THE WHITE SCOURGE

Hokitika Guardian, 2 September 1927, Page 4

THE WHITE SCOURGE

CANCER DEATH RATE. WELLINGTON, August 31. Last year nearly one person in every thousand living ui New Zealand died of cancer. This fact is commented on in the annual report of the Health Department tabled in the House to-day. Deaths from cancer totalled 1341 in 192!!, an increase of over 100 compared with 1925. New Zealand in common with other civilised countries has a low general death rate, deaths from ail causes, totalling 11,819, hut the steadily increasing death rato from cancer is shown. Huge sums are being spent in the endeavour to ascertain the cause of this disease in the hope that means of prevention may he found. A sum of £2OOO was set aside last year in New Zealand for cancer research. “Dospito greater statistical accuracy increased facilities for skilled medical’ attention, increasing skill in diagnosis and disappearance of the sentimental objection on the part of relatives to a certificate of death from cancer there must have been a real increase in the cancer death rate,” says the report in reference to this smaller real increase. .Mr Butcher, chief compiler in the Census Statistics Office Wellington, com-; meats as follows: “Paradoxical though '■ ic may seem to say so even this real I increase is in large part a reflection of j tlie progress that has been made in j the science of medicine and sanitation. I Now Zealand lias been noticeably suc-j cessful in reducing her rate of infan-j tile mortality and a certain measure of success has attended the efforts made

in recent years to cope with tuberculosis. The judicious handling of infections ami epidemic diseases and legislative safeguards against unnecessary occupational risks have further increas ed every person’s prospect of reaching middle life, whereupon lie finds the selection of diseases in his older ago confined mainly to heart disease, arterial degeneration, apoplexy, cancer and old age. -Moreover in New Zealand the averngo death from cancer occurs after the age of sixty, so that if we could eliminate or reduce cancer this would have little or no effect upon the death rate. Hie main point of differ-

ence, however between cancer and other principal causes of death in later life lies in the more painful nature and prolonged agony of the illness preceding death. It is this that justifies every human effort to solve the cancer problem.” The death rate of 9.91 per 10,000 is the highest yet recorded, and is a matter of concern.