CANCER TREATMENT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 January 1943, Page 6

CANCER TREATMENT

DISEASE IN THE STOMACH. VALUE OF X-RAY EXAMINATION. (By the New Zealand Branch of the British Empire'Cancer Campaign.) Cancer of the stomach is not uncommon. It is one of the most serious diseases, and one that is not easy to diagnose. Cancer of the stomach is one of the big problems of surgery, and one of the most important methods of solving this problem is to treat more patients in the earlier stages of the growth. Now to diagnose this trouble early there are only two methods. Firstly, by X-rays, and secondly by looking directly into the stomach through a special instrument called a gastroscope. How do we know when to suspect cancer of the stomach? People suffering with stomach troubles may be roughly divided up into three groups. Firstly there is that group that has suffered indigestion for years and years. This group will probably never develop a cancer. Secondly there is that group of persons who have had a stomach ulcer for years. They know all about it, just what they can eat, and what to do about the pain when it occurs. The pain comes and goes regularly in relation to meals, and it can be stopped. If this type of person develops a cancer the signs are altered. The pain might not be so severe, but it is much more persistent ,and it is not relieved by dieting and medicines as formerly. The symptoms of ulcer that have been so familiar in the past have changed, and the patient loses weight. He loses his appetite, too, especially for meat. It is this set up that should make the patient and his doctor doubly on the alert. The third group is made up of the patient, usually over forty, who has had an excellent digestion all his life. He could eat anything and never experienced any discomfort. Suddenly he starts to suffer chronic indigestion. His food disagrees with him, his annetite fails, and he experiences a dull, heavy ache in the stomach. The danger with this case is that the patient will probably try medicines and diet and waste valuable time when what is really called for is an expert X-ray examination that will answer Yes or No to the question, “Have I got cancer?”