Female patients’ rights advocate Barbara Seaman, 72, has died of complications related to lung cancer Wednesday at her home in Manhattan. The memorial service will be held on Thursday, March 6, at 5:30 pm at the Riverside Memorial Chapel at 180 West 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, according to Ms. Magazine.

Marked by a family tragedy, Seaman began to question replacement hormone therapy and hormonal contraception. Her aunt, Sally, died of endometrial cancer in 1959, at only 49. Her oncologist blamed her death on the replacement hormone drug Premarin, which was prescribed to alleviate symptoms of her menopause.

Shortly after, the birth control pill hit the market with the same ingredient that already appeared to pose problems for women at menopause: the estrogen hormone. Barbara Seaman's first book, The Doctors’ Case Against the Pill, has triggered debate and Senate hearings, which lead to the industry's first informational insert for any prescription drug being attached to the pill. Her continuous fight against pharmaceutical companies, which pushed drugs on the market disregarding safety issues, had her banned from magazines.

"In the 1980s Barbara was essentially blacklisted from magazines by pharmaceutical companies who would not advertise in publications that carried her stories. Her relentless insistence on questioning the safety and effectiveness of their products earned her their condemnation and our praise. Barbara took advantage of this forced lull by turning to biography," said New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney, in the Congressional Record of Oct 17 2005.

She was married three times, to Peter Marks (annulled), Dr. Gideon Seaman (divorce) and Milton Forman (divorce). She is survived by three children, all of whom are the offspring of her marriage with Dr. Seaman: Noah, Elana and Shira Seaman.