Vanessa O’Shaughnessy, Director of Communications at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, recently shared a post by Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre on LinkedIn, adding:

“It’s Peter Mac’s 75th birthday! 75 years of working to help people with cancer.

It has been an amazing year or so of discovery in preparation for this milestone, learning so much about this remarkable organisation’s history.”

With huge thanks to everyone who works so hard to maintain the highest quality services, or to keep discovering, learning. Pushing for better.

And to our history keepers, our alumni, librarians, communicators, and some sensational volunteer archivists!”

Quoting Peter MacCallum Cancer Center’s post:

“It’s our birthday and we are celebrating with this exceptional spread in today’s Herald Sun V Weekend magazine – with cover stars David Speakman and Dineika Chandrananda.

Today marks 75 years since the first board meeting of the Cancer Institute, which went on to become Peter MacCallum Cancer Center.

Just a month prior to this, the Victorian Government established a Cancer Institute Board with two major objectives – to consolidate Victoria’s radiotherapy services and continue research into cancer and associated diseases.

It was through this act that Peter Mac was established, thanks in no small part to the campaigning of two passionate members of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria (now Cancer Council Victoria) Executive Committee, Rutherford Kaye Scott and Peter MacCallum.

At the time of the first board meeting the Cancer Institute had a budget of £30,000. It’s first operations were from one room in the Queen Victoria Hospital on William Street in Melbourne’s CBD.

It is incredible to think that from these fairly humble beginnings, Peter Mac now operates across six locations, sees almost 43,000 patients per year, and had 1027 publications last financial year alone. Not to mention the personal impact that PeterMac has in people’s lives – which is truly unquantifiable.

Please join us in thanking every person, past and present, who has been a part of Peter Mac becoming a global leader and delivering exceptional patient care to the people of Australia.

And keep your eyes peeled for some more exciting celebrations throughout the year!”

Source: Vanessa O’Shaughnessy/LinkedIn and Peter MacCallum Cancer Center/LinkedIn