The Cancer Detectives
“The Trailblazers Who Landed the First Blow Against Cancer”
2024•53m•8.0•Released
Documentary
The story of how the life-saving cervical cancer test became an ordinary part of women’s lives is as unusual and remarkable as the coalition of people who ultimately made it possible: a Greek immigrant, Dr. George Papanicolau; his intrepid wife, Mary; Japanese-born artist Hashime Murayama; Dr. Helen Dickens, an African American OBGYN in Philadelphia; and an entirely new class of female scientists known as cyto-screeners. But the test was just the beginning. Once the test proved effective, the campaign to make pap smears available to millions of women required nothing short of a total national mobilization. The Cancer Detectives tells the untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the people who fought tirelessly to save women from what was once the number one cancer killer of women.
Director
Amanda Pollak
Writer
Gene Tempest
Languages
English
Studio
PBS
Cast
Andia Winslow
Narrator
Production
Company
PBS
Company
GBH
Company
American Experience Films
Producer
Amanda Pollak
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