Celebrating Women in Radiation Oncology

March 1, 2026

By Tammy McCausland

March is Women’s History Month, “a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society”¹ that “has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987.”¹ March 8^th is International Women’s Day (IWD), “a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.”²

In radiation oncology, International WD is an opportunity to celebrate women who have advanced and continue to advance the field. Marie Curie is credited with discovering radium and received two Nobel Prizes for pioneering research.³ Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only individual to win Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields. Edith Quimby, an American medical physicist and researcher, discovered safe applications for X-rays and helped develop radioactive techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatment.⁴ Considered one of the founders of nuclear medicine, Quimby studied “the medical effects of radiation and dose limiting side effects with the application of radioactive isotopes in the treatment of thyroid disease, brain tumors and other cancers during her time at Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Disease in New York.”⁵ Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese American particle and experimental physicist known as the “First Lady of Physics,” contributed to the Manhattan Project and made significant advancements in nuclear and particle physics.⁵ Many other women have helped shaped radiation oncology and cancer care in the U.S. and globally.

In the United States, women account for approximately 30% of practicing radiation oncologists. Women hold 17.4% of academic positions, and 11.7% of academic chairs are female.⁵ Florence C. H. Chu was the first woman in the U.S. to chair a radiation oncology department. She chaired the radiation therapy department at Memorial Sloan Kettering from 1977 to 1984.⁶ In 2021, the #WomenWhoCurie campaign was launched to highlight women and gender minorities in radiation oncology. About the campaign, Ogunmyuiwa et al. wrote, “Radiation oncologists, physicists, dosimetrists, therapists, nurses, and other professionals from around the world gathered and shared photos and social media posts throughout the day on multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.”⁷ A little more than 50% of medical dosimetrists in the U.S. are female;⁸ approximately two-thirds of radiation therapists in the U.S. are female;⁹ and more than 90% of nurses working in oncology are female.¹⁰

Women are vital to cancer care overall, especially in radiation therapy. Celebrate the women you know who work in radiation oncology and who have helped cancer patients in their cancer journeys.

References

1. History.com. Women’s History Month 2026. 2026.
2. International Women’s Day. 2026.
3. The Nobel Prize. Marie Curie. Accessed March 1, 2026.
4. Urban-Klaehm J. “Women in Nuclear History” series #17 Edith Quimby: Co-Founder of Nuclear Medicine. U.S. Women in Nuclear. November 30, 2025.
5. Li YR, Barry P, Masters A. Gender Equity in Radiation Oncology. ASTROblog. November 3, 2021.
6. Robinson R, Dorn III R. Florence CH Chu, MD, FASTRO. ASTRO. September 21, 2008.
7. Ogunmuyiwa J, Ponce SB, Seldon C, et al. WeWhoCurie: An Initiative to Advocate for Those Underrepresented in Radiation Oncology. Adv Radiat Oncol. 2022 Dec 10;8(2):101136. doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2022.101136
8. Zippia.com. Dosimetrist demographics and statistics in the US. Accessed March 1, 2026.
9. Zippia.com. Radiation therapist demographics and statistics in the US. Accessed March 1, 2026.
10. Zippia.com. Oncology nurse demographics and statistics in the US. Accessed March 1, 2026.