CANCER RESEARCH PROGRESS

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1934, Page 7

CANCER RESEARCH PROGRESS

WIDER SCOPE FOR TREATMENT THE STATISTICS NOT CHEERING. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Observations on discussions .at the fourth session of the Australian and New Zealand medical congress held at Hobart from January 14 to January 21 were given by Dr. J. A. Doctor, Wellington, on his return by the Marama from Sydney to-day. Dr. Doctor said so much had to be done that each man could see and hear the work only of his own section, but the general note struck seemed to be a sifting and reassembling of past knowledge rather than any startling prophecy of what the future of medicine might hold. The general symposium of cancer and cancer research was from the public point of view the most interesting part of the conference. While statistics furnished by Dr. J. L. Cumpston, DirectorGeneral of Health for the Commonwealth of Australia, were not cheering, the research, work undertaken by men of clear and critical understanding was recognised, as was also the fact that in actual treatment surgery alone did not hold the field but that the pathologist, physicist, biochemist and radium and X-ray experts should also decide what line of treatment would give most lasting results. In other departments the trend of opinion is that many troubles which some years ago surgery alone could help are now amenable to less heroic measures, but that when surgery is indicated it should be entirely adequate. The person concerned rather than the diseased diagnosed seems to be rightly becoming the basis of all treatment-