History of the Southern Alberta Children's Cancer Program: The story of kids' cancer care in Calgary and Southern Alberta over the past 60 years

Research efforts to discover cancer therapies for kids dates back to the end of World War II after many experiments with mustard gas and nitrogen mustards. In 1947, Dr. Sydney Farber's group published a paper on the effects of a folic acid antagonist, inducing remission in children with leukemia. Reception of this report in the medical community was unenthusiastic! Most malignant tumours and leukemia were uniformly fatal at that time. Research scientists were not discouraged, however, and with perseverance, successful therapies followed.

Our story traces back to the early days in the organization of cancer services for children in Alberta. This includes the contributions of the many medical nursing and paramedical personnel involved in developing the program for children's cancer services for Calgary and Southern Alberta.

Our pediatric oncology clinic is a success story and is improving the survival rates and quality of life for patients. I regret the fact many of the pioneers who helped us in the early years have passed on. They were so helpful in maintaining the continuity of care and the establishment of ongoing progress in improving results in those early years.

Ross Truscott is a retired pediatrician who practiced in Calgary, Alberta, from 1962 to 1995, and part time after that until 2011. He has a long-standing interest in pediatric oncology and worked to establish a children's cancer program for Calgary and Southern Alberta.He grew up on a family farm near Alameda, Saskatchewan, and attended the University of Saskatchewan for pre-medical studies and his first two years of medicine. He graduated with his MD from the University of Alberta in 1955. He completed his pediatric training at Vancouver General and the Hospital for Sick Kids, Toronto, and pediatric pathology training at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. He and his wife, Marilyn, raised a family of five children-two sons and three daughters-and they were blessed with eight grandchildren. Marilyn passed away from cancer in 2011.