Odile Schweisguth

Odile Schweisguth (1913-2002) was a French physician who is considered the pioneer of pediatric oncology in Europe and was the founder of the first child cancer department at the Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Villejuif.

Life and work Schweisguth was born on 18 October 1913 in Remiremont in the Vosges department in France.

Education After training in the Red Cross Nursing School, she started her medical studies in Nancy in 1932. In 1934, her family moved to Paris and she joined them. She continued her studies in the University of Paris, where she received her first medical degree in 1936. After the Second World War, she obtained her doctorate in 1946, with a thesis in oncology under the direction of Pierre Ameuille.

Personal life Many years later, she decided to adopt one of the children, Jacques, she had cared for when she was already an adult.

She retired from the Institut Gustave Roussy in 1978. She died on 26 March 2002 at her home in Cotâpre in Molphey in Côte-d'Or.