Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-02-25
DIR. HARPER IS DOOMED:
AFFLICTED WITH CANCER

" i j. OIllNOAA
carefully worded, In scientific phrases,
to avoid giving unnecessary alarm,
but there is no hope beneath the mass
of medical verbiage
While the head of the Midway
school was undergoing his ordeal the
students and professors gathered in
the chapel and held prayer service,
petftioning to power higher than
medical skill for Dr. Harper's re.
eovery.
AS soon as the distinguished patient
RECEIVERS sufficient strength for an ex.
tensive X-ray treatment this last re.
sort as a cancer cure will be tried,
but even the most optimistic hope for
little for than brief respite from
death. As DR.. Sem had diagnosed
twenty-four hours before, the large
intestine and Its "head," the blind
intestine, were affected, but the
affected area proved much larger than
was anticipated.
MaIady Is Grave.
The disease from which DR.. Harper
suffers is a growth of a stubborn and
spreading nature, which is situated on
or between the layers Of tissue which
form the. large intestine's third por.
ton. The cancer Is located In the
lower region of the right side of the
abdomen and close to the muscles
which form the fore wall of the alb.
dominal cavity. The large intestine,
in man of DR.. Harper's build, is
about two inches in diameter at the
point where the cancer lies. The rear
side Of this intestine shows thick
ening caused by the growing tumor
From characteristics we'll known to
surgeons the tumor had been diagnosed
as a malignant one.
Carcinoma (cancer) usually COM
In this case the gland is one Of the
thousands which line the stomach and
the intestines.
The mesentery is abundant with
secreting glands, and is really fat,
fan shaped layer of thin tissue, along
the edge of which the intestine is
suspended. The mesentery is closely
connected with many of the other
delicate membranes Of the abdominal
cavity, and. as the surgeons found it
implicated the existence now or later
of secondary deposits of cancerous
growths, which usually are found in
cancer cases of long standing, would
make the removal of the directly
diseased parts of little use.
Face Hard Problem.
Had the surgeons decided to re.
move the entire disease part of the
intestine, they would have been con.
fronted with the problem of joining
the small and the large intestines, two
tubes of widely differing caliber. This
and the fact that cancer infiltratcd It's
sues slough and do not sheal would
make such a step surgical
catastrope.
DR.. Harper was in excellent condi
| ton for the anesthetic and became
! lethargic from mild anesthetic al
2:20 o'clock, after a last glance at his
family and a. few words Of consolation
to his mother and wife.
Doctors Begin Work.
Precisely at 2 o'clock, Drs. Sem
Billings and McBurney arrived at the
hospital and their street garb was ex
changed for the white robes Of the op
Grating room.
An incision near the middle of the
abdomen was made by DR.. McBurney
1t was not more than three inches
long, but the briefest examination suf.
feed for the operating surgeon. He
shook his head.
eve cannot remove that" said DR.
McBurney.
"Inoperable," echoed all the surg
cons, "Close up
| Patient Sent Back.
Fifteen minutes later the patient was
on his way back to his rooms three
floors below. Miss Ashley walked be.
side the rolling table and before the
patient had reached the elevator his
breath began to become less labori-
Gus and return to the natural.
| The modes by which cancer pro-
duces death are varied, according to
the nature Of the organ implicated, &C.
cording to surgeons. Cancer of the
large intestine will cause death from
internal obstruction, septic peritonitis
or actual perforation. In DR.. Harper's
case the thickening of the intestinal
wall was marked. but not sufficient te
reduce the caliber of the intestine in
a manner which may at once prove ia
tal The surgeons hope, that expert
X-Ray treatment may delay the enc
for at least six months.
CAS- soon as the X-Ray treatment be
gins to fail in its prevention of new
tissue formation, we may anticipate a
rapid decline in DR.. Harper's vitality
said one Of the consulting physicians
yesterday. There is some hope, OF
course, that the case may cease in its
! growth for an unexpectedly long period
but the ultimate result is certain