Born just after World War II, Jane Cooke Wright was exposed to greatness at a young age, as her father was one of the first black graduates from Harvard Medical School. Wright carried this legacy on her shoulders throughout her life as she later was admitted into New York Medical College and later became a chief resident at Harlem Hospital.
According to Changing the Face of Medicine, Wright became a staff physician for six months before joining her father, Dr. Louis Wright, at the Cancer Research Foundation. With great effort, Wright became the head of the CRF at the age of 33. Amazing progress was made in the fight against cancer under her leadership.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Wright to work for the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. Southeast Georgia Health System shares that Wright became the only woman to assist in founding the American Society of Clinical Oncology that same year. In 1971, Wright broke through yet another glass ceiling by being the first woman President of the New York Cancer Society.
Before her retirement, Wright became the proud author of 135 research papers on cancer chemotherapy and an award winner of many different awards. In fact, because of her incredible influence on the world of cancer medicine, an ASCO award was renamed the Jane C. Wright, M.D., Young Investigator Award in her honor.
