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The Cancer Detectives

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

The Cancer Detectives

Season 36 Episode 3 | 52m 54s | CC

The Cancer Detectives tells the untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the coalition of people who fought tirelessly to save women from cervical cancer: a Greek immigrant, Dr. George Papanicolaou; his intrepid wife, Mary; Japanese-born artist Hashime Murayama; Dr. Helen Dickens, an African American OBGYN in Philadelphia; and an entirely new class of female scientists.

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Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.