Türkan Saylan (13 December 1935 – 18 May 2009) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, teacher and social activist. She was famous for fighting leprosy, and for founding a charitable foundation called "

Association for the Support of Contemporary Living Association for the Support of Contemporary Life ( tr, Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği) is a non-profit NGO in Turkey. The main office is in İstanbul and there are 103 branch offices nationwide. The association helps girls across Turkey to ...

" (''Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği'', ÇYDD).

Life and career

She was born on 13 December 1935. She was the first born to Fasih Galip, one of the first building contractors in Turkey's republican era, and

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Lili Mina Raiman who converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and changed her name to Leyla after the marriage. She went to Kandilli Elementary School between 1944 and 1946. Between 1946 and 1953, she went to Kandilli Girls Highschool. She graduated from İstanbul Medical School in 1963. Later on, she worked as a doctor in the department of dermatological and venereal diseases in SSK Nisantasi Hospital. In 1976, she started to study

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

and founded Fight Against Lepra Association and Foundation. She was awarded " International Gandhi Award" in 1986, India. She worked as a consultant in lepra for World Health Organization until 2006. She took a part in foundation of Laboratory of Derma pathology, Behcet's Disease and Policlinics of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. She has worked as the voluntary head physician in Istanbul Lepra Hospital for 21 years, between 1981 and 2002. She got married in 1957 and had two children. She has four grand children. Having suffered from breast cancer for 17 years, she died on 18 May 2009.

References

External links

Türkan Saylan: Syöpään menehtynyttä hyväntekijää epäiltiin yhteyksistä salaliittoon Turkissa
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Suomen Kuvalehti ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' (lit. "Finland's picture magazine", or "The Finnish picture magazine") is a weekly Finnish language family and news magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' was founded in 1873 and pu ...

'' 18 May 2009 (in Finnish) * Erol Önderoğlu. (19 May 2009)
Death of Türkan Saylan: "State Should Apologise"
''Bianet'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Saylan, Turkan 1935 births 2009 deaths Physicians from Istanbul Deaths from cancer in Turkey Deaths from breast cancer Turkish dermatologists Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine alumni Turkish women academics

Life and career

See also

References

Further reading

External links