Chair, Committee on Cancer, 1964–1965

Murray M. Copeland, MD, FACS, chaired the Committee on Cancer from 1964-65. He was a graduate of Oglethorpe University in his native Georgia. He earned his medical doctorate at Johns Hopkins University, received surgical training at the Mayo Clinic, and was a clinical fellow in cancer research at the Memorial Hospital in New York City. Dr. Copeland served with the Army Medical Corps in the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters during World War II. He attained the rank of colonel and was awarded the Legion of Merit.

During Dr. Copeland’s chairmanship, the official name of the Committee on Cancer was changed to the Commission on Cancer. During this transition, a formal Committee on Accreditation was established within the Cancer Commission. The concept was to welcome liaison members from other organizations dealing with cancer care into the Commission on Cancer and to help with formulating accreditation standards.

Under Dr. Copeland’s direction, the First Annual Conference for Liaison Fellows under the sponsorship of the Committee on Cancer was held at the MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in November 1964 in Houston, TX. At that meeting, every state in the United States was represented along with representatives from the leading cancer organizations. Many significant concepts were discussed including the multidisciplinary care of the cancer patient and the importance of having state plans that give local direction for cancer prevention and screening. Also, the importance of maintaining tumor registries was highlighted.

Importantly, Dr. Copeland was national president of the American Cancer Society during his tenure as Cancer Committee chair. This proved to be an important factor in strengthening the collaboration between the COC and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Copeland was a professor of surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital from 1960 until his death in 1982 at the age of 79.