The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1909.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 24 September 1909, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1909.

\ THE " PARASITE OF CANCER," AN EXTRAORDINARY THEORY. IN view of the near approach of th« open season for New Zealand trout it may bo of peculiar interest to anglere and at the same time help those who discourage the use of the loathly worm, scoured or unscoured, to learn that the latest (American) theory of the origin of cancer is that the common or garden worm is the intermediate host of the cancer microbe. According to the Mew YortJ "Sunday American," Dr Hiram D. Walker, of Buffalo, formerly of Newburgh, a recognised American authority on cancer, makes the assertion that the fell disease may be directly traced to the ordinary earthworm found in every backyard and commonly used for bait, and ho has recently concluded a remarkable series of experiments in the course of his researches. "According to this new theory," says" the "Sunday American," "cancer is caused by a parasite which the angle worm engenders and which it transfers to the leaves of lettuce, cabbage and other garden veget. ables which it infests, as also to fish," whose food it forms, and the most astonishing feature about it seems to be that 1.0 boiling will kill •'the; deadly .germ. If this scientist's conclusions are sound, it would seem to follow that the eating of fish and 1 vegetables is fraughti with the gravest danger, and en. tire-ly new methods in truck farming are imperative. Prevention of cancer seems to lie in the extermination of the angle worm." The experts attached to the New York State Lah ora t or y at Buffalo for the past year have been making research into cancer and its causes, with particular reference to the location of it in fish and its development in the human body by the frequent consumption of fish ; and now Dr Walker comes out boldly with the announcement that the great majority of cancer cases is- due to the angle worm. The fact that in the United States over 80,000 persons die annually of cancer, says the "Sunday Atnencan," is an appalling matter, and scientific men generally have been waging war against the malignaat disease. Dr Walker now comes forward, believing that he has found the origin, or at least one source of origin, and he suggests! methods by which cancer -gn -a measure may be prevented or held in check. He is continuing his investigations, in the hope of discovering a cure — buti 60 are thousands of .otShers. *-' * • • • •:• . The "Sunday American" says that it '^.."gtoMshinngly easy to show-bow the angle, worm may cause canoe'K The disease, continues! the paper, is due to a parasite which comes from the skin of the worm as it bores through the garden, crawling over lettuce, cabbage leaves, and other vegetables ,to which it transfers the deadly germs. "Anyone noticing the path of the angle worm," declares our somewhat- alarmist contemporary, "will readily see there is an oily substance left in its wake— a small thin streak. This streak of wet matter contains the parasites, not visible to the naked eye, but easily seen through the microscope, or when magnified many tames over. A peculiarity of- these parasites is that they are not killed by boiling, and although the vegetables are cooked tho germ 3 are not killed, and the infection is nevertheless carried into the Systran. The germs left on the vegetable leaves work their way under the vegetable membrane or outer surface and lodge there and do not die after being in the boiling water. The ease with which they may get into the system is apparent in the case of lettuce, which is eaten in its raw state, chiefly." • •'•.««•' According to Dr Walker's theory, it is the small angle worm commonly, used for fishing that causes the well-known skin cancer. He asserts that internal or glandular cancers are caused by parasites given off by the larger angle' worm, but almost all kinds of earth worms give off some sort of parasite. It may. be that if fish cause cancer, although this has not yet been conclusively demonstrated by the State experts, the primary cause is the angle worm, they avariciously swallow. Dr Walker says he has kept fish in aquariuris for test purposes, and has fed them exclusively on worms. In six weeks these 'fish nave died. He has dissected them and. found traces of cancerous growth. This is one support of his angle worm theory. He has fed hares and rabbits on lettuce and cabbage leaves. Upon their death he lias found cancer in their bodies. • ••••• The most alarming feature of'Dr Wal- J ser's alarming theory is that the alleged • parasites; in) vegetables; are ; rs<) b^wy i '

iha-t boiling, will not kUI them, and! ience Dr Walker argues that the only , 'omedy is the eradication of the earthworm—a task exceeding in difficulty any labour that Hercules undertook. Ac:ording to Dr Walker, it is the smaller Br, or garden earthworm, that is tho intermediate host of the true cancer parasite, while tihe larger worms harbour the microbe of sarcoma, a malignant am ease nearly resembling cancer. Dr walker says that where tlie soil is sandy the vegetables are almost immune from the worm. He quotes medical authorities in Florida as saying that there has never been a native inhabitant known to die of cancer there, and the reason for the few cases in tlie State (invariably non-na-lives) is givon as due to the suady nature ot the GBll> Dr Walker's Iheiorjr w received with a good deal Sf interest, but more incredufit.y, by the medical profession. A number of eminent scientific men i have expressed doubt- whether cancer is a germ at all, and there is evidence amounting almost to proof that it is r.ot communicable by infection or contagion. The "Sunday American concludes its very alarmist article with, some important saving clauses, which impart a merely academio interest at pre, cent to Dr Walker's assertions^ the paper says: "Many physicians who were asked to express their opinions on the new cancer theory declined to discuss it; but the State Laboratory officials seemed inclined to disagree from Dr V\a ker. Dr H. R. Gaylord, head medical director, is working on the fish theory and research, but- is not prepared to make known what progress has ieen made. In reference to Dr Walker's theory he says :-'/ First of all, it is obvious to ony scientist that there is no living organism, such as Dr v\ arte describes, which could withstand exposure to boiling! for an *««•...£" known organisms are killed by boiling for only a fraction of this time.