CANCER CURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3862, 20 March 1928, Page 16

CANCER CURE.

A CARPENTER’S CLAIM.

DETAILS REFUSED.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, March 2. • A retired carpenter, living at Emu Plains, Queensland, claims to have discovered a cure for external cancer, but h e has refused to give the authorities details of his treatment. Substantial funds have been subscribed throughout Australia for cancer research, and the campaign against the disease is being modelled on very systematic lines. It was at a meeting at Rockhampton at which a money-raising campaign was inaugurated that news of the latest “ cure ” was revealed. The man credited with the discovery was Mr A. Coker. It was said that particulars of his achievements had been sent to the Queensland Health Department, but the department was not prepared to do anything unless Mr Coker was willing to send down the details of the alleged cure. Mr Coker was not prepared to do that. For 12 years Mr Coker had suffered from cancer, and he had cured himself. . . Three separate statutory declarations from people whom M - Coker had cured had been sent to Senator Thompson, who had forwarded them to the Prime Minister. . . Mr Coker did not ask anything for the cure, but he asked the Commonwealth to select 20 patients, no matter in what stage of cancer they were suffering, and to nominate a medical man so that he could demonstrate his cure.

Tlie Minister of Health (Sir Neville Howse) replied to Senator Thompson stating that it was difficult to discuss a matter of that kind without some knowledge as to the nature of the remedy in question, and be suggested that Mr Coker should place details before the department as to the kind of treatment with which he claimed to have had success. At the Rockhampton meeting it was agreed that it was not a fair thing to ask the public to subscribe unless all remedies, or claims to remedies, were to be investigated.

Dr Jackson said that he thought the attitude of Sir Neville Howse was full of common-sense. It was rather a job to ask a committee to investigate a cure without reveqling the nature of it, and it would be very rash and very wrong to invite 20 people to submit themselves for treatment for cancer on the assertion of on e gentleman that they would be cured. He said that he understood that the gentleman in question was not scientifically’ qualified, and was not in a position to have made a careful examination of tumours alleged to have been removed so that he could not be quite certain® whether they were cancers or sunburn. Dr Jackson gave his own experience of supposed cures, and said that he had always been willing to try these things. The discussion was inclined to become somewhat heated, a persistent demand being made by one man that the treatment should be investigated unconditionally Dr Jackson : I s this gentleman willing to have his alleged cure analysed? A man in the audience rose and criticised the medical men for demanding to see. the recip e before they would begin an investigation. . Jackso.n (warmly): There is'no man in the medical profession worthy of the names who would not divulge a cure for cancer if h P had one. \

At this stage further discussion of the matter was not permitted by the chairman of the meeting. In its place a stirring appeal was made on behalf of th P cancer research fund There was no time for quibbling, and. in any case, quibbling was quite out of place on such an occasion. Let .them all fall in with the’common objective Rnd—fight for their lives.