The year 1956 marked a significant step forward in cancer treatment for patients across the Ottawa region when Mayor Charlotte Whitton officially opened an expanded Cancer Clinic — funded by the Lions Club of Ottawa — and new Cobalt 60 Beam Therapy Unit at the Civic Hospital. Built by Atomic Energy Canada, this innovative technology, dubbed the “cobalt bomb,” allowed gamma radiation to be focussed directly on cancerous cells and revolutionized cancer treatment at the time.
Then Health Minister Paul Martin said the technology allowed the Civic Hospital to add “a powerful new weapon to its armory in the continuing fight against this disease.”
Cancer care later moved to the General Campus of The Ottawa Hospital, expanding in 2009 with the opening of The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, operating out of both an east and west site. Today, The Ottawa Hospital is home to one of best-equipped cancer treatment centres and one of the most advanced cancer research programs in the country.
Photo credit: Courtesy of HSC Winnipeg
