United Against Cancer

United Against Cancer – Institut Curie was born out of the determination of one woman, Marie Curie, and one important cause: the fight against cancer. They specialise in several types of cancers, including eye cancers, pediatric tumours, breast cancer, and sarcomas, treating people all over the world.

The word ‘cancer’ we hear many times. Not always a subject we care to discuss but one we will all encounter at some stage in our life. Whether you know a friend, a member of your family or a personal encounter cancer is a subject I have talked about but never actually thought about.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women and the second most common of all cancers, after prostate cancer in men.

Lung cancer is one of the most frequent cancers: it is second-most-common cancer in men and the third in women and increasing constantly.

Childhood cancers are different from adult cancers. They are much rarer and account for only 1-2% of all cancers. Leukaemia, tumours of the central nervous system and lymphomas are the main cancers that affect children under the age of 15 – very different from the main adult cancers, which affect the lung, breast, and prostate.

In France, one in eight women will have breast cancer at some point.  However, in this day and age, there certainly is hope, cancer care in France is second to none, treatment options are improving, and recovery rates are very high. Doctors, researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, and donors all work together so that tomorrow, there is a life after cancer for everyone. Institute Curie offers you a personalised pathway, with supportive ​marie curie cancer care for you and your loved ones when going through this difficult phase of your life.

A Historical Moment

Born Maria Salomea Skłodowska in Poland in 1867, Marie Curie grew up to become one of the most noteworthy scientists of all time.

She began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24 and followed her older sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work conducting pioneering research on radioactivity.

In 1903, Marie Curie made history when she won the Nobel Prize in physics with her husband, Pierre, and with physicist Henri Becquerel for their work on radioactivity, making her the first woman to receive the honour. In 1911 she won a Nobel Prize within the chemistry category for the discovery and research of two elements: radium and polonium adding two new elements to the periodic table and became the first person to win the award twice as well as the only person to ever receive Nobel Prizes in two different scientific fields.

Marie Curie carried out the first research into the treatment of tumours with radiation and founded the Curie Institutes, which are important medical spaces for vital cancer treatment research today. 

A leading player in the fight against cancer, Institut Curie now boasts an internationally-renowned research center with a state-of-the-art hospital group, which treats patients suffering from some of the rarest cancers. Located at three sites (Paris, Saint-Cloud and Orsay), it has over 3,300 researchers, physicians and caregivers collaborating on its three missions: treatment, research, and teaching.

The hard work and determination of Marie Curie, all that time ago, changed the world. She advanced not only science but also women’s place in the scientific community.

Poppy Watt

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