OUTLOOK BETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 15

OUTLOOK BETTER.

CANCER PATIENTS.

IMPROVED TREATMENT.

EARLY ATTENTION NEEDED.

(From Our Correspondent.)

DUXEDIN, Friday,

In a review of the work of Dunedin clinics at the annual meeting of the Otago and Southland division of the British Empire Cancer Campaign, Dr. N. C. Speight, clinical registrar, said that with the organisation and the equipment now available for t.he treatment of malignant disease, one could confidently assert that the outlook for cancer patient* is infinitely better than it had ever been before.

"With external growths such as cancer of the skin and lips, it is the rule," Dr. Speight added, "for a patient to be completely cured, provided that he or she comes for treatment at a reasonably early stage of the disease. In growths in many other situations also, the application of modern methods of treatment ha* immeasurably improved the possibilities of cure. It is obvious to all that, no matter what is the situation of a growth, the sooner a patient reports for treatment the greater are his ehances of receiving relief.

"It is unfortunately true that many patients are their worst enemies in their attitude to their disease. Numerous cancers are still seen in the consultation clinic which, if they had been subjected to treatment when the patient first became aware of their existence, would have yielded to treatment. Because of the delay in reporting for treatment a cure has become impossible.

"Individuals in middle and later age owe a duty to themselves and to their dependents to have investigated any swelling or ulcer which appears on the body without a satisfactory cause," he said. "It is gratifying to know that the number of broken appointments at the consultation clinic meetings is decreasing, but there is still the occasional patient who pays for hi* neglect with his life."