HEALTH NOTES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 616, 19 March 1929, Page 2

HEALTH NOTES

CANCER EARLY SIGNS (Contributed by the Department Health.) °‘ ' Although the large majority p . people go through life, even to o li age, without suffering from eaacethe risk of being attacked with disease is one which is w idely dissea mated. Cancer is one of the moe formidable of present-day diseases among civilised communities. it annually responsible for more deaths in New Zealand than can be assignee to any cause other than organic di«j eases of the heart. During the yearly period, 1923-27, 0.232 deaths | were attributed to cancer in New Zealand. These figures imply that ou- | of each 10,000 people in the Dominion nine die on the average each year ; from the disease. Cancer is widely distributed. It j 5 not peculiar to any particular class profession or occupation. In the large majority of cases it attacks middleaged and elderly people, but this does not hold good in all cases, for cer. tatii forms of cancer occur even i a children. The cancer death rate has been increasing of late years in all parts of the world, and various explanations have been put forward for the phenomenon. While It is agreed that the increasing average age ot the population (cancer is a disease of the declining years of life) and the progressive improvement in the methods of diagnosis account for a very considerable portion of the rising death rate, many competent observers are of the cpiii- ; ion that there is, nevertheless, a dei finite increase in the incidence of the ; disease. Whether the increase be | apparent or real. the fact remains that cancer is all too prevalent and death results all too often from failt ure to recognise it and to secure : treatment in the early stages. There are many gaps in our know- | ledge concerning the nature of cancer and the factors which tend to its de- ! velopment. One certain fact about it, | however, is that it frequently follows chronic and prolonged irritation, a j good example of this being cancer of ; the tongue following upon irritatitu) by a jagged tooth or badly fitting tooth-plate. The weight of evidence again is that cancer is not transmissible from one person to another; that there is no such thing as hereditary predisposition in man; that there is no association between caneer and the use or nonuse of any particular article of food; that no known drug or preparation will prevent its appearing or cure it when present: that no danger of cancer results from inhabiting houses or districts in which I cancer happens to have been excep- | tionally common. Cancer Can Be and Has Been Cured In the early stages surgery often is able to eliminate cancer completely. X-ray and radium are also of value, and have been proved effective, either alone or in conjunction with surgery, in certain types of the disease. It is very important therefore that people should know the early signs of cancer, or, better still, the conditions which may give rise to the disease, so that they may secure treatment while cure is still within their reach. * Cancer may occur in any part of the body, but the most frequent sites are the skin, lips, tongue, gullet, stomach, large intestine, prostate gland, uterus or womb, and the breast. The generative organs and the breast are most frequently Involved in women, and the stomai% in men. Danger Signs External Cancer. —Cancer on the outside of the body often begins as a wart, mole, lump or scab. If any of these conditions are present they should be watched carefully, and if they change in appearance or size medical advice should be sought at. once. Lumps on the breast are specially suspicious, and if snch are present the doctor should aiways be consulted. Internal Cancer.—Cancer on the inside of the body may he known by signs before any lump is seen or felt. Increased or irregular discharge, or return of flow after change of life in women is suspicious. Chronic indigestion, both during or after middle life, progressive constipation, passage of blood at stool, and any material loss of weight are also danger signs. While these conditions are not necessarily associated with cancer, they are frequently the first evidence of its appearance, and their occurrence demands at least an exhaustive investigation In order to rule out the possibility of malignant growth. Action should not be delayed until there Is pain, as this is no criterion of the nature of the growth. Cancer may and does occur with no pain. The Prevention and Cure of Cancer The prevention and cure of cancer, then, call for the closest co-operation between the patient and the medical practitioner. Firstly, the onset of cancer can be prevented in many cases by the elimination of any causes of chronic irritation. Rough stumps of teeth should be removed, and illfitting dentures should be replaced. If pipe-smoking is found to produce soreness on the same spot of lip or tongue it should be abandoned. Clothing which causes irritation of any particular region of the body—e.g., the breast—should be altered. Advice and treatment, should be sought in disorders of stomach, bowels or womb. Secondly, if any of the conditions quoted above under the heading "Danger Signs” are present, medical advice | should be obtained immediately. In many cases the condition will be found to be not of a serious nature. Where it is due to early cancer, however, the patient will have the benefit of early surgical treatment. This is most important. There are many cases alive and well to-day in which ! cancerous growths have been removed | in the early stages once and for all.