CANCER CURES

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 November 1934, Page 12

CANCER CURES

“PREY ON FALSE HOPES.” LONDON, October 5. An indictment of “unqualified and unskilled people who held themselves out as being able to cure cancer” was made by Mr Ingleby Oddie, the Westminster Coroner, yesterday. Mr Oddie had before him the case of an elderly woman who died from cancer after being treated for four and a-half months, at an inclusive fee of seven guineas a week, by David Rees Evans. Addressing the jury, Mr Oddie observed: “It is well that such persons as Mr Rees Evans should'know the risk they arc running.” “Of course,” he continued, “during the last 100 years or so there have been many cases of this cases where these quacks, of whom there are a great many In the country—have failed in what they have undertaken to do, and action has been brought against them to recover damages in civil courts. You see how serious the responsibility.- is of people of Rees Evans’ class, because he is completely ignorant of medicine and surgery, and has no real knowledge of diseases and no scientific knowledge of cancer. Yet he holds himself as able to cure a disease which has baffled the whole world. If he had a -secret remedy which would cure cancer, ought he not to hand it over to the numerous sufferers from this terrible disease? He does not do so. He maintains it as a secret and keeps it to himself. He claims it to be beneficial.” Mr Oddie then explained that to return a verdict of manslaughter the jury would have to be satisfied that Rees Evans’ treatment had .either caused death or accelerated death. “In this case,” he went on, “there is no question about the good faith of Evans. He believes he has got hold of something which can cure cancer. In that belief he administered his quack remedy. Doctors have never heard of any external application of paint that would effect a cure to cancer. There is pile- thing that is absent in thi's case—that is evidence to show, that Rees Evans shortened the woman’s life. 1 asked Dr Taylor—an experienced pathologist—whether he corild say the application of the unknown -fluid would, in fact, accelerate death, and he said, ‘I cannot say.’ You are entitled to express your views in the form of a rider as to the propriety or impropriety of a man like Rees Evans practising this so-called cancer cure.

“NO PHILANTHROPIST.’* “Another 'point is that the woman was a free agent, and could walk out if she wanted to. It is also true to say that Mr Rees Evans is no philanthropist. What he has done he has done for money. He has 28 guineas coming in every week, and cannot pose as . a general benefactor, You mav feel that it is deplorable that this sO-called cure is useless, even if it does not do harrii. But it preys on the false hopes which it creates for these poor people suffering from this terrible scourge for the purpose of riiakiiig money. He buoys up false hopes arid intervenes between . them and surgical treatriierit and deep ray. treatment with which they are doing so much in these days.” In conclusion, the coroner said he did not see anything in the evidence which he could direct to the jury’s attention, which showed that Rees Evans’s treatment did, in fact, accelerate or cause death. After an absence of a quarter of an hour the jury returned. The coroner: Have you come to a conclusion? The foreman: Manslaughter. The coroner: Did you appreciate what I said that there was no evidence that Rees Evans s treatment accelerated death? The foreman: Eight of us came to that conclusion, and one said, “Gross negligence,” which is the same thing. We had considered the evidence, and the pain she had suffered. Tile coroner: The pain does not necessarily shorten life.- If it has not been shown that her life was shortened I don’t see how you can return that verdict. We have not got any evidence that life was shortened.

The foreman: That is our opinion after hearing the evidence. The coroner: You intist show that he did something' that directly accelerated. death. lean see no evidence of that, although he probably did no good. You have sworn to come to your verdict on the evidence and you must come to it oh the evidence arid not by prejudice. Will you please reconsider? , , After a further ten minutes, absence the foreman returned, carrying a slip of paper, which, lie handed to the coroner. . “You now decide,” said the coroner, “that death was due to cancer —that is to say, natural causes —accelerated by lack of treatment, and I quite agree. In your rider you condemn the interference • and negligence of Rees Evans’s treatriient.” The foreman: Yes.