In the early 20thcentury, cancer didn’t attract much attention. The biggest health problems were infectious diseases — pneumonia, gastrointestinal and tuberculosis. The American Society for the Control of Cancer (ASCC) was created in 1913 and stressed the importance of early detection and aggressive treatment. In the 1940s, they championed the routine use of the Pap smear for cervical cancer. It was hugely and stunningly successful as death rates from cervical cancer dropped quickly. This was an auspicious start. In 1944, the ASCC changed its name to the American Cancer Society.
But deaths from infections would drop precipitously over the first half of the century due to improving sanitation and the momentous discovery of antibiotics. Increasing life expectancy meant that heart disease and cancer became increasingly important diseases. Since 1900, the death toll from cancer steamed relentlessly forward like a runaway freight train. The public was starting to notice, and was getting justifiably concerned.
Finally, deciding that enough was enough, then President of the United States, Richard Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971. His State of the Union address actually never mentioned the word ‘war’, instead he proposed “an intensive campaign to find a cure for cancer”. He signed The National Cancer Act into law and injected nearly $1.6 billion into cancer research. Optimism ran high. America had…
