Mary Patricia "Moya" Cole (31 August 1918 – 16 May 2004) was a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

medical doctor, oncological researcher, consultant, and writer.

Early life and education

Moya Cole was born in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

. She attended primary schools in

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

and

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart in County Londonderry. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway stati ...

followed by

Coleraine High School Coleraine High School was an all-girls' grammar school located in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The High School, or Gordonville Ladies' Academy as it was originally known, was founded in 1875 in Alexander Terrace, Colerai ...

and then

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in Physics from

Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

in 1939 and earned her master's degree one year later. After teaching at

Portadown College Portadown College is an academically selective, co-educational post-14 grammar school in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. History Preparatory Department Portadown College Preparatory Department was founded in 1921 as the Carlet ...

from 1941 and 1943 she returned to Queen's University and earned her MB in 1948. At Queens she was President of the Student Christian Movement and of the Students' Representative Council.

Career

Cole worked at the

Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast The Royal Victoria Hospital commonly known as "the Royal", the "RVH" or "the Royal Belfast", is a hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is managed by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. The hospital has a Regional Virus Centre, which ...

and Maternity Hospital between 1949 and 1950. She obtained her

DObst RCOG The medical post-nominal suffix DObst RCOG is awarded to obstetricians and gynaecologists who have gained the Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The Diploma is aimed at doctors, and especially general practitioners, wh ...

in 1950, after which she moved to Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, where she worked as a radiologist until she retired in 1983. She obtained a Diploma in Radiology Therapy in 1952 followed by an MD from Queen's the following year. She gained her FFR in 1954, later converted to FRCR - Fellow of the

Royal College of Radiologists The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) is the professional body responsible for the specialties of clinical oncology and clinical radiology throughout the United Kingdom. Its role is to advance the science and practice of radiology and oncol ...

. In 1971, Cole founded St Ann's Hospices in

Heald Green Heald Green is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of Stockport near Manchester Airport, bordered by Gatley and Cheadle to the north, Cheadle Hulme to the east, Handforth and Styal to th ...

where she served as the medical director. She became and chair of the management committee in 1983 and continued in that position until she left in 1991. Cole also participated in medical research, publishing papers on terminal care and breast cancer. Cole published significant papers on the radiotherapy of carcinoma of the cervix and was co-author of the first clinical paper on

tamoxifen Tamoxifen, sold under the brand name Nolvadex among others, is a selective estrogen receptor modulator used to prevent breast cancer in women and men. It is also being studied for other types of cancer. It has been used for Albright syndrome ...

Death and legacy

After her retirement from St Ann's Hospice, a unit was named the Moya Cole Day Care Centre in her honor. Cole died in

Newcastle, County Down Newcastle is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 8,298 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountain ...

on 16 May 2004, from complications of Parkinson's disease, aged 85.

Awards and honours

She was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Moya 1918 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Neurological disease deaths in Northern Ireland Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United Kingdom Radiologists from Northern Ireland Christians from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire British oncologists Women oncologists Health professionals from Manchester Medical doctors from County Cavan Women medical doctors from Northern Ireland Fellows of the Royal College of Radiologists Women radiologists People educated at Methodist College Belfast People educated at Coleraine High School 20th-century medical doctors from Northern Ireland 20th-century women medical doctors from Northern Ireland