Surgeon/activist Dr. Susan Love dies at 75
July 21, 2023 12:14 PM Subscribe
From the Los Angeles Times: Nearly 300,000 women in the U.S. will receive a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer this year. For many, their first instinct upon hearing the news will be to arm themselves with information, Googling, reading and quizzing their doctors in an effort to understand their illness and the best route to recovery. The fact that there are both a range of treatment options and a wealth of information available to patients with breast cancer is due in part to Dr. Susan Love, the surgeon, researcher, author and activist who died Sunday at home in Los Angeles at the age of 75. The cause was a recurrence of leukemia, with which she was first diagnosed in 2012.
Love died on July 2, 2023. "As the founding director of what is now the UCLA/Revlon Breast Clinic, and later as a bestselling author and frequent public advocate, Love lobbied for more federal funding for women’s health research and a clinical approach that gave patients a voice in their own treatment."
The pioneering breast cancer surgeon took a different approach with her patients. "The one advantage to not being part of the old boys’ medical network, Love liked to say, was that she didn’t have to play by its rules. So she created a program that had as much to do with patient care, with what went on inside the exam room, as it did with larger policy issues.
"She offered a tape recorder and tape to every new patient — because in her experience, she joked, a woman’s ears stopped working as soon as she got a diagnosis of breast cancer. She could listen to the tape at home, if she forgot details that had been hard to process. And when well-intentioned family members and friends asked too many questions, Love advised patients to hand them the tape and go to the movies."
The LA Times interviewed Love in 2013 after her initial cancer diagnosis: I always talked about but never fully knew the collateral damage of treatment. Now I know it in a real way. I know it in my numb toes. I know it in the metallic taste in my mouth. These are things physicians discount. They’re “You’re lucky to be alive.” [Doctors] focus on survival and not on what you have to live with.
In 1993, the LA Times interviewed Love, co-founder of the National Breast Cancer Coalition about the politics of breast cancer: Question: To what extent is our ignorance about breast cancer traceable to the fact that it’s a women’s disease?
Answer: It’s a combination of things. For one, breast cancer is difficult to figure out. We know something causes breast cancer but we don’t know what it is. Could it be environmental, a virus, hormones? We don’t know. But another aspect, of course, is that it’s a women’s disease. I don’t think the researchers are misogynists; I think if you’re sitting there with a small pot of money, you will spend it on what you fear. And if you’re a middle-aged white male, it’s more likely to go to heart disease than breast cancer . . . . The reason we don’t know more about breast cancer is that the people making the decisions didn’t care enough about finding out those answers.
Later in 1993, Love and her partner made the news when they became the first homosexual couple to win approval in Massachusetts to adopt a child. In a 4-3 decision, the court said two unmarried women it identified only as “Susan” and “Helen,” may jointly adopt “Tammy,” a 5-year-old girl they have raised since birth. Their attorney, Katherine Triantafillou, later confirmed that the couple was Dr. Susan Love and her lover of more than 10 years, Dr. Helen Cooksey, also a surgeon. Despite the wording of the ruling, the women had no reluctance about being identified, their lawyer said. They have held positions on the Harvard Medical School faculty and now live in California, the lawyer said.
The President of the National Breast Cancer Coalition wrote an obituary of Love as well, noting that her colleague loved fine wine, dancing, and meeting people. Love was also a techie, among many other things.
In May 1991, I sat in a law firm conference room in Washington, DC, listening to a pitch from a small group of women who had the idea to launch a political advocacy movement around breast cancer. One of those women was Dr. Susan Love. The person next to me nudged me with her elbow and whispered, “She is famous. She wrote this unbelievable book.” ...When many lamented the fact that not enough women were enrolling in research studies, Susan created the Army of Women (now Love Research Army), so people could sign up to do just that. After an appearance on Good Morning America, almost 300,000 people said yes.
It is rare, but there are times some of us are lucky enough to know and work with an individual who is transformative. Someone who intuitively understands the right thing to do and then just does it. That certainly was Susan. Research, policy, healthcare, activism… it all changed in breast cancer in response to her initial vision.
