WAR AGAINST CANCER

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1929, Page 11

WAR AGAINST CANCER

DEFINITE PROGRESS MADE EARLY ATTENTION ESSENTIAL. LONDON SPECIALIST’S VIEWS. (By Wire—Special to News.) Auckland, Last Night. Progress in the campaign against cancer was referred to by Dr. W. S. Handley, a noted London specialist, who arrived from Sydney to-day. He said a conference was held in: London last July when it was shown that very definite but slow progress was being made in the treatment of cancer, especially by the use of radium and by improved methods of operation. Much importance was attached by Dr. Handley to early/treatment of the disease and the results in the cases where patients were treated when the attack was in its incipient stages were gratifying. Indeed, he said, it could not be too strongly urged upon people to seek expert medical attention at the earliest possible moment. If.. that .advice were followed he considered the war upon cancer would be waged, with. much greater success than was at present the case. The explanation of. delay in such a large percentage, of cases was that people thought if they had no pain they did not have cancer. That view was contrary to expert opinion, which held that early cancer was painless. . - While emphatic, that cancer could be cured, Dr. Handley said there were numerour matters in connection with the methods of treatment that were still the subject of dispute.