CANCER RESEARCH

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1929, Page 11

CANCER RESEARCH

CO-ORDINATION OF EFFORTS. CLINICS IN THE CENTRES. Wellington, Sept. 17. Sir Louis Barnett, of Dunedin, who took a prominent part in the discussion on cancer at the recent Medical onference at Sydney, was a passenger by the Ulimaroa, which arrived at Wellington to-day. Sir Louis emphasised the importance of the British Empire cancer campaign, and especially of the research work now being done in all the leading countries, and of the co-ordination of efforts to successfully combat what is now recognised as one of the chief scourges of mankind. Although up to the present the research work has not led to the ultimate discovery of the cause of cancer, it has revealed a great deal of valuable information that permits of a more accurate diagnosis of the disease and of treatment in its earliest stages, and also enables doctors to classify the different types of cancer, the degrees of malignancy and to accord the most suitable treatment.

What is of the utmost importance are the increasing benefits that .have arisen through the treatment of cancer by means of and X-rays. This explains why it is that a wave of enthusiasm has developed in regard to the campaign against cancer. Sir Louie said they already knew a great deal about cancer, how it rose and what predisposed to it. It was not absolutely necessary to know the essential, cause in order to do useful work. He instanced Pasteur’s wonderful work in connection with the elimination of hydrophobia, even although the cause of that dread disease still, remained a mystery.

Although the actual cause of cancer has eluded research for many years, they could still do a great deal to lessen the disease. The idea was to standardise and co-ordinate all the work in the various centres of the Dominion, so that there should be no overlapping of effort, and so that the work should be done on a uniform basis. Each centre was to ■have a cancer clinic, at which cases would be studied by the physician, the surgeon, the pathologist and the radiologist, and the appropriate treatment carried out on the most approved lines. A careftil register of all cases would be taken for present benefit and future guidance. Each centre would be equipped with a radium and X-ray department, on the most modern lines. Every centre would have its appropriate amount of radium and X-ray appliances, with experienced medical men in charge. Radium emanations would also be sent to country places for use in cases >which could not conveniently be brought to the main centres.

The suggestion was made by Sir Louis that Dr. Burrows, the director of the radium service in Australia, should be invited to visit New Zealand to assist in establishing the radium service, and Dr. Burrows might collaborate with Dr.A. B. Begg, who was coming to New Zealand to conduct cancer researches. Sir Louis said Dr. J. S. Elliott had informed him tfliat Dr. Begg, before coming to the Dominion, would visit Paris, Brussels and Stockholm, in order to become familiar with the latest work being done on cancer in the laboratories in those centres. There.. would thus shortly be a favourable opportunity for standardising throughout the Dominion all the. various organisations for .this, gijeat campaign (< ftfffl-iP®t -< anccr *; j