Rest in power, Dr. Love.
Love died on July 2, 2023. "As the founding director of what is now the UCLA/Revlon Breast Clinic, and later as a bestselling author and frequent public advocate, Love lobbied for more federal funding for women’s health research and a clinical approach that gave patients a voice in their own treatment."
The pioneering breast cancer surgeon took a different approach with her patients. "The one advantage to not being part of the old boys’ medical network, Love liked to say, was that she didn’t have to play by its rules. So she created a program that had as much to do with patient care, with what went on inside the exam room, as it did with larger policy issues.
"She offered a tape recorder and tape to every new patient — because in her experience, she joked, a woman’s ears stopped working as soon as she got a diagnosis of breast cancer. She could listen to the tape at home, if she forgot details that had been hard to process. And when well-intentioned family members and friends asked too many questions, Love advised patients to hand them the tape and go to the movies."
The LA Times interviewed Love in 2013 after her initial cancer diagnosis: I always talked about but never fully knew the collateral damage of treatment. Now I know it in a real way. I know it in my numb toes. I know it in the metallic taste in my mouth. These are things physicians discount. They’re “You’re lucky to be alive.” [Doctors] focus on survival and not on what you have to live with.
In 1993, the LA Times interviewed Love, co-founder of the National Breast Cancer Coalition about the politics of breast cancer: Question: To what extent is our ignorance about breast cancer traceable to the fact that it’s a women’s disease?
Answer: It’s a combination of things. For one, breast cancer is difficult to figure out. We know something causes breast cancer but we don’t know what it is. Could it be environmental, a virus, hormones? We don’t know. But another aspect, of course, is that it’s a women’s disease. I don’t think the researchers are misogynists; I think if you’re sitting there with a small pot of money, you will spend it on what you fear. And if you’re a middle-aged white male, it’s more likely to go to heart disease than breast cancer . . . . The reason we don’t know more about breast cancer is that the people making the decisions didn’t care enough about finding out those answers.
Later in 1993, Love and her partner made the news when they became the first homosexual couple to win approval in Massachusetts to adopt a child. In a 4-3 decision, the court said two unmarried women it identified only as “Susan” and “Helen,” may jointly adopt “Tammy,” a 5-year-old girl they have raised since birth. Their attorney, Katherine Triantafillou, later confirmed that the couple was Dr. Susan Love and her lover of more than 10 years, Dr. Helen Cooksey, also a surgeon. Despite the wording of the ruling, the women had no reluctance about being identified, their lawyer said. They have held positions on the Harvard Medical School faculty and now live in California, the lawyer said.
The President of the National Breast Cancer Coalition wrote an obituary of Love as well, noting that her colleague loved fine wine, dancing, and meeting people. Love was also a techie, among many other things.
In May 1991, I sat in a law firm conference room in Washington, DC, listening to a pitch from a small group of women who had the idea to launch a political advocacy movement around breast cancer. One of those women was Dr. Susan Love. The person next to me nudged me with her elbow and whispered, “She is famous. She wrote this unbelievable book.” ...When many lamented the fact that not enough women were enrolling in research studies, Susan created the Army of Women (now Love Research Army), so people could sign up to do just that. After an appearance on Good Morning America, almost 300,000 people said yes.
It is rare, but there are times some of us are lucky enough to know and work with an individual who is transformative. Someone who intuitively understands the right thing to do and then just does it. That certainly was Susan. Research, policy, healthcare, activism… it all changed in breast cancer in response to her initial vision.
Rest in power, Dr. Love.
.
posted by skepticallypleased at 2:43 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by skepticallypleased at 2:43 PM on July 21, 2023
.
posted by MonsieurPEB at 2:52 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by MonsieurPEB at 2:52 PM on July 21, 2023
Truly a human being the world would have been a much worse place without.
We all owe her a debt of gratitude that now can never be repaid — or ever could have been, really.
