The Canadian Cancer Society was officially formed in 1938, but the seeds for the Society were planted back in 1929 when the Saskatchewan Medical Association formed the country’s first cancer committee.
This committee responded to growing concern by doctors that people were not aware of the signs of cancer. By the time people consulted a doctor, their cancer was advanced and their chances for survival were decreased. Cancer committees in other provincial medical associations followed, and in 1931 the Canadian Medical Association’s National Study Committee on Cancer was formed.
In 1947, the National Cancer Institute of Canada now the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute was formed through an agreement between the Canadian Cancer Society and the Department of National Health and Welfare. Since then, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute have worked towards a common goal while retaining their own identities and purposes.
www.cancer.ca - 12517 - The Canadian Cancer Society
