Eleanor Montague

Eleanor D. Montague
Born	(1926-02-11)February 11, 1926 Genoa, Italy
Died	November 9, 2018(2018-11-09)(aged 92)
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania
Known for	pioneering treatments for breast cancer
Spouse	Meredith Montague III
Children	4
Scientific career
Fields	radiation oncology
Institutions	University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Eleanor D. Montague(February 11, 1926 – November 9, 2018)was an Americanradiologistand educator who established breast-conserving therapy in the United States and improved radiation therapy techniques.She became a member of theTexas Women's Hall of Famein 1993.

Early life

Montague was bornEleanor DinoinGenoa, Italy,the only child of Frank and Sylvia Dino.Her family moved to EasternPennsylvaniawhen she was in elementary school, where she remained until graduating valedictorian of her high school class.

Career

Montague received a bachelor's degree inbiologyfrom theUniversity of Alabamaand anMDfrom theWoman's Medical College of Pennsylvaniain 1950. She met her husband, Meredith "Monty" Montague III, while working in the emergency room atKings County Hospital Center;she overheard him saying that he would never marry a woman doctor. They became friends and then were married a few years later.She worked inJapanfor two years while her husband was stationed at aMASHunit there. She completed her residency in radiology atColumbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.In 1959, Montague joined the radiotherapy department at theUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centerunder anAmerican Cancer Societyfellowship. She was employed at MD Anderson from 1961 to 1983. In 1973, she became a radiotherapy professor.She retired in 1987.

Montague was a pioneer inbreast cancerresearch and treatment. During the 1960s-70s,mastectomywas considered the only cure for breast cancer. Montague instead advocated forlumpectomy,a more moderate surgery, combined with radiation therapy to preserve breast function and appearance for patients with early-stage breast cancer. Following clinical trials and a treatment program Montague initiated at Anderson, breast-conserving therapy became established practice in the United States.Montague also pioneered new radiation therapy techniques and approaches for patients with advanced breast cancer and paved the way forchemotherapyto become part of a multimodal treatment approach.

An award in her name, the Eleanor Montague Distinguished Resident Award in Radiation Oncology, was created by the American Association for Women Radiologists.

She was a member of the board of directors for the American Cancer Society of Therapeutic Radiologists and of the executive of the American Radium Society. Montague served on the National Breast Cancer Task Force and with the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project.

Publications

Montague was a prolific scholar, publishing more than 100 articles during her career. A partial list of her publications:

• Montague, E. D. (1967). Current cancer concepts. radiation management of advanced breast cancer.JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association,200(7), 612-612.https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.200.7.612
• Tapley, N. D., & Montague, E. D. (1976). Elective irradiation with the electron beam after mastectomy for breast cancer.American Journal of Roentgenology(1976), 126(1), 127.
• Libshitz, H. I., Montague, E. D., & Paulus, D. D. (1977). Calcifications and the therapeutically irradiated breast.American Journal of Roentgenology(1976), 128(6), 1021.
• Libshitz, H. I., Montague, E. D., & Paulus, J., D D. (1978). Skin thickness in the therapeutically irradiated breast.American Journal of Roentgenology(1976), 130(2), 345.
• Montague, E. D., & Fletcher, G. H. (1983). The need for every modality treatment to prevent catastrophic local and regional failures in advanced breast cancer.International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics,9(3), 419.
• Montague, E. D. (1984). Conservation surgery and radiation therapy in the treatment of operable breast cancer.Cancer,53(3 Suppl), 700.
• Montague, E. D., Ames, F. C., Schell, S. R., & Romsdahl, M. M. (1984). Conservation surgery and irradiation as an alternative to mastectomy in the treatment of clinically favorable breast cancer.Cancer,54(11 Suppl), 2668.
• Montague, E. D. (1985). Radiation therapy and breast cancer. past, present, and future.American Journal of Clinical Oncology,8(6), 455.
• Chen, K. K., Montague, E. D., & Oswald, M. J. (1985). Results of irradiation in the treatment of locoregional breast cancer recurrence.Cancer,56(6), 1269.
• Matthews, R. H., McNeese, M. D., Montague, E. D., & Oswald, M. J. (1988). Prognostic implications of age in breast cancer patients treated with tumorectomy and irradiation or with mastectomy.International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics,14(4), 659.

Awards

• Janeway Medal by theAmerican Radium Societyin 1985
• Gold Medal of theRadiological Society of North Americain 1986
• Marie Curie Recipient by theAmerican Association for Women Radiologistsin 1990
• Gold Medal for Distinguished and Extraordinary Service to theAmerican Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncologyin 1992
• Alumna Award of Achievement by the Medical College of Pennsylvania
• Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Achievement Award by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Gilbert H. Fletcher Society Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in her field.