The Cancer Detectives tells the untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the people who fought tirelessly to save women from what was once the number one cancer killer of women. 

The story of how the life-saving cervical cancer test became an ordinary part of women's lives is as unusual and remarkable as the coalition of people who ultimately made it possible: a Greek immigrant, Dr. George Papanicolau; 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 known as cyto-screeners. But the test was just the beginning. Once the test proved effective, the campaign to make pap smears available to millions of women required nothing short of a total national mobilization. The Cancer Detectives tells the untold story of the first-ever war on cancer and the people who fought tirelessly to save women from what was once the number one cancer killer of women.

Producer: Susan Bellows, Amanda Pollak
Executive Producer: Cameo George
Production Company: Insignia Films; American Experience
Copyright Year: 2024
Rating: TV-14
Director: Amanda Pollak, Gene Tempest
Narrator: Andia Winslow
Writers: Gene Tempest
Number of Discs: 1
Length: 60 minutes
Number of Episodes: 1