The evening times., 1899-04-11
BRAS CANCER DISCOVERY.
Medical Men Interested But Skept
cal Regarding It's Results.


cal Regarding It's Results.
New York. April 11.-Medical men in
this city and the public generally were
much interested in the announcement ca
bled from Paris to the effect that DR.. Bra.
of Paris. had succeeded in isolating and
cultivating the microbe of cancer. and that
there was reason to hope that a definite
cure for the disease would result from the
discovery.
Such rapid progress has been made in
recent years in the treatment of diseases
that while medical men here are inclined
to doubt the value Of Bras discovery. they
do not pronounce ii impossible. Cancer is
not recognized by the profession generally
as belonging to the class of diseases that
lave distinctive microbes or parasites for
their foundations and that may be fought.
like diphtheria. with antitoxin, or, like
smallpox, by vaccination. But there are
dissenters from this view, and scientific
men have been for years endeavoring to
do just what DIR. Bra is reported to have
accomplished. Should later Investigations
confirm the discovery, and cure for can
Fcer other than the knife be found DR.. Bra
will be hailed as one Of the greatest bene-
factors of mankind.
DIR. George F. Shrady. Of No. s East
Sixty-sixth Street, who is an authority on
| cancer. and who attended General Grant
| and other noted persons afflicted with the
disease. said yesterday:
This is not the first time that an al
legged discovery Of the cancer microbe has
been made. book was published ten or
| hfteen years ago by a DR.. Adamkiewicz-
an Austrian. think he was-in which he
claimed to have separated the micro-0r-
| ganism responsible for the growth of can
Ger. His announcement looked probable
, for time, but il never amounted to any
| thing.
| 1T is only of late that observers have
| been directing their. energies to the study
OF the micro-orgapism Of cancer. but so
far no two of them have agreed. Each
has had an organism Of his own. and in
no instance has the observation of others
| confirmed the alleged discovery.
| Medical men generally do not take any
| stock in the parasitic theory of cancer. but
! there are some who do. The character Of
cancer is different from that Of diseases
which have micro organisms as causative
elements. In its inception. its method Of
growth. and in the progress made by the
disease il bears 10 resemblance TO others.
Those who have micro-organisms depend
upon a process OF degeneracy. while can
Ger depends upon perverted nutrition. Its
| basis is cell growth. When once started
| this cellular growth extends, and the only
known remedy for ii is the knife
Nature will resist other diseases, and
with a little assistance will drive them
out. Thus change OF climate will cure
consumption in its early stages With
cancer. however, there is no medicine
known that will reach it through the tis-
sues and no injection Of serum into the
blood that will stop it. To build up pa
tient's general health will not have the
| n, hot, Wit IL
| ments.
1T is. therefore, difficult to conceive. in
the present state of our knowledge. of a
remedy being found for cancer. through
the discovery of a microba. even If DR..
Bras observations are confirmed Stiii,
we do not know it all, and il anyone has
made such discovery he should BE- list n
| ed to and given an opportunity to demon
strate its value
TT is to be hoped that it is true, for no
disease is more dreaded than cancer. 1t
| is not supposed to be, contagious. Sur
geous have bSen inoculated while operat-
| ing. but in no instance has cancer be, n
communicated Our knowledge of cancer
has increased greatly of late years, and
we are able to recognize the symptoms
| earlier. and by prompt action save msny
more cases than was possible few years
| ago.
Judging from what we know OF the
leading characteristics of cancer. it is al
most as unreasonable to suppose that the
disease can be cured by the oi:coyery CT a
| microbe as that split hoof animal will
become carnivorous. II does not become
anyone. however. to throw cod water on
the alleged discovery OF DIR. Bra. We had
better wait until we get more information
as to the alleged discovery before we pass
upon its merits. II his wo,k stands the
| test of investigation by others. and We
] are to treat cancer as We do diphtheria
| with antitoxin, his discovery viii be the
greatest boon to humanity since the dis
| coyery of vaccination or OF chlorcform-
That there was no hsdieine which
| would effect cure for cancsr was exem-
plified when General Grant was ill. Rene
dies from all over the wcrld were sent to
him. and the whole subject received WIDE
spread attention