Purpose/objectives: To document the central role of nursing care in the continuum of cancer awareness, treatment, and palliation from 1900-1940.
Data sources: Primary sources were student nurses' lecture notes, hospitals' annual reports and other literature, and published materials of the period.
Data synthesis: Throughout the years reviewed, the warning signs of many types of cancer were included in nurses' education. Nurses were integral to the care and well-being of individuals diagnosed with cancer.
Conclusions: In the first four decades of the 20th century, nursing care of individuals with cancer became increasingly technical and specialized. This article documents the nursing care that was practiced at the time. The issue of concealment of a cancer diagnosis affected nurses' care. Nurses were seen by the American Society for the Control of Cancer as key players in the public's awareness of cancer.
Implications for nursing: The care, skill, and knowledge of nurses were central to patients coping with a cancer diagnosis.