In This Section

Elizabeth Cant

Obituary of Elizabeth Cant.

Elizabeth Laurence McKinnon Cant
General Surgeon
31 July 1938 - 30 April 2015

Liz Cant was born in Adelaide, educated at Walford Anglican School, graduated from the University of Adelaide (1962) and underwent surgical training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, obtaining FRACS in 1968. Liz was one of the first female surgeons to be trained in South Australia.

Liz went on to be a research fellow with the renowned surgeon Sir Patrick Forrest at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh (1973-75) undertaking a MD that involved ground-breaking research into steroid hormone receptors in breast cancer. Liz put this research into practical use when she came back to Australia to take up a position as a senior consultant surgeon at the newly opened Flinders Medical Centre; setting up one of the first steroid hormone receptor laboratories in Australia. This remained the reference centre for SA until the early 1990s when immunocytochemistry for receptors was introduced.

Innovation was the hallmark of her relatively short career with the following achievements;

  • trained the first breast care nurse in Australia

  • set up multidisciplinary evaluation of breast lesions

  • with Prof Svante Orell established fine needle aspiration cytology in breast cancer diagnosis

  • made breast conserving surgery for breast cancer the norm

  • undertook, with Mr John Hokin, some of the first free-flap immediate reconstruction operations for mastectomy patients

  • set up the first familial breast cancer clinic in Australia

Liz worked at a frenetic pace working extremely long hours. I remember, when as a young student Liz was my first tutor in the newly opened Flinders University Medical School, the only time she could do our tutorial was 7am on Sunday morning! This had a deleterious effect on her health and she had to retire early due to ill health.

When I took on the job as Head of the Breast Cancer Unit at Flinders Medical Centre from Liz I realised just how much she had achieved and shaped our thinking on breast cancer. Liz was ahead of her time in many areas - particularly hormonal action in breast disease and helped shape much of the research undertaken at the Dame Roma Mitchell Research Laboratories, Adelaide University.

In her retirement Liz became an avid proponent of the arts, first undertaking two theses on art history to obtain a Diploma of Humanities at Flinders University, then a Master of Arts with a third thesis, also at Flinders University. Liz remained a guide and art historian at the Art Gallery of South Australia until her health finally failed her.

Liz was predeceased by her only brother, Dr Alister Bevan Cant and is survived by her niece Fiona and nephews Richard and Hamish.

 

Stephen N Birrell FRACS