Nursing Researcher Exposes Inequities in Cancer Treatment

Margaret “Peggy” Rosenzweig (MSN ’86, PhD ’01) views nursing as “a road to social justice,” and her cancer studies and community initiatives are paving the way forward. As an oncology nurse practitioner, researcher and Distinguished Service Professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Rosenzweig has made discoveries that exposed gaps in health care, including cancer treatment disparities according to race and income.

“I was seeing that Black women in particular were struggling with breast cancer treatment, and I became very interested in figuring out why this disproportionate distress was happening,” said Rosenzweig. Her research found that Black women with breast cancer tend to receive less of their prescribed chemotherapy than white patients receive. This is associated with symptoms and distress during treatment, leading clinicians to reduce or prematurely end their treatment.

To get to the root of this issue, Rosenzweig is conducting a study measuring cancer patients’ treatment doses and their allostatic load, a measure of the physical toll that chronic stress takes on people’s bodies. Going forward, Rosenzweig hopes to develop educational tools to help patients proactively report their symptoms, with an end goal of preventing reductions in potentially lifesaving treatment.

As one of the first nurse practitioners in the region to specialize in oncology, Rosenzweig leverages her clinical and research expertise to provide compassionate care backed by science. She continues to practice at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, leading the Support, Education and Advocacy Program for Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC/SEA Program). The foundation of this program is a 20-year database of 2,000 women with metastatic breast cancer, created and maintained by Rosenzweig, that provides real-world clinical data with the goal of improving patient-centered care at Magee.

Through the end of June 2026, she is serving as the Oncology Nursing Society’s Research Scholar in Residence, working closely with the chief clinical officer to identify resources and processes that best support patients and families living with cancer, as well as oncology nurse researchers. In this role, she collaborates with organizations and nurse scientists to meet emerging needs for oncology research.

In March 2026, she also stepped into a new leadership role with the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center following a nationwide search. As associate director for community outreach and engagement, Rosenzweig oversees cancer outreach, education and screenings across 29 counties in Western Pennsylvania.

For Rosenzweig, doing something different every day is one of the best parts of her job.

“I enjoy the community work and research and also seeing how research is tied to policy issues on a national scale,” she said. “I like it all, and I find that a research professor position allows you to be able to enjoy different roles.”

At the local level, she is now leading a new partnership at the University of Pittsburgh’s Community Engagement Center in Homewood. A cross between a support group and an educational resource, the partnership provides evidence-based programs to support all patients and families experiencing cancer, and particularly those from under-resourced communities.

Each month, the center provides a range of programming, from psychological counseling to grief support to artistic outlets that enable individuals who have experienced cancer to express feelings they too often keep bottled up. Rosenzweig described it as a much-needed hub for connecting patients, families and communities experiencing cancer to resources and to each other.

“It's a space where individuals can acknowledge how difficult cancer has been emotionally and physically,” Rosenzweig said. “There seems to be a need for community healing.”