HEALTH NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 56, 9 March 1929, Page 17

HEALTH NOTES

CANCER

EARLY SIGNS

(Contributed-by the jDepaTtment'rpf,

Health )

Although tli" laigo majority of peopM| go tluough hie, even to old age, with* on I sufienng iioin cancer, the risk ot being iltacked with this disease is one which is widely disseminated. Cancelj is ono oi tho most iormiddble ot pre« sent day diseases amongst crvahsed com* muiuties. It is annually responsible for moie deaths m New Zealand than, can be assigned to any cause other than oiganic diseases of the heart." 'During the nvejeaily period 192,5 2?, 6232 deaths weio attubuted to cancer in New Zealand. These figures imply th.it out o± each 10,000 people in tho Dominion nine die on the average each, jeai fiom the disease.

Cancer is widely distributed. It is not peculiar to any particular class, profession, or occupation. In the large majority of cases it attacks middle aged and, eldeijy people, but this does not hold. good in_ all cases, for certain forms of c nicer occur even in children.

Tlio canon death rato bas been mcioasmß ot lite jeirs m all parts of the woild, and -vamjus explanations line been put foiward lor the phenomenon While it is agreed that the incicibiiig avci igo ago ot tho population (eano:r is a diseaso of tho deehn* mg yeirs ot life) ai(d tho progressive improvement in the methods of diagnosis account toi a, very considerable poition of tho using death rate, many} competent obscrvcis aro ot the opmioii tint thcio is nevertheless'a definite inuoase in tho mcidenco of the disease. Whether the mcieiisc be appareiit or leal, tho fact lem tins that cancer is ill too proalent and death results aril too oiteu fiora failuro to recognise if; and to "iccuic trcdlment in tho earlj" stages. Theie aic many gaps in our knowlddgo concerning the ndtuie of eancep and tho iactors -winch tend to its. den velopmcut. One certain fact about it, however, is tliAt it frequently'follows chiome and prolonged irritation, a good example of this being cancer of- the tongue following upon irritation by a. Tigged tooth 01 badly httmg toothplate. Tho v eight of evidence again is that cancer js not transmissible from one person to another; that there is no such Ihing as hereditary predisposition in man,; that there is no «ssoc;a« tion between cancer aud the use ot nonuse ot any particular article of'food; that no known drug or preparation ■will pievent its appealing or cure it wnea present; that no danger of cancer results from inhabiting houses or distuefs in which cancer happens to have been exceptionally common.

CANCER CAN BE AND HAS BEEN CUBED.

In the early stage* suigery otton is] ablo to eliminate cancer completely. Xray and radium arc also of value, and. have been proved effective, either jlotio or in conjunction with surgery, in. certain types of the disease. It is veryimportant, therefore, that people should Know the early signs of cancer, or, better still, the conditions which may give use to the disease, so that they may secuie treatment ivhilo cure is still within their reach. Cancel may occur in any part of th» body, but the mo&t frequent sites are the hkin, lips, tongue, gullet, stomach, large intestine, lectuni, prostate gland, uterus or womb, and the breast. The geneiatne oigans and the breast are most frequently unolveiin women, aud the stomach la mm. danoee anm&

lKtcinal Cancer—Cancer on ttia «itbide of the body often begins as a Tiarf mole, lump, or scab If any of these conditions are piesent they should T)e matched c utfulty, and if they change in appeaianco 01 sue medical advice should bo sought at once. Lumps on, the breast aie specially suspicious, and it such aio present tho doctor shoulcj ah\a\g be consulted

Internal Cancer.—Cancer on the in* side of the body may be kuowu by sign* befcie any lump is seen or felt, In« ci eased or irreguhr discharge, or re« turn of flow alter change of life in Women is suspicious. Chronic mdigcstion, both during or afttr middlo life, progrqssn c constipation, passage of blooa at stool, and any material loss of; w eight aie al o danger signs ■\\hila Uieso conditions are not necessary associated with cancer, they ar« ticquently the first o\idcnce of Us appearance, and their occurrence demands at least an cc^uaustn q m\ cstigatioa in. 01 dei to rule out the possibility -, of malignant gionth. Action should not be deJajod until there is pain, as thin is no critcuon of the nature of the gioutb Cancer nny and does occur ivith no pain THE PREVENTION AND €URE OP, CANCER. Hie pie-icntion and cure of cancer, then, call for the closest co operation between the patient and the medical practitionei. Fnstly, the. onset of can. ccr c in be prevented in many cases hy (he elimination ol any causes of chroma nutation. Koagh stumps of teeth should be ienio\cd, and ill htting dentuici should be Lcplaicd If pipesmolung ii touml to pjoduco sorenesi on (lip muic spot ol: hp or tongue id should be abandoned Clothing which causes lnifatiou o± any particular re« gion oi the body—eg, the breast—* should be altered Adwce and treatment should be sought m disorders of stomach, bowels^ or womb. Second^, at any ot thu condition* quoted above under the heading "Dangc bigus" aie present, medical advico should bo obtained immediately. In many lj^cs tho condition will bo found to bo. not oi i serious mture. Wheio it is duo to early cancer, holvev«p, the patieu-t will luvc the benefit of early! surgical tieitment This is most impoitant There are many cases alu« and nell today in which canceroun gio^ths have been lcniOAcd m the early; stages once and fQr all.