HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1984-03-28, Page 39HOPE Page 15
London clinic first in world to use "cobalt bomb'
The London Clinic of the Ontario Cancer
Foundation was the first treatment centre in
the_. World, to- have a. COMMerd_01 P.0.114-60
beam therapy Ina,. the ha& Ina_ Chine for
radidtherapytetween the 1950s and the late
1970s.
Althoughthe unit was known as the
"cobalt bomb", this Canadian development
constituted one of the first peacetime ap-
plications of atomic energy devoted to the
restoration of health rather than to destruc-
tion.
The unit was installed in-tha-clinc at the -
Victoria Hospital in November 1951. The
cobalt -60 used in the bomb was in the Na-
tional Research Council's reactor at Chalk
River, Ontario. The housing for the unit was
designed and built by Eldorado Mining and
Refining (1944) Ltd. - a Canadian Crown
Corporation. At that time, the Canadian
atomic pile was the only one in the world to
produce sizeable quantities of radioactive
cobalt.
The first patient treated in November 1951
at the London unit with the "cobalt bomb"
received the first of millions of treatment
given. since to prolong lives of people in
many countries around the world.
Funds for the new cobalt therapy unit at
London, as for many otherdevices essential
• for modern cancer treatment, were provid-
- - - ed -by Federal .and -matching Provincial
Cancer Control Grants, under a program
administered in Ontario by the Foundation.
Even as the historic cobalt unit went into
operation in Victoria Hospital, the Founda-
tion and the hospital's Board of Directors
were completing plans for an expanded
cancer clinic.
On November 18, 1954, the London Clinic
was opened by Premier Leslie Frost, on two
floors of the new wing of Victoria Hospital.
The clinic was closely allied with the
University of Western Ontario in both
teaching and research. One of its features
was a mural,.....priyately. donated., which
depicted the use of atomic energy—in
medicine, a fitting decoration for a clinic
which had broken new ground in the use of
this new form of energy.
In 1958, two new additions to the London
4
1
Clinic were made possible by contributions
from the Canadian Cancer Society from the
Foundations reserve funds for cbnic con-
struction, and frijol govermnent grants.- One
addition housed a -stall -Cobalt nem
therapy unit while the other housed
laboratory and recreational therapy area.
By this time, the London Clinic had a Divi-
sion of Nuclear Medicine which carried out
research into the use of isotopes in the
diagnosis and treatment of both benign and
malignant disease. Specialists from the
clinic _taught et the University of Western
Ontario • and gave course in nuclear
medicine.
On November 22, 1961, the cornerstone
was laid for a new hostel provided by the
Canadian Cancer Society Ontario Division.
The hostel, which opened in 1962, provided
living accommodations for 20 patients, who
came from a distance for treatment at the
clinic. In that same year, the University of
Western Ontario, in recognition of the high
standard of therapy and clinical research of
the London Clinic, established the Depart-
ment of Therapeutic Radiology and ap-
pointed Dr. Ivan Smith; the clinic's director,
as Head with the rank of full Professor.
In 1966, the London Clinic again made
history when it installed a 35 -million -volt
Brown-Boveri Betatron, the first unit of its
•kind in Ontarte_ahAtelle_elAWAILLI_gana4_
The Betatron, which produced high-energy
beta or gamma rays, rapidly became a
leader in high-energy radiotherapy equip-
ment. A second addition to Victoria Hospital
provided more examination rooms, space
for research and for the clinical use of
isotopes.
The costs of cancer treatment and
research were mounting: in 1966 the
Betatron unit cost $260,000 whereas just 12
years before could be purchased for $47,000.
On April 3, 1970, a new wing was added to
the London hostel - Thameswood Lodge.
•Much of thelinancing for_This. extension
cazilefrombopiests-from-the estates of Lon-.
don residents.
In November 1975, through an agreement
with Atomic Energy of CanadilAniited, the
London Clinic acquired the latest form of
• Chemotherapy...
• from page 14.
A decrease in the white blood cell will
make the patient more vulnerable to
infections. A decreased number of red cells
can result in anemia and give symptoms of
shortness of breath, weakness and fatigue.
A decrease in the platelet count can result in
bruising easily, getting a rash of little blood
blisters under the skin or even internal
bleeding.
Effects on hair—Hair follicles are rapidly
growing cells, and temporary hair loss (riot
only from the scalp, but also of body hair) is
a • common side effect of many
• chemotherapeutic agents. This loss is
occasionally total, but hair does grow back
when the drug therapy is stopped.. Wigs and _
hairpieces are tax-deductible medical
expenses and may also be covered by
medical insurance.
Effects on fertility—Women who are still
menstruating may have irregular periods or
cease to menstruate altogether for a time.
• Menopausal symptoms may occur.
Conception may still be possible however
and birth control should be discussed since
the potentially hazardous effects of
anticancer drugs on the fetus make
pregnancy at this time unadvisable. Once
chemotherapy is stopped, conception and
normal pregnancy may be possible.
• •
In men, the number and viability of sperm
may be reduced. During chemotherpay,
• therefore, many men are sterile, although
with no loss of potency. When drug therapy
is discontinued, some men regain normal
function of the testes, but fertility may be
permanently impaired by these drugs.
It is important to remember that while
chemotherapy may have effects on fertility,
• it usually has noCilia on one's ability to
have sexual relations.
