Milestones in treatment

1830 Microscope discovered. Doctors can identify cancerous cells. 1846Anesthesia introduced, making surgery more tolerable. Early surgeries involve holding a chloroform-soaked rag over the patient's mouth and operating as quickly as possible. Cutting into the chest could result in collapsed lung and death. 1895German physicist Konrad Roentgen discovers X-rays, giving doctors a clear view of the lungs in living patients. 1898Marie and Pierre Curie discover the radioactive element radium, which leads to experiments with radiation therapy to kill cancer cells. 1919Lung cancer cases are rare. In his article "Cigarette Century," John Meyer tells how in 1919, medical students at a St. Louis hospital were encouraged to observe an autopsy on a lung cancer patient because doctors believed they wouldn't have the chance to see the condition again.

CHART Prevalence of smoking (requires Flash)

1920Smoking among men becomes common as mass production of cigarettes grows. Twenty years later, lung cancer rates in males begin to rise. 1928Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. Combined with the emergence of other antibiotics like streptomycin in 1943, doctors can combat bacterial infection following lung surgery. 1930About one in four cancer patients live five years. Surgery remains the main option to treat cancer, but it's only successful on small, localized cancers. Unless surgeons can keep the heart beating through the operation, chest surgery remains risky. 1920-1940Radiation therapy to treat cancerous tumours becomes more common, but early therapy machines delivered low-energy X-ray beams that couldn't penetrate deep. The therapy had little effect. Canada's first radium mine opens in 1933 in the Northwest Territories as provincial governments begin to buy supplies. Legislators struggle to develop laws to regulate radium supplies. 1938The Canadian Cancer Society forms to try to teach the public about early cancer warning signs. 1940-1960 Radiation therapy improves and machines deliver narrower, higher-energy beams. Any tumor shrinkage is usually temporary, however. During the 1950s, Canadian scientists isolate the highly radioactive cobalt-60 isotope that can penetrate deeply with high-energy beams. These machines require rooms with lead walls because of the danger of exposure to the rays.

CHART Lung cancer mortality rates (requires Flash)

1940Lung cancer begins to appear as an epidemic in males, 20 years after smoking rates in males start to rise. Baffled by the lack of lung cancer cases among women during the decade, some doctors attempt to treat male lung cancer patients with female hormones. 1944Second World War soldiers are exposed to mustard gas during a 1943 ship explosion in an Italian harbour, leaving them with abnormally low white blood cell counts. Scientists reason it could help patients with lymphomas (cancer of white blood cells), which sparks research into chemotherapy drugs. 1940-1960Radiation therapy improves as technology offers greater accuracy and higher voltages during treatment, computers help calculate radiation doses. 1940Dr. Edward Kent and Dr. Brian Blades publish first extensive surgical anatomy of the lungs, laying out basic surgical principles for lower lobectomy (removal of a lobe.) 1944Smoking rates for women begin to rise as it became more socially acceptable for anyone to smoke. Lung cancer rates in women begin to rise 20 years later. 1951MPs vote down first parliamentary resolution to investigate link between smoking and health, saying there is not enough evidence. 1953British scientists James Watson and Francis Crick publish article concluding the structure of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule is a double helix. The discovery launches the era of molecular biology, as scientists study why genes mutate to form cancerous cells. 1956The first cure of a metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread from its original location) by chemotherapy drug. British medical study provides statistical proof that tobacco smoking increases the risk of lung cancer. 1961The Canadian Medical Association establishes cigarette smoking as a principle factor in the growth of lung cancer. 1965Smoking rates in males peak. Late 1970sSmoking rates in females peak. 1970-2000Stable machines, higher radiation levels and devices to better direct beams leads to higher success rates with radiation therapy. Improved imaging technology like ultrasounds, MRIs and CT scans let doctors accurately locate lung cancers by delivering cross-sectional and 3-D images of bones, organs and vessels. 1985Death rates from lung cancer in males peak, about 20 years after smoking rates peaked. 1988Government of Canada passes the country's first anti-tobacco legislation. It limits the promotion of tobacco products, restricts tobacco access for young people and increases health information on tobacco packaging. 2000Death rates from lung cancer in females levels off, about 20 years after smoking rates peaked. 2005Lung cancer is the cancer responsible for the most deaths in men and women in Canada. Survival rates remain low - 60 per cent of people diagnosed with lung cancer will die within one year.

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