Univ. Of Texas Cancer Ctr. history

First was the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which destroyed the city port of Galveston and led to the realization that Houston could become a viable and safer deep-water port; this led to the widening of the Ship Channel to offer direct access to Houston.

In 1904, his older brother Frank and Frank’s brother-in-law, Will Clayton, decided to establish a partnership to engage in buying and selling cotton.

In 1905, Ben Clayton, Will’s younger brother, was made a partner, raising the partnership to four members — two Andersons and two Claytons.

As Perry stated, Texas has had its “sights set on wiping out cancer for quite some time,” and it all started with Freeman and Bertner’s discussions “over lunches downtown and at the Rice Hotel” in the late 1930’s. , , ,

Partly for this reason, in 1936, MD Anderson created the charitable foundation that bears his name and funded it with about $300,000.

1941: Established by the Texas Legislature as the Texas State Cancer Hospital and the Division of Cancer Research.

In 1942, The University of Texas Board of Regents appointed Doctor Bertner as the director of the new hospital.

Eventually, however, M.D. Anderson took in its very first cancer patient in 1944, a man with Lymphoma.

In 1946, Doctor Bertner persuaded Doctor Randolph Lee Clark, a native Texan, to become president of what was to become The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

In 1949, architectural building plans began to make an appearance.

The public’s idea of cancer in the 1950’s was built on “images of blood and excrement,” and people who had cancer were considered dirty people, rather than people who were sick with a disease.

MD Anderson Cancer Center has been consistently accredited by The Joint Commission since 1951.

Finally, in 1954, ambulances began moving patients into the new hospital. , ,

1972: UT System reorganization led to the establishment of The University of Texas System Cancer Center, including both the hospital and research facility in Houston and the Science Park in Smithville.

He served 32 years until retirement in 1978 and was followed by Charles A. LeMaistre, M.D., who continued the great work begun by Clark.

1988: Name changed to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to incorporate the worldwide name recognition associated with MD Anderson.

The institution has been named one of the nation's top two hospitals for cancer care every year since the survey began in 1990.

The Historical Resources Center (HRC) was established in 2000 to document the history and development of MD Anderson through an Archives and Oral History Program.

In 2011, Former Governor Rick Perry announced the establishment of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Since the breakthrough that earned Doctor Allison the 2018 Nobel Prize, immunotherapy has been incorporated into treatment plans for numerous types of cancer.

Through the challenges of Fiscal Year 2020, MD Anderson found opportunities and silver linings.