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History
Our oldest description of cancer (although the word cancer was not used) was discovered in Egypt and dates back to about 3000 BC. It’s called the Edwin Smith Papyrus and is a copy of part of an ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery. It describes 8 cases of tumors or ulcers of the breast that were removed by cauterization with a tool called the fire drill. The writing says about the disease, “There is no treatment.” -
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Egypt
Some of the earliest evidence of cancer is found among fossilized bone tumors, human mummies in ancient Egypt, and ancient manuscripts. Growths suggestive of the bone cancer called osteosarcoma have been seen in mummies. Bony skull destruction as seen in cancer of the head and neck has been found, too. -
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Hippocrates
The origin of the word cancer is credited to the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BC), who is considered the “Father of Medicine.” Hippocrates used the terms carcinos and carcinoma to describe non-ulcer forming and ulcer-forming tumors. In Greek, these words refer to a crab, most likely applied to the disease because the finger-like spreading projections from a cancer called to mind the shape of a crab. -
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Celsus
The Roman physician, Celsus (28-50 BC), later translated the Greek term into cancer, the Latin word for crab. -
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Galen
Galen (130-200 AD), another Greek physician, used the word oncos (Greek for swelling) to describe tumors. -
Period: Jan 1, 1400 to Jan 1, 1450
15th Century
During the Renaissance, beginning in the 15th century, scientists developed greater understanding of the human body. Scientists like Galileo and Newton began to use the scientific method, which later was used to study disease. -
Harvey Autispies
Autopsies, done by Harvey (1628), led to an understanding of the circulation of blood through the heart and body that had until then been a mystery. -
Start of Oncology
In 1761, Giovanni Morgagni of Padua was the first to do something which has become routine today – he did autopsies to relate the patient’s illness to pathologic findings after death. This laid the foundation for scientific oncology, the study of cancer. -
John Hunter
The famous Scottish surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793) suggested that some cancers might be cured by surgery and described how the surgeon might decide which cancers to operate on. If the tumor had not invaded nearby tissue and was “moveable,” he said, “There is no impropriety in removing it.” -
ACA founded
Fifteen physicians and businessmen in New York City, who were determined to raise awareness about cancer, form the American Society for the Control of Cancer, later renamed the American Cancer Society. -
Women Field Army
A group of passionate women form the Women’s Field Army – an organization of women who took to the streets to educate people about cancer and raise money to save lives. Their contributions were monumental in building the American Cancer Society and the cancer movement. -
Mary Lasker
Philanthropist Mary Lasker and her colleagues revolutionize the Society’s mission and fundraising efforts, helping to raise more than $4 million – $1 million of which was used to establish the program. -
Birth of Chemotheraphy
American Cancer Society-funded researcher Sidney Farber, MD, produces remissions in children with leukemia. -
Pap Test
The American Cancer Society pushes for wide adoption of the Pap test that has resulted in a 70% decrease in uterine and cervical cancer. -
Reduction in Lung Cancer
An American Cancer Society study confirms the link between smoking and lung cancer. Additional smoking prevention work helps lead to a 50% decrease in smoking and a reduction in the death rate from lung cancer. This launches an era of cancer prevention research at the Society. -
Home
Volunteer Margot Freudenberg helps open what today has become a home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers nationwide who need a free, temporary place to stay when traveling away from home for treatment. -
National Cancer Act
The American Cancer Society plays a leading role in the passage of this act, which is considered the most dramatic piece of health legislation ever enacted. It led to federal funding for cancer research rising from $4.3 million in 1953 to an estimated $5.1 billion in 2012. -
Susan G. Komen Foundation
Founded by Nancy Brinker(Sister of Susan G. Komen) -
Cancer Hotline
Cancer Information Specialists begin serving patients and their families 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Today, the American Cancer Society provides free information, answers, and support to nearly 1 million people facing cancer who call each year. -
Molecularly
Former American Cancer Society grantee Brian Druker, MD, reports stunning success in treating chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) with a molecularly targeted drug (Gleevec), launching a new era of molecularly targeted treatments. -
Tamoxifen
Ten years of adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen is shown to be significantly better than the standard 5 years in terms of reducing the risk for breast cancer recurrence and disease-specific death in the randomized controlled ATLAS trial -
5 types of Breast Cancer are established
The five major subtypes of breast cancer — luminal A, luminal B, luminal B-like, HER2-positive, and triple-negative — are established -
Mammography
The American Cancer Society invests in a mammography study that demonstrates it is a safe and effective tool for the early detection of breast cancer.