A VITAL FIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 114, 15 May 1924, Page 4

A VITAL FIGHT.

The Empire cancer campaign or publicity lias been formally inaugurated at the Mansion House under the presidency of the Duke of York, and already subscriptions have been received amounting to £84,000. A group of well-known eurgeons, doctors, and scientists recently banded themselves together to form a movement which would correlate and extend all existing avenues of research to find a cure for cancer. These men stated that they were willing to give their services gratuitously in forwarding sthe movement, to which they gave the name, The British Empire Cancer Campaign. They stated that during the last fifty years the death rate from cancer had trebled, and they asked for £1,000,000 to carry out the full work of the movement. The necessity for arousing public interest was emphasised by different speakers. Dr. Lockhart Stephens stated that in 1922 no less than 46,000 people died of cancer, and the rate at which the disease was increasing was going up steadily. He submitted that a very considerable percentage of the people who died from cancer ought to- have died of something else, if the disease had been recognised early and the patients been treated. The chief reason why people did not come for early advice and receive it and get treatment was ignorance of the ordinary symptoms. One object of the campaign was to educate the public by leaflets and other forms of publicity so as to teach the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. While it was \ imperative to discover the cause of cancer, the discovery of the cause did not necessarily imply the discovery of an immediate remedy. The cause of tuberculosis had been known for thirty years, and we were still waiting for the cure. Research had to be conducted along many different lines, and it could not be efficiently conducted unless there was a liberal response to the appeal for financial aid. Dr. Atholc Ross gave some interesting details of the progress already made. The outworks had been carried, and the public ought not to refuse subscriptions simply because brilliant results were not immediately forthcoming. The question of diet had to be investigated, and even negative results wero of value if they were proved negative. They narrowed down the field of research, and brought the final solution one stage nearer. Money was needed for extending the work of the radiographer, and already radiology had rendered valuable aid in the departments of early diagnosis, treatment, and after-treatment. He described a series of experiments conducted with a view to finding some extract which would destroy cancer cells and leave healthy cells unharmed, as showing the effort, time, and money needed for research. Cancer is by far the most difficult and pressing problem of all the riddles medicine is to-day being asked to solve. Research has to be conducted over a wide field. The sum asked for may seem large, but it is nothing in comparison with the importance of the work, and if success is to be attained it can only be by the generous support of those who are devoting their time and energies in the interests of humanity to exploring, every avenue by means of which fresh light may be thrown on this baffling problem.