The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15. 1923. A WORTHY CHRISTMAS EFFORT

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 69, 15 December 1923, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15. 1923. A WORTHY CHRISTMAS EFFORT

'A great effort is being made to complete before fund which will Provide a radium department tth irers in Mi and in « Of Nelson, and kidney diseasea coulf"o?':timed more which is dedicated to good wifi and kmd* £ ha ppier to thos6 pie Christmas is a happy > lt will teU who a SS mt m the ex n amO unt is needed - EiSa JXS 6 department alive, as they should be, . - tbn claim of suffering humanity and act in the spirit of the season. The price of the radium appeal is all the greater since it offers a means not only of relieving suffering, but of forwarding efforts which X directed to limiting the ravages of the dread disease of cancer. The present appeal is made not only on behalf of those whomi radium treatment may cure or relieve, but in the fullest sense on behalf of the C ° m Sedicai science is waging war successfully upon some of that prey on modern society. In this country, for instance, the deathrate from tuberculosis is diminishing steadily, and it is possible to look forward to a not distant time when the toll taken by this disease will be limited to small proportions. Here and nearly all over the world, on the other hand, cancer and its associated diseases are taking an increasing toll of lives and are responsible for a corresponding increase in human suffering. A community thus attacked must as a community marshal its resources if it wishes to bring about a happier state of affairs. _ There is a consensus of competent medical opinion that radium treatment has an indispensable place in a systematic campaign against the cancer scourge. That the immediate purposes to be served are very valuable is indicated plainly in the following statement by Dr. Macdonald Wilson, medical superintendent of the Wellington Hospital:— Regarding ths purchase of radium, I can at once say it is necessary and undoubtedly of great chemical value. Although, of course, used' extensively in cancer cases it has also a great present and future use in other cases. Diseases in women at present only curable by major operations, can be cured by one painless application of radium. Radium will be more and more used in the future. . ' , .j u Medical authorities are agreed that radium treatment does much to minimise suffering "even in cases of cancer that are beyond cure. It is emphasised, also, that alike in the treatment of individual cases and in an attack on the broad problem of checking the spread of cancer, much depends on the systematic observation of cases. Besides offering to sufferers the best and most effective treatment meantime available, radium departments like that about to be established in Wellington are centres for such an intensive study of cancer as may be expected ultimately to disclose the causes in which it originates and to pave the way for its extirpation. In spite of the immense amount of effort already concentrated on the problem, the root causes of cancer are as yet unknown. The researches that have been conducted are not, however, without result. As they proceed they are building up steadily a body of useful knowledge, and there are good grounds for hoping that means ultimately will be found of preventing or remedying diseases that as yet can only be alleviated. , The establishment of a radium department-lit the Wellington Hospital will make an immensely valuable treatment conveniently available to sufferers throughout the middle area of New Zealand. This in itself should ensure a ready flow of contributions. In addition, however, the department, as its activities extend, will contribute to the world-wide movement of investigation and research which aims not merely at alleviating the sufferings of individuals, but at rescuing humanity at large from the most dreadful scourge of modern times. The opportunity of assisting this great work of mercy and hope should appeal irresistibly to every man and woman in the wide district the Wellington Radium Department will serve.