"EDUCATION OURES CANCER."

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 169, 18 July 1924, Page 6

"EDUCATION OURES CANCER."

EARI/V DIAGNOSIS VITAL. KESPONSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC. (By M.D.) There are a number of diseased conditions the very names of which are ;, more or less alarming to the average man and woman. Diphtheria, con-1 sumption; venereal disease, high blood j pressure, "fits" and some form or ' other of mental disease may be given as examples. A sinister recent addition is cancer, , or malignant disease. And as, according to one authority, "education and education alone cures* cancer," it is well for the public to know what is ! now scientifically recognised about it. During the last 25 years there has been noted a steadily progressive increase in its occurrence and fatality, ' part genuine, part only apparent, as! due to better recognition. Its real j nature and origin remain two of the : great unsolved problems of medical r science. j Three main theories are at present i under consideration: — | (1) That it is a "mutiny, or riot of the cells" of some part or other of the body, though why the mutiny remains unknown. (2) That it is an infection by some parasite—though the particular parasite has not been identified. (3) That it is the result of abnormal "chemistry in the body metabolism, and j so connected in some obscure way with the diet. The Starting-point. On each or any of these hypotheses the further question remains: what is the predisposition which permits its starting? On this point it seems that there is a direct ratio between its appearance and the intensity of civilisation (cancer is rare in primitive I races); that the only part sex plays j is to determine its location; that heredity is unproved, that it is a disease of age. It is, further, generally agreed that there are certain definite exciting causes which precipitate its incidence, and even determine its location. These include all forms of chronic irritants, and chronic inflammatory diseases —no matter where operating —and certain non-cancerous lesions such as warts, moles, scars, etc., which, when subject to irritation, show a disagreeable twidency to become malignant. There is hardly a tissue of the. body which may not', and at times does not. ] become the seat of a cancer. No doubt j in women it is mainly the generative, | and in men the digestive, organs which , show malignancy. But in reality can- i cer is no, respecter of sites, and. this .truth should ever be borne in mind by all concerned. Symptoms. Almost any symptom may be a precursory sign "of the approach or-actual incidence of a cancer, and, alone, need j give no inkling of the impending danger. But there are certain very defi- j nite signs which, when they appear in j a person of the cancer age, who has; hitherto shown no signs of disease, • strengthen the presumption of cancer | enormously. These are loss of weight, j anaemia, pain with or without a > tumour, bleeding from skin or mucous membrane, and rapid spreading. Many of these signs, unfortunately, do not appear until the cancer itself has made considerable progress. Hence the fundamental principle to be fol-. lowed-is that every disorder which per- j sists in spite of ordinary treatment j should be regarded as presumptively malignant. j The only present hope is in early | diagnosis and treatment. Hence the [ fundamental importance of eternal vigilance, both by the profession and by the public. Every suspicious lesion or ail-' ment should be promptly submitted to j expert examination. j In many places a crusade of educa-1 tion is now being widely prosecuted by j means of lectures and pamphlets. Hodern agencies, through the microscope. and the X-ray, have made early diag- ■ nosis possible, and the earlier the recognition the greater chance of cure. The only effective present way to reduce the gravity of the cancer menace is early diagnosis. Treatment. The question of treatment is, of . course, entirely one for experienced medical men. Until quite recently the only effective treatment was surgical removal by means of the knife. But ' within the last lew years at least three ! other useful agencies—X-ray, radium, and diathermy—have been added to the list. The relative uses and values of these different procedures must, of j course, be decided by experts. ifatu- ' rally those who hold that cancer is metabolic in origin lay further stress ' upon dietetic measures, body habits, j auto-intoxication, and the like, and thus ' include a distinctly medical phase in treatment. About this more requires to be known. To the public, horn-ever, questions of j treatment are matters almost entirely i outside their ken and responsibility. To | them the situation is plain. Everything depends upon early recognition. * Even at present, when delays are frequent and prolonged, one-third of the cases ! have a chance of cure, one-third are I amenable to palliative measures, and. only one-third remain hopeless. These i results will be vastly improved when those of the cancer age come to know : and to take action upon the real situation. The removal of the cancer menace thus rests more with the public than with the profession—"education cures , cancer." j