Susan Love
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Susan Margaret Love (February 9, 1948 – July 2, 2023) was an American surgeon, a prominent advocate of preventive breast cancer research, and author. She was regarded as one of the most respected
women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...
specialists in the United States. Love is best known for pioneering work fueled by her criticism of the medical establishment's paternalistic treatment of women. She was an early advocate of cancer surgery that conserves as much breast tissue as possible. She also was among the first to sound the alarm on the risks of routine hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopausal women, although the therapy was proven to be safe after many decades .


Background


Early life and education

Susan Margaret Love was born in
Little Silver, New Jersey Little Silver is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,131, an increase of 181 (+3.0%) from the 2010 ...
, on February 9, 1948. She lived in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
as a child, as a result of her father's work as an industrial salesman. Love enrolled at
Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
after having spent five unsuccessful months at the
School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and min ...
. Love received her medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical School cum laude in 1974 and did her surgical residency at Boston's
Beth Israel Medical Center Mount Sinai Beth Israel was a 799-bed teaching hospital in Manhattan. It was part of the Mount Sinai Health System, a nonprofit health system formed in September 2013 by the merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, and ...
.Susan Love Speaker Profile and Speaking Topics
/ref> She also graduated from the Executive MBA program at the
UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management (branded as UCLA Anderson) is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The school offers MBA (full-time, part-time, executive), Post Graduate Program for Executi ...
.


Personal life, health, and death

Love came out as lesbian early in her career, at a time when such a revelation could carry "grave professional and personal risks". She later fought to expand the rights of same-sex couples as parents. In 1993, she and her partner Dr. Helen Cooksey made history by getting approval for the first joint adoption by a gay couple from the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...
, a state that did not recognize
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
at the time. The couple married in San Francisco in 2004. In 2012, Love announced that she was diagnosed with
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
and would take a leave of absence to pursue
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
treatment. After a successful treatment, Love returned to work the following year, but died from a recurrence of the disease on July 2, 2023, at the age of 75, at her home in Los Angeles.Susan M. Love, MD, MBA, Chief Visionary Officer and "Founding Mother" of Breast Cancer Advocacy and Research Dies
/ref>


Career

Love completed her surgical training at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, and in 1988 was recruited to found the Faulkner Breast Center at Faulkner Hospital, with comprehensive care that allowed patients to see teams composed of radiation therapists, oncologists and surgeons. After leaving the Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Love was recruited to set up what later became the Revlon Breast Center at
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA) in 1992. A founder of the breast cancer advocacy movement in the early 1990s, she helped organize the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). She later served on the boards of the NBCC and the Young Survival Coalition. In 1996, she retired from the active practice of surgery to dedicate her time to finding the cause for breast cancer. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Love sought "not so much to cure the disease as to vanquish it altogether by isolating its causes and pre-empting them at a cellular level". In 1998, Love earned a business degree from the Executive MBA program at UCLA's Anderson School. She was appointed by President Clinton to the National Cancer Advisory Board, a position she held from 1998 to 2004. She maintained a board position at the National Cancer Institute, and served as an adjunct professor of surgery at UCLA. Love was a clinical professor of surgery at the
David Geffen School of Medicine The UCLA School of Medicine (also known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA) is the accredited medical school of the University of California, Los Angeles. Founded in 1951, it is the second medical school in the University of Califor ...
at UCLA. Love also served as the Founder and Medical Director of the Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, formerly titled The Santa Barbara Breast Cancer Institute. In 2020, Love became the Chief Visionary Officer.


Bibliography (selective)


Books

* ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book First Edition'' (1990) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book Second Edition'' (1995) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book Third Edition'' (2000) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book Fourth Edition'' (2005) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book Fifth Edition'' (2010) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book Sixth Edition'' (2015) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book Seventh Edition'' (2023) * ''Dr. Susan Love's Menopause and Hormone Book'' (2003) * ''Live a Little!: Breaking the Rules Won't Break Your Health'' (2009)


Peer-reviewed articles

* *


See also

* ''Cancer'' (2015 PBS film) * '' The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer''


Further reading

*


References


External links


Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Susan 1948 births 2023 deaths People from Little Silver, New Jersey Fordham University alumni SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni American women surgeons David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA faculty 20th-century American women physicians 21st-century American women physicians 20th-century American surgeons 21st-century American surgeons 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ physicians LGBTQ people from New Jersey Deaths from leukemia in California