Spotlighting 6 Black Pioneers in Cancer History

Black scientists, doctors, and health practitioners have shaped today’s cancer landscape in untold ways. We’re honoring Black History Month by spotlighting a few early trailblazers who broke ground in the field of cancer and whose brilliance, curiosity and resilience contributed to how we understand, prevent, and treat cancer today. 

Dr. May Edward Chinn (1896 – 1980) 

Dr. Chinn helped to develop the Pap smear to test for cervical cancer in the early 1930s. She was dedicated to saving lives through early detection, especially in Harlem. She was the first Black woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital Medical College (now New York University School of Medicine) and the first Black woman to intern at Harlem Hospital. 

Dr. Jane Cooke Wright (1919-2013) 

Known as the “Mother of Chemotherapy”, she was the first to discover that methotrexate (now a chemotherapy drug) was effective against cancerous tumors. Dr. Wright also was the first to identify which chemotherapy drugs were successful, along with the first to discover the importance of the order in which they were administered. She also pioneered using human tissue (cells taken from tumors) to test the efficacy of various cancer drugs. Dr. Wright went on to be a co-founder of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and was the first Black woman to be associate dean of a medical school (in 1967) and the first woman elected president of the New York Cancer Society (in 197). 

Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. (1930-2019) 

Dr. Leffall became the first Black president of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in 1978 and created programs dedicated to cancer health disparities among Black people. He was also the first Black president of the American College of Surgeons. He was devoted to mitigating cancer health disparities in the Black community, and taught at Howard University for over 60 years. 

Jewel Plummer Cobb (1924-2017) 

Cobb was a cancer researcher biology professor at Sarah Lawrence College who’s research contributed to understanding skin cancer and development chemotherapy for several types of cancer. Her research also found that deeper melanin pigmentation protects skin cells from X-ray treatment, providing the first evidence for melanin’s ability to protect cells from UV-radiation. Later, she also demonstrated that the effectiveness of methotrexate in treating skin and lung cancer, as well as childhood leukemia- this medicine is now used for a broad range of cancers, including breast cancer.  In 1974, Cobb became the first Black woman appointed to the National Science Board. She became the president of California State University, Fullerton in 1981.  

Dr. Marcus F. Wheatland Sr. (1868-1943) 

Dr. Wheathland is known as the first Black radiation oncologist and radiologist. Graduating from Howard University in 1895, he pioneered radiology in the United States while practicing in Rhode Island. He was also the first African-heritage physician to practice in Newport and the first doctor in Newport to use the X-ray machine as a diagnostic tool. He was elected president of the National Medical Association in 1909.  

Dr. William E. Allen Jr. (1906-1981) 

Dr. Allen is credited as the first Black certified X-ray technician (now radiation technologist) and is celebrated for his many contributions to radiation therapy for cancer patients. During his residency at St. Louis City Hospital, he was named resident in chief and founded a school for x-ray technicians, which coincided with the time the hospital began admitting Black patients. Dr. Allen was the first Black American to receive a fellowship in the American College of Radiology, and the first chairman of the Section of Radiology of the National Medical Association.