Dr. James in front of Cancer Hospital, c. 1990
Dr. Arthur G. James (1912-2001) believed all cancer would eventually be eradicated. That belief coupled with his dedication to the idea that cancer patients needed separate, specialized care, led him to lobby, campaign, and fundraise for thirty-five years to build a cancer hospital in Ohio. The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute opened at Ohio State on July 9, 1990 when it admitted its first patient. At the time of its construction, only three hospitals – Roswell Park in Buffalo, New York; M.D. Anderson in Houston, Texas; and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City – had comparable resources. After a gift of $20 million from Richard J. Solove in 1999, the facility was renamed the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, but is commonly referred to as the James. The facility remains the only freestanding cancer hospital in Ohio to this day.
A book written by George Paulson and Kristin Rodgers titled Arthur G. James Surgeon with a Dream is for sale by the Medical Heritage Center for $25 plus applicable sales tax. [link to: https://hsl.osu.edu/service-areas/mhc/services/publications-sale] This publication is primarily based on Dr. James’s archival collection and the finding aid for that can be viewed at https://hsl.osu.edu/mhc/pdf/arthur-g-james-md-collection
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