Dr. Jeanne A. Petrek

Age: 57

Summary: acclaimed surgeon and breast cancer researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she worked for 20 years and treated more than 4,000 women, who was considered as a pioneer in changing many views about surgery, and was near the completion of a 10-year study that looked at issues including the safety of pregnancy after breast cancer, who also was noted for developing a treatment for lymphedema, which causes limbs to swell after cancerous lymph nodes are removed.

Cause of Death: After being struck by an ambulette while on her way to work

Born: January 5, 1948

Died: April 11, 2005

Location: New York City, New York