How stigma shaped modern medicine

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Nathalia Holt |

TEDxCapeMay

• October 2015

In the 1940s, cancer was a condition shrouded in fear and denial, rarely discussed in public. Now there's a healthy public discourse and billions of dollars in research funding dedicated to it. In this talk, writer and microbiologist Dr. Nathalia Holt describes how a landmark 1940s PR campaign helped prompt that paradigm shift. "Changing how a disease is perceived is just as critical as anything coming out of a lab," she says. "We can't change medicine until we change opinions."

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxCapeMay, an independent event.

About the speaker

Nathalia Holt

Research scientist, writer

Nathalia Holt, PhD is a science writer and "New York Times" bestselling author of "Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us from Missiles to the Moon to Mars."

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxCapeMay, an independent event.