nominee trumpets radical transparency, but offers little clarity on his new agenda

In two raucous back-to-back hearings on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, anti-vaccine crusader Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by members of the United States Senate Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee as the Trump administration seeks his confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 
By Claire Marie Porter
Guest Editorial

Cancer research fuels life-saving work

Over the past century, groundbreaking cancer research in the U.S. has led to life-saving medical advances that benefit patients worldwide. Scientists often devote their lives to making discoveries, putting their scientific endeavors ahead of status, income, or lifestyle. Investigators work tirelessly, often seven days a week, to solve complex medical problems. These efforts often lead to game-changing outcomes that help us understand difficult medical challenges, advance technologies and develop new therapies. 
By Ze’ev Ronai
Byline
Edith P. Mitchell
Clinical professor, medicine and medical oncology, Department of Medical Oncology, director, Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities, associate director, diversity affairs, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson; 116th president of the National Medical Association
Table of Contents

Never miss an issue!

Get alerts for our award-winning coverage in your inbox.

Login

Site license subscribers:
Log in with your IP | Register a sponsored account