Doctors and Treatments

Black and white photograph depicting a group of nine men in suits standing at the bottom of a large stone staircase leading up to the door of a building, of which only the base, marked by the feet of large stone pillars, is visible.

Doctors at Montréal’s Radium Institute, between 1929 and 1947

Many doctors still gravitated around the Radium Institute; some working full time, others as consultants amid a number of interns. Whereas the full-time medical staff ensured the smooth running and maintaining of the Institute’s services, consultants were medical specialists who came in on fixed days, or were on call to examine and treat patients within their field of expertise.

Black and white photograph of a man on the right side of the image using a large machine that occupies the rest of the space. The machine is a large white wall with various dials and levers.

Doctor in the control room, August 1949

Medical practices in the treatment of cancer evolved during the Institute’s forty-year existence. However, doctors there focused mainly on three types of treatments: radium therapy, roentgen therapy and electromagnetic therapy. More specifically, they used the radiation emanating from radium (radon) and X-rays to detect, analyze the progression of, and treat cancers.

Black and white photograph of a machine in the foreground and a man in a lab coat behind it. The machine is suspended and resembles a small cylindrical cannon.

Doctor operating a teletherapy device, date unknown

Most radon and X-ray treatments consisted in applying radioactive material as close to the affected tissues as possible, either through radiation emission, the application of compresses directly on the skin, or by inserting radon-filled tubes in the patient’s body. These often very invasive methods required the use of high-voltage machinery, or the direct application of radon, which resulted in sometimes painful burns.

Black and white photograph depicting a woman and a man in a small room. The man, seated in a chair at a desk, is wearing a lab coat and pointing with a ruler at a light board on which transparent plastic radiographs are pinned. The woman standing is in a nurse's uniform, assisting him.

Dr. Origène Dufresne analyzing radiographs, 1949

For the first few years of the Institute, several doctors would conduct medical research on cancer in addition to treating patients. Over time, the number of patients became so important that they had to prioritize the latter. Despite this reorientation, Doctor Gendreau still published 19 scientific papers on radiotherapy between 1928 and 1940.

Newspaper advertisement framed with the following text: Preparation for the radiological technician diploma at the Radium Institute. These courses, now in their fourteenth year, will resume on September 26 and will be held every Monday - Tuesday - Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. until early May 1959. These courses are under the direction of Dr. Origène Dufresne, Medical and Scientific Director at the Radium Institute. For information: Contact the Personnel Director, Miss Simone Balthazar. The address given is 4120 Ontario Street East.

Advertisement for radiology classes, 1960

As of 1945, doctors at the institute would give classes to train new radiology technicians. For two or three nights a week, cohorts of between 20 and 30 students attended classes given by the Institute’s doctors, one of whom was Doctor Origène Dufresne. Among the students were nurses and nuns.

Training of “Garde-Malades” Patients at the Institute