A Kirkus Review

A collection of first-person essays written by standout female doctors and researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas:

The book features 26 essays written with varying literary skill, but all featuring fascinating personal histories. From those who struggled to enter the “boy’s club” of medicine to those who methodically planned their careers from childhood, these women have made astounding accomplishments not limited to their work in operating theaters or research labs.

The authors raised families, struggled with personal relationships, made medical discoveries and fought their own battles with illness. One was born and raised in India before coming to the United States, where she worked toward her Ph.D. while simultaneously learning to drive in university parking lots—she is now a professor of experimental therapeutics.

Another had a fighting spirit instilled at her from birth—her African-American mother insisted upon giving birth in a whites-only St. Louis hospital that offered the advanced medical care her premature daughter desperately needed. That baby eventually became a professor of pulmonary medicine.

In another compelling tale, a woman who lived in Hiroshima lost a schoolmate to cancer from exposure to the atomic bomb. Her life’s work was launched from that loss, and she is now a professor of radiation oncology. Even those with more prosaic middle-class American upbringings still displayed incredible persistence in pursuing their goals.

One constant in these stories is the many stops on the way to employment at this world-class cancer treatment center. Though some of the essays read more like clinical notes than a personal history, the personal narratives remain engaging.

Compelling personal journeys to careers in medicine.

Legends and Legacies: Personal Journeys of Women Physicians and Scientists at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (M.D. Anderson Cancer Center/ Oct 2008) by Elizabeth L. Travis, Ph.D.

MD Anderson Doctor Making Cancer History