Dr Eleanor D. Montague, 1926-2018

Abstract

We were saddened to learn of the loss of a visionary leader in the field. Dr Eleanor Dino Montague passed away on Friday, November 9, 2018, at the age of 92. A pioneer in the field and paragon of life lived well, she leaves an indelible mark on family, friends, colleagues, and patients then and now. Eleanor and her family immigrated to the United States from Genoa, Italy, where she was born on February 11, 1926, to Frank and Sylvia Dino. She graduated as valedictorian of the high school in Eastern Pennsylvania where they settled and went on to receive a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Alabama. A pioneer from the earliest record, she pursued her medical doctorate from The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine) and completed her internship at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, where she met her husband, Dr Meredith Montague III, known as Monty. Eleanor completed residency in pathology and radiology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. After her residency, Eleanor worked as a physician in Fukuoka, Japan, where Monty served in the United States Air Force. She joined the faculty in radiation oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 1958. Her portrait hangs in the department today as an outstanding leader who shaped the field as we know it. Dr Montague was a change maker. She directly contributed to reducing the extent of surgery for appropriate patients with breast cancer, which has made a monumental impact on the vast majority of patients who receive diagnoses of breast cancer today. She coauthored the landmark NSABP B-04 manuscripts but was pressing forward for postlumpectomy radiation in the 1960s, even before the landmark trials for this were being considered. In 1976, she contributed to the first publication ever describing twice-daily radiation therapy for inflammatory breast cancer, a practice still routinely offered to high-risk patients after systemic therapy and surgery in the UT MDACC dedicated IBC clinic, and she went on to lead the discussion about the importance of combined-modality therapy for this aggressive disease. Throughout the 1970s, she coauthored papers on immunotherapy for breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, and even preoperative radiation. She was truly ahead of her time. Ultimately, she authored or coauthored over 100 papers. She won virtually every prestigious award in our field, including the Janeway Medal from the American Radium Society, the Gold Medal of the Radiological Society of North America, the Alumna Award of Achievement from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, the Gilbert H. Fletcher Society Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in her field, and the Marie Curie Award by the American Association of Women Radiologists. An award in her name, the Eleanor Montague Distinguished Resident Award in Radiation Oncology, was created by the American Association of Women Radiologists. Colleagues who knew her well remember Eleanor as a gentle but outspoken, kind but firm woman who was very supportive of younger colleagues. She is described as a person with “an inexhaustible supply of horse sense.” She had the ability to calm the waters and bring feuding people together during a time of significant change and perhaps inevitable disagreement between disciplines about the care of breast patients. Eleanor is remembered by Dr Hortobagyi, former chair of Breast Medical Oncology, world renowned leader in breast oncology, and mentee of Dr Montague, as the person who usually let “the boys” go at each other for a while and then say something that would make everybody realize how unproductive their behavior was. This artful navigation extended even to her personal life. In her interview with the history committee of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, she shared the first words she ever heard her future husband utter: “I would never marry a woman doctor.” She responded, “It would serve you right if I married you.” They were married 4 years later. After all of her accomplishments, friends recall that the day she retired, she retired for good and focused on family, friends, and life. Eleanor's beloved Monty predeceased her in 2002. Eleanor is survived by 4 children and 7 grandchildren: Eleanor McCarthy and her children with her husband Steve—Catherine and John; Tina Sparks and her children with her husband Jim—George, Andrew, and Nicholas; Trip Montague; and Melanie Trent and her children, Ellie and Jack. The story of Eleanor's life, her impact on radiation oncology, and the care of breast cancer over those decades is truly inspiring. She was a woman leading the way in every way. She will be well remembered and greatly missed. Her interview with the American Society for Radiation Oncology is available at https://www.astro.org/About-ASTRO/History/Eleanor-Montague.