The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-30
WHAT CAUSES CANCER
Dr.. Lambert Lack Discards
the MicrObe Theory.
1T IS A HEALTHY GROWTH
But Out of Place-What 1t Is
That Starts 1t.

that has been made in the history OF
medicine is that which is now being made
to discover more concerning the exact
cause Of cancer. Cancer is q disease
which is worldwide. 1t has been known
and described since the days Of Pliny.
1t has taken its toll of the worlds great
est 1t killed Grant; 1t robbed the world
of Rosa Bonheur. Every woman instinct
" breads II. It is the one incurable dis
ease-the one that always means the
knife, and, generally. death as well.
Nothing has ben known of it; absolutely
nothing. Since the day that the micro
scope first gave range of power to the
human eye men have sought for the
cause of cancer-for the germ II enc ex-
listed. Some investigators have declared
that there was none. Others have an
nounced the discovery Of a bacillus. or
germ, believed to be that Of the oil ease.
Not long ago DR.. Bra, in Paris, ,Eade
public the statement that lie ENd found
and isolated the microbe of cancer. He
said that 1t could be found in q fungus.
or mould, which affected trees and Iiants
as well as human beings. He edduced
many interesting things n proof OF his
position. DR.. Bra was hailed as savior
of womankind, for the discovery Of such
a germ meant, probably, the elab lradon
of a serum which would enable physicians
to combat the insidious advances Ct the
disease. Microscopists all over the world
busted themselves with the examination
of the fungus reputed to contain the
germs of cancer. Thousands Of animals
-
strate the truth of DR.. PTa'5 discovery.
So entranced was every one with the
prospect of a cure for cancer that there
was no whisper of douots. NJ envlous
man tried to take from the discovere- the
glory of his finding. None claimed ri
GRITTY.
And the investigators found-nothing!
The microbe of cancer was myth; the
mould upon the trees, lichen; the can
houses, which. 1t was said,
showed growths upon the walls, were edi-
fees of fancy. The hope of the world
crumbled to an absinthe-insDired dream.
With the infinite patience of science the
workers rfor truth and humanity took up
the yoke of their labor again. There was
no reproach for the man who had dream
ed and thought 1t fact. The investigators
were only sorry that tie thing was not
true. And then they began the investiga-
ton all over again. 81
Now there comes forward another man
&diff1dently this time and with no desire
for applause-to suggest THAT the old
ideas about cancer may, after ALL be the
truth. DR.. Lambert Lack, London doc
tor. is this new deliver into the mysteries
of cancer He has made a wondrous
series of experiments, and they have vir-
tually led him back to the knowledge
or, at least the belief. which almost every
woman has possessed. There is hardly
woman living today-there certainly was
not one a few years ago-who does not
firmly believe that If she ~ecaived mod
erately severe blow upon the chest 1t
would give her a cancer. And. IN eject.
DR.. Lambert Lack has demonstrated the
truth of that belief. He has been able to
show that certain injuries, produced Urti-
flcially, will cause cancer He Eoe3 fur
Their, and says he believes and THINKS he
can prove that cancer comes only as the
result of such injuries They may he.
and often are. he says, too minItct 10 be
apparent, but they are. never,he 'ess.
present and can be demonstrated in the
early stages Of the disease.
Another discovery made by DR.. Lack
seems, however, to be of even greater
Importance. It is the finding that n can
Ger is mainly formed of healthy tissue
that is to say, II was healthy tissue until
II got out of place. In scientific larguage
DR.. Lack says he has discovered that
cancer epithelium Is practically normal
epithelium out of place. In order 10 I'M
derstand this better it is necessary to
make clear what DR.. Lack means by cpl
thelium.
All the surfaces of the body-the ex-
ternal surface of the skin. the Internal
surface of the digestive and respira ,ory
tract. the closed Serious cavities. the inner
coats of the vessels, and the 1ucts of all
secreting and excreting gIands-are COW
cred by one or more layers OF simple &c Is
called epithelium or epithelial cells. EDi-
thelium serves various purposes. forming
in some cases a protective layer, In others
acting as an agent in secretion and eXcre-
tion. Nature intended that these cells
should stay in their own places. but from
the researches of DR.. Lack II would ap-
near that they are somewhat apt 70 get
into the circulation end indulge in entirely
trips INTO the interior. In
this way, DR.. Lack says, they gain en-
trance to the lymDathics. and. just as
nIants become doubly luxuriant when
transnlanted TO very fertile soil. so the
migrating epithelial cells proceed to grow
and flourish. And the growth they pro-
duce Is a cancer.
DR.. Lack thus describes the method Of
investigation which he followed in max
ing this discovery: 1T occurred to me
that II normal epithelium By some acct
dental means should obtain entrance to
the lymph spaces II would find no barrier
10 its continued growth and would prob
ably produce an the phenomena Of can
Ger. In order to thoroughly test this
obtained an emulsion ~ enithelial calls
from a healthy rabbit ami rlac-d an in
lection of the emulsion in the peri'oneai
cavity of the animal. The rabbit died in
fourteen months. When its body was
opened there were discovered masses of
growth closely resembling cancerouE ma
terial Microscopic examination showed
such TO be the case. The rabbit had died
Of cancer artgfc!alIy produced by trans
pIanting the epltheuial cells
In the beginni0g \ cancer IS composed
81 ep.thelial cells growing in the wrong
place. Because there is no room for them
and because IN their new situation tSey
are unable TO perform the functions for
which they were intended. they break
down and decay. Microbes NAV develop
then. but they do not do so before
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