Philip Morris
Semi-Annual Report to the New York City Cancer Committee
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- Pitou
- Robbins, G.F.
- Rorschach
- Sutherland, A.
- Tagnon, H.J.
- Clemmenssen
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- NCI, Natl Cancer Inst
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- Ny Univ
- Presbyterian Hospital
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- Ski, Sloan-Kettering Inst
- Strang Prevention Clinic
- Univ of Co
- Univ of Ks Hospital
- Utica Memorial Hospital
- Yale Univ
- Alfred P Sloan Foundation
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- 1003072897/2915
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SE.NL -ANTNUAL REPORT
TO
THE rMW YORK CITY CANCER COMITTEE
January 1, 1951 - June 30, 1951
NEMORIAL CENTER FOR CANCER AND ALLIED DISEASES

1
I. WMICAL EDUCATION FUND $169,620.00
The New York City Cancer Committee, through its support
of members of the Faculty of Medical Education, has continued to
play a major role in~Memorial Center's education program.
The Underlying Philosophy
Care of the cancer patient as a whole is a guiding
principle of Memorial Center. It involves first treatment through
the cooperative effort of the various special skills assembled.
Secondly, it embodies the realization that cure or control of the
disease is meaningless if the patient is not returned to a useful
and happy existence. Thirdly, it is based upon growing scientific
data which reveal that cancer is accompanic:d by a general disturbance
of bodily function greater than can be understood in terms of the
mere physical presence of a neoplastic grosrth.
From this principle has evolved, at the Memorial Center,
a new program of professional education. The curriculum has been
revised to cut across the old boundaries of didactic training. Men
specialtzing in internal medicine are instructed'in the fundamentals
of surgical procedures. Surgeons and radiation therapists become
familiar wi~h the supportive medical techniques for the cancer patient
and the new tools of chemotherapy. Thus each learns what the others'
specialities have to offer and each is stimulated and encouraged to
call upon the others' skills for the greater benefit of the patient
committed to his care.
Under this new program, rehabilitation is coneidered of major
importance. Dr. Arthur Sutherland, a psychiatrist trained in general
med_c-1ne, has been adaPd to the full-time staff to study the psycho-
locical effects of cancer and. of the radical surgery its treatment
may req:aire. Dr. Suthe-rla:n.d, as part of this long-term study, has
,jiist completed an i.ntensive investigation on the adjustments to a
colcstomy (an artificial bowel opening, inithe abdominal wa.il) of
62 clinic patients. Frcrait.zis studY, he has been able to determine
the basic factors, both physical and. psychol.,)gical, essential for a
good ad~ustr~ent to this al~~tered physic4l state. His preliminary re-
port stresses the neceGsi_t*y of inst:~tuting a program of rehabilitation
~
in these patients before neurotic behavior patterns centering around
the colostomy have a chance to crystallize. There are preliminary indications that by the Rorschacil
test it may be possible to deter-
mine, preoperatively, the patients who will respond badly to a
G
0

2
colostomy and so institute preventive psychiatric treatment in
these cases. In addition to this program of research, Dr.
Sutherland and his co-workers, a clinical psychologist and a
psychiatric social worker, stand by to help the individual
patient in need of psychiatric guidance. Dr. Sutherland's
participation in Memorial's teaching program is made possible
through the New York City Cancer Committee.
Social Service, physical retrainizig, vocational guidance
and recreational therapy are also receiving increased emphasis in
both the teaching and treatment programs. These activities in the
field of rehabilitation reflect the new concept of professional
responsibility - not merely to eradicate the disease but to re-
store the patient to a useful and satisfactory place in 1ii.s home
and community.
Palliation, long accepted in other chronic diseases such
as cardiac and vascular disorders, is becoming increasingly important
in total cancer care. Those patients whose disease is too general-
ized for cure by mechanical eradication have now been brought into
the area of intensive study. Previously deemed of little interest
because capable of little benefit, they now are treated by new
procedures of radiation therapy, radical surgery and chemotherapy.
From this new trend in cancer treatment has come not only relief
of suffering, increased pat!.ent morale, and prolonged useful life
for the individual, but also a more complete understanding on the
part of the staff and the student of the natural history of the
disease and of the problems, psychological and physical, faced
by those of its victims who were formerly classified as hopeless
and sent home to die.
A major factor in the Memorial Center's programof care and
education is the Sloan-Kettering Institute, the research unit. The
close physical proximity of laboratory bench and hospital bedside
has led, as it was intended, to a steadily growing mutual under-
standing between those who strive to employ and perfect the conven-
tional methods of attack and those who seek new weapons against the
diaease.
one such successful cooperative venture was the study
undertaken by the Chemotherapy Service of the Sloan-Kettering In-
st-11,-ute with the cooperation of the Breast Service of the Hospital
to investigate the use of male and female sex hormones in the
treatment of inoperable breast cancer. Under this program the
criteria have been estwblished by which these agents can be used
most effectively. Now the study is being extended to investigate
the comparative effects of newly available hormonal compounds and of
comained radiation therapy in these cases. During the last year a
similar concerted attack against cancer of the rectum and large

