Chair, Commission on Cancer, 1965–1969
John W. Cline, MD, FACS, was born in Santa Rosa, CA, on July 2, 1898. He earned a B.A. in history at the University of California in 1921. He then served in World War I in the Nasal Reserve.
After the service, Dr. Cline attended and graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1925. Upon graduation, he completed his internship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was a resident surgeon at the Cornell division of Bellevue Hospital in New York, NY. Dr. Cline was clinical professor of surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgeon at the Stanford, San Francisco, and Children’s hospitals.
Dr. Cline served two terms as President of the American Medical Association (AMA) and served one term as President of the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Cline served as the Commission on Cancer (CoC) Chair from 1965 to 1969. In 1966 under his leadership the CoC completed a complete reorganization of the Approvals program.
During his tenure at the CoC, a contract was completed with the Division of Regional Medical Programs to develop standards for approval of Cancer Programs.
In 1971 he was a leader in the effort to retain funds in the Department of Public Health for the tumor registry. In 1972, he was the recipient of the distinguished service award from the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Cline passed away on July 11, 1974. At the time of his death, he was professor emeritus of surgery at Stanford.
Written by Cheryl Sheridan, RHIT, CTR
John W. Cline (left)
During this meeting, the gavel passed from Dr. Copeland to Dr. Cline.