Helen Chambers

CBE 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 ...

(18 July 1879 – 21 July 1935) was a British

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

expert whose findings on

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

were essential in the fight against

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

Early life

Chambers was born in Bombay, India, to Frederick Chambers. Her father was a member of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

before returning the family back to Britain.Mohr, P. (2004-09-23). Chambers, Helen (1879–1935), pathologist and cancer research worker. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 21 Apr. 2018
/ref>

Education and early research

Chambers studied at the

Jersey Ladies' College Jersey College for Girls (JCG, Jèrriais: ''Lé collège jèrriais pour les fil'yes'') is a government-run, fee-paying, academically selective

, and Park Street Girls' School in Cambridge before going up to

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

, where she studied chemistry and physics. Chambers entered the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

in 1898 to train as a doctor. She continued her studies at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

, graduating

Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(MB) with first-class honors and the gold medal for medicine in 1903.A correspondent. "Dr. Helen Chambers." Times ondon, they had treated England26 July 1935: 16. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 21 Apr. 2018. She earned her

Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(BS) in 1904, and in the same year joined the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

as a pathologist, taking charge of the department at the age of only 24. Four years later, in 1908, she gained her

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

(MD) in pathology for her thesis "Observations on pathology of the thyroid gland". She also lectured over pathology at the University of London. Chambers received a scholarship in cancer research becoming a part-time researcher at the Cancer Research Laboratories at the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

, where she worked with physics and radium expert, Sidney Russ. From 1911 to 1913, Russ and Chambers studied the biological effects of radium. During this time, they published works in the Proceedings of the Royal Society and the Archives of the Middlesex Hospital. These works made Chambers a reputable cancer researcher.

Career

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she worked at the Endell Street Military Hospital, the only British wartime hospital entirely staffed by women, as the consultant pathologist. The women doctors and surgeons treated thousands of soldiers with wound infections. Chambers created a new antiseptic called bismuth-iodoform-paraffin-paste or Bipp. This antiseptic reduced the amount of infections and provided an alternative to wound dressing on a daily basis. For this work she was appointed

Commander of 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 ...

(CBE) in January 1920. After the war, she took a full-time cancer research appointment with the Medical Research Council at the Middlesex Hospital's Barnato Joel Laboratories, being named the radium research officer. She researched immunology and radiobiology of tumours in the early 1920s but she recognised the potential of radium for treating cancer. Thus, she decided to focus on

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

for treating cancer of the cervix. In her 1924 lecture, "Progress in cancer problems", Chambers urged women doctors to treat their cancer patients with radium. In 1924–1925 she organised a group of female doctors in an effort to improve the use of

in cancer treatment, especially of women, at the Royal Free Hospital,

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female physi ...

, South London Hospital and New Sussex Hospital in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. The British Empire Cancer Campaign gave Chambers and the other researchers a large supply of radium. The women implemented a Swedish technique which improved the five-year survival statistics. By 1928, they had treated 300 cases, and realised their need for a centre for treating women's cancers. The success of this project, combined with Chambers' foresight and dedication, led to the establishment of the Marie Curie Hospital on Fitzjohn's Avenue,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, in 1930, where she became pathologist. In little time, the hospital showed increasing survival rates and was considered the main centre for treating women's cancers.

Personal life and legacy

Chambers never married, dedicating her entire life to science and research. She lived in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, and on 21 July 1935, died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. In 1937, two years after her death, the Marie Curie Hospital named its new pathology laboratory the Helen Chambers Research Laboratory in her honour.

Footnotes

References

*Moscucci, Ornella. "The “Ineffable Freemasonry of Sex”: : Feminist Surgeons and the Establishment of Radiotherapy in Early Twentieth-Century Britain." Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 2007. *"Notable American Women, 1607–1950." (243). Google Books. Accessed October 7, 2017. *Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 26 July 1935 *

External links

Oxford DNB sources for Helen Chambers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Helen 1879 births 1935 deaths Alumni of the London School of Medicine for Women Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English medical doctors English pathologists British medical researchers Cancer researchers Academics of University College London English women medical doctors British women in World War I 20th-century British women scientists Women pathologists Medical doctors from Mumbai Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge 20th-century women physicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people People educated at the Jersey College for Girls British people in colonial India