3
bowel was initiated which w:lk.ll join the resources of the Gastric
and Rectal Services of the Hospital with those of the Institute.
Last June, the Sloan-Kettering Institute was incorporated
as the Sloan-Kettering Division of Cornell University Medical
College. By this agxec*ment, the s-Faff of the Institute will
acquire full academ:*,c s tand.t.Lg. T:zu3 t:le skills, experience and
facilities developed under our canc-nr re3earch program can be
more effectively used for the tEacLiug of can~lj.datPs for advanced
degrees in the physical and bioiog?.cai sciences.
The Program~
Against this background the program of training for medical
students and graduate students has taken shape. Since a detailed re-
port of our graduate training program was included in Memorial's
annual report to the New York City Cancer Comm:.ttee and since there
have been few changes in its operation, the present report is
centered around our undergraduate training course.
Medical students from New York University, New York
Medical College and Cornell Medical College are offered a special
course on cancer at Memorial Center as a fourth-year elective.
These students come to us in groups numbering not more than fifteen
for periods of one month each. During the past year, eighty-two
medical students have participated in the program.
During the one-mor_.th period, we attempt to give the
students a picture of the natural life history of cancer. Special
emphasis is placed upon the procedures of early detection and
diagnosis since those of the students who become general practi-
tioners will have particular responsibility in this area. A survey
of what surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy can offer in
the various forms and stages of the disease is presented. Fiaally,
the students are grounded in the roles that nuzsing, social service
and psychiatry can play in restoring the patient to maxim,= useful-
ness, prodtrctivity and individual happiness.
Two years ago it was decided that our broad goals for
undergraduate education could best be met throughthe tutorial
system of training. It was felt that only th_rough such a system
could we focus on the patient rather than on the individual disci-
plines which may play a part in his care. In terms of medical edu-
cation,thas was a revolutionary concept. Our results so far under
this system and our response from the individual students have, we
believe, not only ,jsstii'ied our effort but indicated that the system
could be used to advantage in other teaching hospitals.

4
Under our present program, the students are subdivided
into small groups of two or three each. In these groups, they
meet with members of the resident staff for teaching rounds through
the wards every morning and also attend the regular outpatient
clinic sessions of the various services on a rotation schedule.
The rounds with tutors enable the s~udents to see patients before,
during and after treatmenic and to comprehend the problems involved
inithe total management of the individual with cancer.
A member of the Department of Pathology meets with the
students three afternoons a week. At this time, the pathologist
demonstrates and discusses the day's most interesting surgical or
autopsy specimen and so leads the students to an understanding of
the role of pathology in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment
of the cancer patient. The participation of several of our patholo-
gists in these meetings is made possible by the New York City Cancer
Committee.
The entire group meets together for orientation lectures,
service conferences, grand~rounds, clinical pathology conferences
and end result conferences. The students receive special lectures
on~rehabilitation, nursing problems, radiation physics, x-ray diagno-
sis, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and pain control. These formal
discussions are constantly followed up by regular informal consulta-
tions between the tutor and the smaller student groups.
Special stress is laid in this program upon the Admitting
Clinic where patients with cancer first present themselves for
diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, the students visit the Strang
Prevention Clinic where they are shown the procedures of examining
apparently well men and women for possible latent cancer and are
instructed in the use of special diagnostic equipment which can be
employed in private practice. Here they are under the direct super-
vision of Dr. Emerson Day, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine
at Cornell andDirector of the Strang Clinic. Dr. Day's participation
in this phase of the education program also depends upon the support
of the New York City Cancer Committee.
The activities culminate at the end of each week in a special
conference held every Saturday morning in which one case seen in~the
hosnital is presented for general discussion~. In addition to the
comU.ned groups of students and their tutors, representatives from
the suroical, medical, pathology, pharmacology, radiology and re-
habilitation services atten&. These conferences:are planned to
last two hours, but as a rule the problems raised are sufficiently
stimulating to make the discussions last thirty to sixty minutes
longer than scheduled.
In addition to these meetings with the students, all tutors

