CANCER THE INCURABLE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2748, 1 March 1910, Page 7

CANCER THE INCURABLE.

AUTHOR ITATIVE STATEMENTS. In his presidential address at the annual meeting of tho New Zealand Aledical Association, Dr. James Purdy spoke thus on the above si bject:—The subject of cancer is one that the public generally takes much interest iip and in common with many medical men who have had the opportunity of delivering addresses such as this, I would like to repeat tlie warning words often delivered. It is still a moot point as to whether cancer is on tho increase or not. Opinions in the profession are divided on the point, and this is not the opportunity for airing my own settled convictions. One thing, however, the profession is agreed upon, and that is that there is no so-called cure for cancer.

Dr. Marnock, the new Professor of Surgery at Aberdeen University, made special reference to cancer in his opening address. He said:—“Up to the present, no form of treatment has been discovered which can take the place of the surgeon’s knife. Owing to the insidious nature of the disease and the widespread popular ignorance as to its character, a fatal delay was too often tolerated. Cancer, in its earlier stages, may simulate a benign growth so closely that even the most experienced are occasionally deceived. Tho.,medical profession have recognised this, and are v-ery properly taking the view that it is much safer to have a doubtful tumour dealt with at an early stage than to wait until the sinister tell-tale features of cancer have declared themselves. The main responsibility for delay generally rests with the patients themselves, this, in part, due to- the circumstances that cancer, in its early stages, is very -often, if not always, devoid of pain. Alany a woman deluded herself into the belief that a growth on her breast was of little consequence, simply because it was not painful. It was really a pity that the- early phases of cancer wore so devoid of pain. Were it otherwise, medical men would bo consulted earlier. Much was done, nowadays, in instructing the general public in matters of public health, but surely something might also ho done to dispel the ignorance of a disease- which, year after year, claimed many victims. It was from this direction that further improvement in operative results must be looked for. The sooner the public mind was disabused of the, idea, that cancer was, at all stages, a painful malady, and women could he induced to seek advice tho moment their attention was drawn to a . tumor or other abnormality, the more successful would be- the efforts of the surgeon. It could not be too strongly insisted upon that cancer, in! its onset, was a local disease and was curable- by completo excision.” I have quoted fullv from Professor Marnock’s address because lie puts the case in an admirable manner. The-words I have quoted undoubtedly' express the opinion of the profession as a whole.