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#1754
1978 13c Early Cancer Detection
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U.S. #1754
1978 13¢ Dr. Papanicolaou and Microscope
Issue Date: May 18, 1978
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 152,270,000
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 10½ x 11
Color: Brown
Issued on May 18, 1978, in Washington, D.C., this 13-cent stamp honors Dr. George Papanicolaou and the cancer screening test that bears his name. Born in Kyme, Greece, in 1883, Papanicolaou earned his medical degree from the University of Athens and a doctorate in zoology from the University of Munich before immigrating to the United States in 1913. He joined the staff at Cornell Medical College, where he spent decades studying cellular changes in vaginal smears. In 1928, he presented his finding that cancerous cells in the uterus and cervix could be detected through a simple smear — a discovery met at the time with widespread skepticism from researchers who believed a surgical biopsy was the only reliable method. The stamp was designed by Paul Calle, one of the most respected stamp artists of the era.
It took years of persistence before Papanicolaou's work gained acceptance. His 1942 book, co-written with Herbert F. Traut, laid out the full case for the test's diagnostic value and helped shift medical opinion. The Pap test gradually became standard practice in women's health care, and its impact has been profound. Widespread use of cervical screening programs has reduced the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by more than 50 percent in countries where screening is routine. Papanicolaou received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1950 and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1960. He died in 1962, just months after moving to Miami to establish the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the University of Miami.
The stamp's portrait of Papanicolaou at his microscope captures the quiet, methodical nature of the work that made his discovery possible. It is the 50th anniversary of his original 1928 presentation, a milestone the Postal Service chose to mark with this issue.
U.S. #1754
1978 13¢ Dr. Papanicolaou and Microscope
Issue Date: May 18, 1978
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 152,270,000
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Engraved
Perforations: 10½ x 11
Color: Brown
Issued on May 18, 1978, in Washington, D.C., this 13-cent stamp honors Dr. George Papanicolaou and the cancer screening test that bears his name. Born in Kyme, Greece, in 1883, Papanicolaou earned his medical degree from the University of Athens and a doctorate in zoology from the University of Munich before immigrating to the United States in 1913. He joined the staff at Cornell Medical College, where he spent decades studying cellular changes in vaginal smears. In 1928, he presented his finding that cancerous cells in the uterus and cervix could be detected through a simple smear — a discovery met at the time with widespread skepticism from researchers who believed a surgical biopsy was the only reliable method. The stamp was designed by Paul Calle, one of the most respected stamp artists of the era.
It took years of persistence before Papanicolaou's work gained acceptance. His 1942 book, co-written with Herbert F. Traut, laid out the full case for the test's diagnostic value and helped shift medical opinion. The Pap test gradually became standard practice in women's health care, and its impact has been profound. Widespread use of cervical screening programs has reduced the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by more than 50 percent in countries where screening is routine. Papanicolaou received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1950 and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1960. He died in 1962, just months after moving to Miami to establish the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the University of Miami.
The stamp's portrait of Papanicolaou at his microscope captures the quiet, methodical nature of the work that made his discovery possible. It is the 50th anniversary of his original 1928 presentation, a milestone the Postal Service chose to mark with this issue.
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