Jane Todd Crawford

Jane Todd Crawford was an early 19th-century American woman who gained historical significance for being one of the first known patients to undergo an ovariotomy, a pioneering surgical procedure for ovarian tumors, performed by Dr. Ephraim McDowell in 1809. Her courageous journey through a risky surgery and subsequent recovery has become a notable story in the history of medicine, symbolizing both the challenges of diagnosing ovarian cancer and the progress in surgical techniques.