The disease cancer is believed to have been first mentioned in the “Kahun Papyrus” which dates to about 3000 B.C. in ancient Egypt. It is described as “The disease which devours tissue.”

The term carcinoma, and hence cancer, was first used by Hippocrates, generally considered the father of medicine, around 400 B.C. It is derived from the Greek word – with apologies to my Greek friends – Karkinos – which means crab. This alludes to the gross appearance of the disease in tissue. The treatments discussed by Hippocrates were largely Poultices, Purges, and medicines. The latter composed of interesting and largely disgusting ingredients. In many ways not dissimilar to the medicines used today.

The surgical treatment of cancer really began After 1846, when HTG Wells, a dentist in from Worcester, demonstrated the use of ether anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Following this, it became possible to scientifically and anatomically remove the disease from affected tissue. Surgeons all over the world contributed, but perhaps the most notable was Theodore Billroth who lived in Vienna, 1829 - 1892. He was the first to resect cancer from many organs. Coincidentally, he was a great friend of Johannes Brahms, and they often played piano duets together.

Radiation therapy is the youngest of the modalities we use to treat cancer today. It really had its beginning after the Curie’s refined radium from pitchblende in 1900. One of the first recorded uses was by a Parisian dermatologist who probably best remains nameless. He applied radium paste to a superficial skin cancer on one of his patients. The results are not described, but they can’t have been good.

Over the next 50 years, many pioneers in this field lost their lives as the danger and the efficacy of the tool was studied. Since about 1950, modern radiation treatments have been employed and progress continues to be phenomenal.

Today, as we open the Vernon Cancer Center (as strange as that sounds), the scientific tools we use for precise diagnosis and treatment are amazing. Histochemical classification of tumors; biochemical markers of cells; genetic characterization of tumors and patient’s response to treatment is all common- place. Advances in these fields come almost daily. Tests we use every day were unheard of even a few years ago.

And yet, there is much more than science, and Medicine, and surgery, and x-ray beams.

William Ossler was born in Canada in 1849. He received his medical education at McGill University, and then practiced and taught in the U.K. for several years. He was knighted for his outstanding achievements. In 1889 he was appointed as the 1st Professor and Chief of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University. He is really the father of medical residency training in its largest sense. He insisted that residents and students learn by seeing and touching patients rather than just reading. He wrote extensively, and one of my favorite quotes is very apropos here: He said, “It is much more important to know what sort of patient has a disease than what sort of disease a patient has.” This is an eloquent summation of the way Joan and I felt throughout our lives and careers, and this will be a mainstay of this center.

I can think of no better example of this than the PACT Program. Originated by Dr. Paula Rauch, PACT stands for “Parenting at a Challenging Time.” This program recognizes, and offers help in dealing with, the effect of a parental cancer diagnosis on children. Paula embodies the tradition and values of Sir William Ossler, and is working with us to be the first location outside a major academic center to offer her program – Paula please stand…

Other less dramatic, but meaningful programs will include massage therapy, acupuncture, Reiki, yoga, support groups, genetic counseling and nutritional counseling. More will be incorporated as need and efficacy is demonstrated.

In closing, I will certainly say that I did not steer the course that has brought me here tonight. The loss of a son and my beloved wife in a period of less than 18 months are certainly not events toward which anyone could steer. Yet, from this grief, has arisen something truly beautiful and wonderful. Thanks to the generosity of many of you here, and to the hard work of Joan Archer, Ellen Maloney, Monique Porter and many in the Hospital Administration, Drs. Wisch and O’Connor with NEHOA, the architects, artists and many others, so much has been accomplished. This Center, so beautifully designed, built, and staffed is a living functioning example of the kind of care, caring, compassion, and healing in which we so deeply believe and believed.

Thank you all.