Miscellaneous side effects—The patient
who is receiving chemotherapy should know
that some drugs may cause other side
effects not listed here. •
radiation - a Therac 6 linear accelerator.
This unit, one of a new generation of ae...
eelera..tors,i prothices-powerful regoEtteams-
WV-Ante of deeper' Penetration tteatitient
-4101e4vithithe-atederattoriifiimuch -shorter
than with the older cobalt units. After the
accelerator passed its clinical trials, it was
treating 35 to 40.patients a day.
As did the other Foundation clinics, the
London Clinic entered the 1980s hoping to ex-
pand its facilities so as to handle .eNer-
hicreasing patient load. lilt Arne PR" I140.
De&brient of Nuclear Mildfale
biennia a separate departineriAliecaTise
the growing complexity and diversity of its
investigative procedures. The clinic's other
components moved into the space vacated
by this department.
ntario Foundation builds
world reputation in battle
Since 1943 the Ontario Cancer Treatment
and Research Foundation has been battling
that complex and formidable collection of
diseases known as "cancer".
Without fanfare, the Foundation's clinics
and staff have built a reputation for being
among the first in the nation and the world
to develop and to use the newest equipment
and tactics in this medical war. •
It was in Ontario that the first cancer pa-
tient was treated with radiation from the
Canadian -developed "cobalt bomb" and, in
fact, the setup of. the Foundation's network
•_of_sey_eri_ regional cancer centres was a
world model in medical organization.
Over these past 41 years, somelorms of
cancer have been beaten back; in fact, some
have virtually disappeared as a major pro-
blem. Other forms - ,and there are many -
have grown; their forces fed by factors still
unknown in some cases.
The battle against this frustrating enemy,
began in Ontario, officially, in 1931. Before
that year, the only methods of treatment for
cancer were surgical and the little -
understood power of radiation - the killing of
cancer cells with the rays from radium or
laterfrom high voltage x-rays.
•At thebeghming of. the 1930s; cancer had
already taken over the number two spot in
the macabre mortality ratings war; at ages
50-69 it ranked first. Statistics showed the
• disease was increasing throughout North
America and Europe.
Two of the reasons for the increase were
that people were living longer and more
were reaching the age group most suscepti-
ble to the common forms of the disease, and
also that cancer was being diagnosed more
frequently as techniques and training of
doctors improved. Discounting these fac-
tors, however, there was little doubt cancer
was increasing.
In Ontario, in 1931, cancer of the stomach
accounted for 212 of each 1,000 cancer
deaths. Lung cancer struck only 22 out of
each 1,000. Today, these figues have been
turned around: stomach cancer causes only
about six per cent of cancer deaths in men,
while lung cancer causes about 31 per cent
of male cancer deaths. Obviously, cancer is
not a disease that remains constant: it is
dynamic and changes as lifestyles and oc-
cupational hazards change. •
In the late 1920s, in an international sense,
the approach to the fight against cancer was
• inconsistent as well. The United States had a
• vigorous, questioning cancer community
which, in true American spirit, was often in
the forefront in the use of the most radical
treatments and in the most probing resear-
ch.
The French were sophisticated and were
leaders in research and in radiation. The
Swedes had, by far, the best social system to
support those suffering from cancer.
Belgium, too, had an advanced cancer
establishment helped by a population and
government that gave unstintingly to
medical causes and helped, too, by the fact,
its Belgian Congo provided 95 per cent of the
world's supply of raditun.
All nations faced: problems: a
public frightened of 'cancer - a le who
delayed in seeking treatment many
cancers :wire inoperable; a body of physi-
cians without proper training in treating or I
even detecting cancer in the patients.
In 1928, in London, leading surgeons of
hosted an International Cancer Congress to
tell the world's physicians about their work
and success in the use of radium. This was
the first detailed account of success with
radium treatment and the conference firm-
ly placed radium in the front rank of cancer
treatment everywhere.
The following year, 1930, Dr. Hebert A.
Bruce, then the owner of Toronto's
Wellesley Hospital, toured the chief radium
centre in London and came home to launch a
crusade to convince the provincial govern-
ment to buy this new material for the pro-
viunce's fight against cancer. •- --
At the same time, Dr. Gordon Richards
was also continuing his 10 -year long cam-
paign to persuade the Toronto General
Hospital to buy radium and set up a radium.
institute. Dr. Richards later became the
first medical director of the Ontario Cancer
Treatment and Research Foundation:
The provincial government " was being
• pressed by a number of hospitals throughout
Ontario to help them purchase radium, as
well. Finally, the Ontario Medical Associa-
tion (OMA) threw its weight behind the
drive to bring radium into use against
cancer. There was some urgency because
many doctors were becoming enthusiastic
about the use of radiation, and there was
• growing concern about the small amounts of
radium being used without supervision by
private practitioners and clinics throughout
the province. As the doctors had pointed out
in London, in 1928, radium was a dangerous
material in the hands of untrained persons.
The OMA urged the government to set up a
Royal Commission to investigate the whole
subject of cancer treatment in Ontario.
In June 1931, the government set up the
Royal Commission on the use of radium and
x-rays in the treatment of the sick, etc.,
• known nuoreinformally as the Cody Com-
mission after its chairman - Henry John
,Cody. The commission produced a com-
prehensive picture of the world's cancer
establishnients, a closer look at the Cana-
dian scene and focussed on the shortcom-
• Turn to page 16 •
I I I
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