UNPARALLELED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 11, 14 January 1943, Page 4

UNPARALLELED

CURES OF CANCER

DOMINION CAMPAIGN

"The success of the New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society in following up the thousands of patients treated is unparalleled," says the Auckland division of the society in a statement on the work in progress in the Dominion. The society adds: "We hope to reach out, through the Press, to the people of this country, that they may know how to avail themselves of the services offered and help make New Zealand preeminent in having the lowest cancer death rate in the world." Treatment at the earliest possible stage in the disease is of great importance, declares the society, which states that its activities are backed by a group of doctors who give gratuitously of their time and experience in advising people who may fear that they are suffering some form of cancer. Fear is the greatest enemy to be contested in the struggle. If patients sought advice at the first sign of disease there would be little cause for fear. Those who hid their symptoms because of fears that might be dispelled in a few minutes or suffered because of too long a postponement in seeking advice could not hope for any lasting help. Most Common Growths The most common and the least serious cancer is that of the skin, adds the society. There are two kinds, the rodent ulcer and the epithelioma, about equally common and sometimes occurring together, and together they make up over a quarter of all cancer cases. Generally these growths occur in elderly people and develop slowly at first. For this reason people often put .up with them so long that they become dangerous. However, no age is exempt, and, generally speaking, the younger the patient the more serious is the tumour. Skin cancer begins as a small pimple or wart or as a crack that fails to heal, the society continues. At times it may discharge or bleed, or it may crust over, but later break down again. In this stage the tumour can be removed just as easily as a tooth and just as safely, with the assurance of a permanent cure. If left too long cancer cells may have travelled to nearby glands and, although these cases, too, can be successfully treated, the task is more difficult and the outcome more uncertain. Cancer of the Mouth The mouth, including the lips, tongue, the inside of the cheeks and the floor of the mouth comes next after the skin as the commonest site for cancer, says the society. Just as one can see what is happening to the skin, cancer of the mouth can be readily felt or actually seen in the early stages. There are few sores in the mouth apart from serious conditions such as cancer that persist for longer than a week or so without getting better. This means that a crack, sore or lump on the lips is definitely under suspicion. In the treatment of mouth cancers often wnen small, it is possible to remove them easily and safely, sometimes without the patient having to be admitted into a hospital. It is with these growths that radium is one of the most valuable weapons. Radium makes it possible to treat growths that have become too large to be removed surgically, and to a large extent has obviated the necessity of operations that would be disfiguring because of the area to be : removed. Broken and decayed teeth, unhealthy gums and badly-fitting denture plates are so often found in ! the cancer patient that doctors are : led to believe the growths would not : have occurred but for these sources of chronic irritation. Furthermore, some chronic diseases, such as anaemia, appear to be related to the cause of cancer. Manv cases of can- 3 cer of the mouth could be prevented ' by keeping physically fit and taking ' proper care of the teeth. Other forms of the disease, for which early diagnosis is most strongly urged by the society, include cancer of the internal organs, the stomach, the intestines and bowel and the organs of women.