Dr Mary Patricia "Moya" Cole, MD, DMRT, DRCOG,

FRCR 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 oncolo ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(31 August 1918 – 16 May 2004) was a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

medical doctor, oncological researcher, consultant, and writer.

Early life and education

Moya Cole was born in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifn ...

. 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 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...

and

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, ...

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, Coleraine ...

and then

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in Physics from

Queen's University, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

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, ...

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

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, 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 oncolo ...

. 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. In the south-west of the borough, near Manchester Airport and within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is bordered by Gatley and ...

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 treat breast cancer in women and men. It is also being studied for other types of cancer. It has b ...

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 7,672 at the 2011 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains. Newcastle is known f ...

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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 Radiologists from Northern Ireland Christians from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire British oncologists Women oncologists People in health professions from Manchester People from County Cavan Women medical doctors from Northern Ireland Fellows of the Royal College of Radiologists Women radiologists