Val Curtis, 62, passed away on October 19, devastated by cancer. This internationally renowned British behaviorist, professor at the highly prestigious London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), was distinguished for her research on the importance of hygiene in the fight against infectious diseases.
“I will be one of the additional deaths from cancer this year,” she said in a column in July, pointing to the flaws in the NHS.
With a gentle face but steel convictions, Val had devoted thirty years of his life to explaining, relentlessly, how washing hands or accessing the toilet can save lives. In recent years, she had notably participated in a huge project to build latrines in India (85 million in five years). Until the end, despite the illness, this tenacious and brilliant scientist continued to advise governments – Indian and British – on these hot topics.
“His career combined world-class research with a genuine passion for improving public hygiene. She was a giant in her field and a role model. She will be sadly missed by her many friends and colleagues in the LSHTM “, said Peter Piot, the director of the prestigious institution, in a touching message of condolence posted on the school’s website.
The “queen of hygiene”
On July 16, three months before her disappearance, the “queen of hygiene”, as the BBC Radio 4 channel describes her, had published a moving column in the pages of the Guardian. “I will be one of the additional cancer deaths this year”, she said, bluntly pointing out the flaws in the National Health Service (NHS), the British public hospital, “So weakened by ten years of austerity that I completely failed me.”
Modest, but heartbreaking – “I still can’t get used to the idea that I’m dying”, Val Curtis recounted eighteen months of waiting and anguish. At the end of 2018, alerted by repeated blood loss, she consulted her general practitioner, obtained the last available appointment with the oncologist before Christmas. He suspects vaginal cancer, recommends emergency treatment. Between diagnosis and the start of treatment, Curtis must endure 62 days of anxiety, as the waiting list is long.
In the summer of 2019, very good news: we tell her that she is in remission. Unfortunately, from September, other symptoms appear. But Val Curtis still has to wait four precious weeks before getting an appointment, four more for further exams. The exams are bad, a heavy operation is planned. The scientist still has to wait six weeks: in the meantime, the cancer has spread so much that the operation is impossible.
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