meet with representatives of the resident staff and the chairman
of the education committee at monthly dinners. These meetings are
held to discuss problems encountered in the undergrad.uate teaching
program and, through these discussions, to indoctrinate younger
men of our own staff into the philosophy of teaching at Memorial
Center .
Under a new program, planned and instituted this year
and offered during the summer months, a group of medical students,
cor.s9:.st.ing mostly of second-year men from Cornell Medical College,
will serve in the Memcrial Center as members of the cancer nursing
staff. These young men, after a preliminary course of indoctrina+.ion,
either will be giveathe opportunity to work as technical assistants
in the operating room or will be charged with the supervised prepara-
tion of patients for operations and the observation of patients in
the immediate postoperative period. This program is felt to offer
a unique opportunity for young men iatraining to gain first= :a.nd
knowledge of the new tools and procedures involved in supportive
therapy for radical surgery.
In the next academic year, the program for medical
students will be further expanded. At the request of the depart-
ment of Medicine of Cornell University, a series of lectures cle-
siened'to indoctrinate medical students into the clinical as-pects
of c:ncer treatment have been planned. These lectures, to be
gjvc.none hour each week for eleven weeks, will place special
emphaq±s on rehabilitation and palliative therapy of cancer patients.
The siza jects to be covered include: treatment of lymphoma and of
lzu!c=ma.a; managemeut of inoperable cancer of the breast; palliation
of i zopera.b_'_e pelric cancer; construction and care of a colostomy;
ana gonAra'_ rehabilitaticn problems of the cancer patient. PaviPnts
at vaii:oiis 9ts.gAa in thpir treatment will be presented to the class
and the d_scuszlon will focus on these individual cases.
This series of eleven lectures will be offered three
times a year in o:r7er to limit the s_ze of the classes to about
thirty each. The course will be compulsory.
The mPac~?.ers
Nf^re than any other educational method, the tutorial
system dereaas on the of the men c'^os::n to ,Taid;, and in-
si,ru::t. We foel we are pa-,. ;icv.iar.ly fortiuiwce in the caliber of
the younger men ot:' or staff wno lend the_r s~_-i-.ices to the teaching
pt n,-,.~ram. 'Mos a of tlr^m ^c:ne to A4 ,ICcr;al Center early in t;~eir
car. ec,rs and s iiir:ii^d ~n ch u:; di..z i.ug t'.:e:.r perio6s of reside-acy
training. They are not only prot~:cie.a-` inl taei_ in~livi3.u?.1 skills
but thoL"^L2,"riil<J a:vlc3,re of all the ac:ti'.'J.'Gi es of the Center and the
broa,t p.roblez,3 of cancer care, Most of them already have made
major contributions to:the work here.

6
Dr. Guy F. Robbins, for example, came to Memorial first
in 1940 as an assistant resident. He was called into the army in
1942 and served overseas until 1945 when he returned, under a
National Cancer Institute Fellowship, to complete his surgical
trainirg. Now he holds an appointment as surgeon on the Breast
Service, but'his scope of influence spreads far beyond this activi-
ty. Dr. icbbins' genuine friendliness and interest in others have
been instrumental in breaking down the barriers separating the
var:.ous medical disciplines as well as in boosting the morale of
b:is patie-: tc . As a doctor, he feels a personal responsibility for
the overall welfa.re of the patients that extends far beyond the
surgical removal of their disease. This concern, evident in his
day-to-day practice, is further reflected in his studies on the
causes for delay in cancer diagnosis. These seek to define and so
to overcome this grave hazard to the cancer patient. Dr. Robbins'
natural qualities of leadership, which came to light early in his
career hare, made him one of the first to be called upon to serve
as a tutor when the system was initiated. He is now also Secretary
to the Committee on Medical Education. In this capacity he lends
his abundant energy to the overall planning of the program as well
as its execution.
Another of the leaders in Memorial's educational program
is Dr. Henry J. Tagnon. His function in this capacity also is made
FoLs.iblie by the New York City Cancer Committee. Dr. Tagnon appears
com?lt-czly opposite Upersonality to the brisk, genial Dr. Robbins
but rf.hira his quiet, almost reticent, manner lies an equally quick
s.nr: hignlJ eT'ficient intellect. Dr. Tagnon was born in Belgium and
receised his early medical training abroad. After study at Harvard,
he car.ie to Worial in 191+6 as an American Cancer Society Fellow.
Early in his stay here Dr. Tagnon made a survey of the hospital:
wh.fc,h."ravealyd that 65 per cent of all patients admitted to the
wards for w.z.rgPrf suffer°d from some medical illness of such an
ex',Pnt and severit3r that, even in the absence of cancer, their
a&ni ssion to the medical service of a general hospital would have
been just'_-fied, As a result of this survey, a separate department
of generwl med,:c].nE was esyablishcd in the hospital i.n 1947, at which
time he .a.ss^u:ed the hig'rliy impe,rtaat function of supervising the
general mzlical care of cancer patients and. of instructing others
in the mc,ra;;ement of individuals with medical problems who are about
to u:.de.?gc. ;mvjor 4tLgery or other trna:,nce:ats. Dr. '"agnon also holds
an apOVLtnOnt in the S7_oaz-.{n;':tering Institute and has found time
to co-sdur.;; imaortant or;.oinal research. He has made valuable con-
tr:::botions to l~c?r] rc:g2 concerning the clotting of blood and is
no-T emps.SQd in invcst:.ga,tina, the possibility that failure of the
liver to neutralize the female sex horraone may cause the development
of certain forms of cancer in women.
These two men, whose leadership in the fields of both treat-
ment and education has already made itself felt, are representative

