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Otago Daily Times, Issue 22607, 26 June 1935, Page 6

THE IMPORTANCE OF RADIUM The subject of the efficacy of radium as an agent for the cure or control of cancer has been raised by a Sydney surgeon who is at present visiting the Dominion. The question is already one of national importance to New Zealand, and world experience would seem to indicate that it will become of more and more moment as time goes on. It is of interest, therefore, to reflect that responsible medical opinion in Dunedin has not been slow to challenge statements that have the appearance of discounting the usefulness of radiology in the treatment of malignant diseases. Thirtyfive years after the discovery of radium by Professor and Madame Curie, it is to be found assuming an international significance in the world of medicine. A committee of the League of Nations has. devoted some years to the collection and correlation of data obtained from radiological treatment of cancer in many parts of the world. Evidence of its importance to the British Empire was seen six years ago in the extraordinary readiness of the response to the appeal for funds for the purchase of radium as a thank-offering for the King's recovery from a critical illness. This year this valuable curative substance has achieved local prominence through the diversion of the silver jubilee gift from New Zealand to his Majesty to the purposes of the Dominion branch of the work of the British Empire Cancer Campaign. Radium is a very costly commodity. In fact, at its present price it is probably the most expensive thing in the world. Yet, despite a seemingly prohibitive value, it is. in demand the world over as a remedial agent in the treatment of one of the most deadly diseases by which the world is afflicted. Even though the actual properties and biological effects of radium are still keenly debated by many experts, countless experiments and the most painstaking research have produced a convincing fund of evidence to prove the beneficial effects that result from the exposure of cancerous growths to radio-therapy. The fact that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been collected in different countries for the purpose of ensuring an adequate supply of radium for the use of clinics and hospitals must be regarded as an earnest of the confidence which the medical profession generally reposes in it as a specific of value in the treatment of cancer.