Past, Present, and Future Leaders of Cancer Research

By: Cassandra van Drunen

“It’s got to keep going without me” - Terry Fox

The leading cause of death in Canada. An estimated 617 Canadian diagnosed with it everyday in 2020, and 228 dying from it every 24 hours. One in Two Canadians is expected to develop it in their lifetimes. Knowing all of these statistics, it’s no wonder people don’t want to hear the word ‘cancer’ with regards to their families, friends, and loved ones. Globally, political and scientific leaders have put extraordinary efforts into fighting this illness. Leaders of the past have helped pave the way for the current leaders, who are working to help cure cancer in the future.

Many science leaders of the past, including Paul Ehrilcih, for his discovery of the immune surveillance hypothesis, and George Papanicolaou, for his creation of the pap smear, should be commended for their incredible work in helping to tackle cancer. However, a man I will focus on is Sidney Farber, the “father of modern chemotherapy”. A world-renowned paediatric pathologist from Boston, Farber is most well known for his 1948 study where he demonstrated that folic acid antagonists, including 4-aminopteroyl-glutamic acid (aminopterin), could provide temporary remission in children with acute undifferentiated leukaemia. This discovery led to the creation and use of other chemotherapeutic agents, singly or in combination.

Not only was cancer research reflective of his impeccable leadership, but Farber also started the “Jimmy Fund”, which worked to raise money for Farber and other researchers to treat and cure childhood leukemia. He was also insistent on developing what is now known as ‘total care’. He was a firm believer that all care required for cancer patients should be provided in one place so that everyone involved in the treatment could plan together, highlighting his impeccable leadership qualities. Farber, along with other scientists of his day, should be given the highest gratitude for their contributions to modern-day cancer treatment.

Another incredible female scientist who left her mark on cancer research was Jimmie Holland, the founder of “psycho-oncology”. During her career, she was an advocate for supporting the emotional and psychological needs of individuals suffering from cancer. To accomplish this goal, Holland created the aforementioned “psycho-oncology”, which combined both psychology and oncology so that the psychological ailments associated with cancer treatment could be addressed simultaneously in 1984. Her work to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and further advance modern cancer treatment has not gone unnoticed, defying the fact that many scientific women of history have been less recognized or acknowledged for their incredible achievements. William Breitbart, the current Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has described Holland as “a cancer pioneer, a remarkable woman, and a once-in-a-generation influencer”.

While cancer research is highly important to develop cancer treatments and cures, funding and political backing help researchers to do this work. American leaders such as President Franklin Roosevelt, who established the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1937 and President Richard Nixon who established the National Cancer Act in 1971, used their positions to help aid what Nixon described as the ‘war on cancer’. On the other side of the border, Terry Fox found his own way to garner cancer awareness and funding through his Marathon of Hope. After being diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 18 and having his leg amputated, Terry Fox decided he would run across Canada, from shore to shore, to raise money to fight cancer at the age of 22. Even though he had to end his marathon early due to his cancer resurging, in 1981, a year after Terry Fox started his run, he had raised over $24 million dollars. Since then, Terry Fox has inspired individuals globally to raise over $800 million dollars to support cancer research.

Due to the aforementioned leaders, the future of cancer research is bright. As we continue to make scientific advancements, the face of cancer treatment and knowledge will change for the better. While some have used research grants and past advancements to pioneer potential vaccine treatments for cancers, others have developed artificial intelligence tools that will be able to predict future cancers. As long as we continue to support cancer research, and are guided by impeccable leaders in the field, we will hopefully be able to shrink this growing mortality rate.