7
of the entire group of staff ine!~oers selected as teachers under the
Memorial system. It is through such men that the Memorial philosophy
has d'eveloped and by them~tY:at we feel it can be best interpreted to
young men just beginning their careers.
The Memorial Center now comprises a research unit, a
detection center, two hospitals and a newly completed outpatient
building. As Memorial garorrs, not only in physical size but in
experience, we feel with increasing keenness our responsibility
to draw upon these facilities for the education of those who will
serve the cancer patient here and in other communities.

8
II. NI3RSING EDUCATION FUND $18,420.00
Through the support of the New York City Cancer Committee,
Memorial Center has been able to provide stipends for the members of
the : ac:al:,y of Nu..TMsing Education. The well qualified individuals
t:w.s: suppnrt°d ha.-ve offered to both graduate and undergraduate young
women special train;ng in the skills, techniques, and philosophy
necessary for the cancer nurse.
A. University program in cancer nursing
Offered jointly by Memorial Center and New York
Un;.versity, this course has been completed in 1951 by 24 students,
all of whom are graduate nurses holding positions elsewhere. Three
of these are public health nurses who have come from various visit-
ing nurses associations throughout the country and 21 are institu-
tional nurses from a number of hospitals in Maine, New York, Okla-
homr., and other states. The program is given~in a concentrated
block of 4 to 6 weeks on a full-time, 40-hour-a-week basis with
individual counseling and close supervision.
B. Und.ergrad:aate program in cancer nursing
llur.i_ng the first six months of 1951, a total of
18 studPnts have been ayc:epterl and have successfully completed their
st,z,-;* i-s at riicmorial. T:zf s course is planned to operate over a
lon`er perior: th,:.7 the graduate course, hence it gives the students
an oppor±unity to practice the specialized hechnioues wliich they
learn. The following schools of nursing are represented:
4 weeks - Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 1
8 wezks - FrFsbyterian Hospital, New Yo_k,N.Y. 4
8 wes:I.ts - Utice. Nemor_.al Hosni tal, Utica, N.Y. 7
12 weeks - Faxton Hospital, Utica, N.Y. 6
Total number of students: 18
Scholarship proQ.ram-s in cancer nursi ng
TY`rQP, r;c:-.ciJ.arship progra*os are ciL^ren+ly una.erway
in thP Department of Pi~.:'s i:ih T'iN-e cc::ip_ ize the inEtruction of 18
scaol«:sh+:~~ r.~urses by tne (;nr.ter,s n xs;:i.g starf . These are all
C" t'~e Tu;,sea wrichci~z pos =tions in vuz~in~a ina:ituti~unselsekher.e.
A taouiat_on reveals wiie geog:.,aphical coverage:
1) Sloan ScholarGbi:p Progrram: Throigh the generosity
of the Alfred P. S oan Fourclaion, u number of scholarships

9
have been made available to European and Canadian nurses.
The following began studying at Memorial in January; some,
as indicated, have completed the course:
1 scholarship nurse for 7 months - Canada
1 scholarship nurse for 6 months - Denmark
2 scholarship nurses for 6 months - England
1 scholarship nurse for 7 months - England
2 scholarship narses for 6 months - Norway
3 scholarship nurses for 12 months - Norway
2 scholarship nurses for 6 months - Sweden
12 scholarship nurses
2) Akron Scholarship Program: Three scholarship nurses
from Akron, Ohio, have been studying and obtaining specialized
experience at Memorial since January, 1951. These young women
completed their work here at the end of July.
3) Argentine Scholarship Program: Thirteen scholar-
ship nurses from Argentina have come for a two-year period of
training at the Center. An additional instructor has been
attached to our nursing staff to supervise this phase of our
scholarship program.
D. Participation i~nspecial education programs:
Members of the faculty of Nursing Education have
participated in the following special education programs:
Planning and Public Demonstration of the Memorial
Center Civil Defense First A:d Station:at Kips
Bay Health Center - Miss Pitou, Miss Johnson
Development of Memorial's Casualty Committee and
Civil Defense Program - Miss Pitou, Miss Kopsch
Program for the ScholarShip Nurses at the Plaza Hotel
- Mrs. Patterson, Miss johnson
Week's tour of Vermont hospitals under the auspices of
the American Cancer Society - Mrs. Coleman
National League of Nursing Education~monthly meeting
- Mrs. Colemany Mrs. Patterson