That she died of leukemia reminds me of the very uncomfortable connection between breast cancer and bovine leukemia virus. A couple of studies showed 59% of US women with breast cancer had Bovine Leukemia Virus DNA (it’s actually a retrovirus) in their breast tissue compared to 29% of controls, and figures for Australian women were 80% and 41% respectively.
We all owe her a debt of gratitude that now can never be repaid — or ever could have been, really.
That she died of leukemia reminds me of the very uncomfortable connection between breast cancer and bovine leukemia virus. A couple of studies showed 59% of US women with breast cancer had Bovine Leukemia Virus DNA (it’s actually a retrovirus) in their breast tissue compared to 29% of controls, and figures for Australian women were 80% and 41% respectively.
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a virus that infects cattle around the world and is very similar to the human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), which causes adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). Recently, presence of BLV DNA and protein was demonstrated in commercial bovine products and in humans. BLV DNA is generally found at higher rates in humans who have or will develop breast cancer, according to research done with subjects from several countries. These findings have led to a hypothesis that BLV transmission plays a role in breast cancer oncogenesis in humans.posted by jamjam at 3:11 PM on July 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
[…]
BLV is present in buffy coat cells in 38% of subjects from the West Coast of the United States [18]. Authors did not test specifically for breast cancer. However, they analyzed the circumstances of BLV and possible links to leukemia and breast cancer and noted that “In the USA, 84% of US dairy herds and 39% of beef herds are infected” by BLV [18]. The researchers concluded that the primary transmission route of BLV to humans is zoonotic and foodborne, and circulation of BLV infected blood cells could carry BLV to various organs for later cancer genesis. The results are significant because they show that BLV can infect platelets and leukocytes, in addition to CD5+ B lymphocytes, T cells, and mammary epithelium cells.
I signed up for the Army of Women at the urging of my dear friend, who was dying of breast cancer when it was first formed. I never met the requirements of any of the studies, but it was something I supported as much as I could. When they sent out the notification to the list about her death, I was so sad. She did so much for so many people.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:35 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:35 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
.
posted by jameaterblues at 6:41 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by jameaterblues at 6:41 PM on July 21, 2023
I'm 68. When I was a child and even past that, into adulthood, you hear the "C" word and it's time to buy a box. wave everyone goodbye, game over. Now, due to the lifes work of Dr. Love and other brilliant people of her caliber, it's often treatable, or at least pushed back to a chronic illness.
What a powerhouse. I'm so glad she was here, saddened that she's gone.
.
posted by dancestoblue at 7:51 PM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
What a powerhouse. I'm so glad she was here, saddened that she's gone.
.
posted by dancestoblue at 7:51 PM on July 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
..
posted by armeowda at 12:18 AM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by armeowda at 12:18 AM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
That she died of leukemia reminds me of the very uncomfortable connection between breast cancer and bovine leukemia virus.
jamjam, I looked at the studies that cited this metaanalysis and it sounds like this is still a contested link and may depend on the detection methods used by each study - so more work is needed to support there is a relationship between BLV and breast cancer.
Alabama study
Vermont study
posted by jilloftrades at 6:12 AM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
jamjam, I looked at the studies that cited this metaanalysis and it sounds like this is still a contested link and may depend on the detection methods used by each study - so more work is needed to support there is a relationship between BLV and breast cancer.
Alabama study
Vermont study
posted by jilloftrades at 6:12 AM on July 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Dr. Love must have been aware of the issue, jilloftrades, but if she ever said anything about it in public, I did not find it.
If I’d thought to make that search beforehand, I probably would have withheld that part of my comment.
posted by jamjam at 9:46 PM on July 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
If I’d thought to make that search beforehand, I probably would have withheld that part of my comment.
posted by jamjam at 9:46 PM on July 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
.
posted by Knowyournuts at 11:14 PM on July 23, 2023
posted by Knowyournuts at 11:14 PM on July 23, 2023
« Older “Flowering dogwood trees are bisexual... Like us.” | "Fame comes and goes. Longevity's thing to aim for... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by gentlyepigrams at 12:43 PM on July 21, 2023