PROGRESS MADE

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 74, 20 December 1933, Page 10

PROGRESS MADE

Fight Against Cancer DEFINITE EVIDENCE Work of Dunedin Clinic Dominion Special Service. Dunedin, December 19.

Some Interesting features of the progress of cancer research in the Dominion were revealed at a meeting held in the Medical School library when representatives of the Cancer Campaign Society from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunediu attended to review the year’s work. Special significance attached to a statement by Sir Louis Barnett, who reported having recently paid a visit of inspection to the consultation clinic which is held in the radium and X-ray department of Dunedin hospital every Monday afternoon. There is an honorary consulting staff appointed periodically for this purpose, representing the university departments of medicine, surgery, pathology, and radiology, and, although the cases brought forward for consultation are mostly hospital patients, any medical practitioner may bring to the clinic cases he is attending in private practice so that both his patients and he himself may benefit by the advice placed at their disposal by specially trained observers. Sir Louis Barnett reported that the organisation of the clinic appeared to be excellent, an'd much credit for its success was due to the registrar and to the nursing sister in attendance. Pa- ■ tients attended willingly in large numbers, and were obviously appreciative of the sympathetic and valuable service the clinic affords them. As a contribution to collective research into earlier diagnosis and the more effective treatment of malignant disease the work of these clinics was undoubtedly of the highest importance and already, as the result of the accumulation and pooling .of the knowledge obtained, the victims of this terrible affliction were being restored to health and comfort in everincreasing numbers.

Very convincing illustration of this optimistic statement was given by the clinic a fortnight ago when a series of 14 women patients who had been treated and apparently cured of the dreaded cancer of the breast submitted themselves voluntarily for examination at a meeting of the Medical Association. Most of these cases had been treated partly by radiation and partly by operation, but in four cases no operation whatever had been done, the cure being effected entirely by radiation methods. It was further reported to the meeting that Mr. Strong, M.Sc., Wellington, who was recently appointed physicist to the society, was to go to the physical laboratories in Melbourne and Sydney to study the methods In use there for the standardisation and calibration of X-ray and radium appliances. On his return to New Zealand he would visit regularly the four main centres for the purpose of checking and calibrating the X-ray and radium apparatus in use in order that it may be maintained at maximum efficiency.