Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-29
THYROID CURING BULL
New Antitoxin for Cancer
Gives Great Hope.
LESION IS. HIS SECOND
Initial Attack in Milder Form Per-
manently Healed.
CHANCES AGAINST SURGEON
He Is Old and Not in Good General
Health-Discovery Prepared at
Cornell Laboratory.
LESION is. HIS SECOND
CHANCES AGAINST SURGEON

Cornell Laboratory.
NEW YORK. January CIT was leayn-
ed yesterday that DIR. William T. Bull,
the noted surgeon. is suffering from can
GER for the second. not the first time. as
was generally supposed; that in both in
stances the disease yielded to a thyroid
antitoxin prepared by scientists at Cor
nell University laboratory and that once
the doctors administered so much Of the
remedy that thyroidism developed. ne
cessitating a temporary cessation Of the
treatment.
Drs. Delafield. Blake and Potter. who
are attending DR.. Bull, and Prof. James
Ewing, who with Dr. s. P. Beebe has
been preparing the thyroid antitOxin.
have employed every means to keep the
treatment a secret, because it Is yet In
an experimental stage. They feared that
should the matter become public false
hopes would be raised among those af-
fected with cancer, and that great harm
would be done.
One of the physicians said yesterday
that the discovery, II 1t may be called
such, was In its primary stage. and that
even the medical fraternity had not been
apprised of the facts.
While they know that DR.. Bull has
not been cured they hope that his re-
markable improvement will continue. A
few weeks ago he lay at Deaths door.
for Savannah today. accompanied by Mrs.
Bull and Drs. John B. Walker. Tilling-
hast Bull and Emanuel Baruch.
AT the present moment the antitoxin is
not being administered for the reason
that DR.. Bulls system Is filled with it to
the danger point. but that it will again
be given no one denies.
Initial Cancer Disappeared
DIR. Bulls initial cancer. that entirely
disappeared some weeks before the pres
ent lesion made its appearance, first tap-
peared about a year ago in the form of a
sore on the gum. This was probably
epithelioma, a mild form Of cancer. which
does not spread through the glands to
other parts of the body and is not con-
sidered dangerous.
If taken in the early stages it may
be cured by the X-ray or even by COM
mon caustic. DR.. Bull chose to administer
thyroid extract, an antitoXin little known
to the average practitioner.
The antitoXin is the extract of the
thyroid gland, which when enlarged in
the human being causes goitre or swell
ing of the neck where the gland is sit
uated.
Some time ago scientists discovered that
the gland, itself subject to disease, con-
tanned wonderful curative powers and
that destroyed certain germs under
certain conditions. One Of these organ
ismS was the cancer microbe.
The extract prepared at the Cornell
laboratory and administered to DR.. Bull
accomplished remarkable results. In a
few weeks the growth on the gum began
to dry up and the surgeon improved in
general health to such an extent that he
felt able to go to Newport for the sum-
mer.
The treatment was continued and
eventually the growth entirely disap-
peared. DR.. Bull considered that he was
permanently cured and began attending
to his duties.
Second Cancer Appears.
The second cancer developed not long
after this and was diagnosed as metas-
tasis one form Of which is sarcoma, the
most dreaded phase Of the disease. In
metastasis the germs travel through the
glands to various parts of the body, where
other cancers appear.
The instant the symptoms became mani
fest Dr. Bull returned to the thyroid
treatment and took enormous doses of
the extract. The effect for a time was
magical. The cancer began to disappear
and the surgeons had great hopes that
the disease in it's second form would re-
dS dS IL QlO IN us nrSt.
One day he went to Providence in his
automobile. 1t was cold and rainy and
when the machine broke down and he
was forced to sit In the chilly atmos-
phere for over an hour he contracted
rheumatism. This produced endocarditis
or Inflammation of the lining of the
hearts membranes.
Physicians from Boston were hastily
summoned and they said that DR.. Bulls
attack of rheumatism was caused by TAX
termed the disease thyroidism and on
their suggestion the surgeon left off the
antitoxin treatment.
The cancer Immediately gained ground
and DR.. Bull called his New York asso-
ciates In consultation. They declared
that the Boston doctors were all wrong
and that the thyroid antitoxin had moth
ing to do with the appearance of rheuma-
tism. DIR. Bull thereupon returned to the
treatment, but now and then he suspend
ed it.
While one Of the attending physicians
admitted yesterday that thyroid extract
had been used he said that at the mo-
ment the fluid is not being administered.
He explained that this is in no sense
serum and that the joint statement is
sued Wednesday to the effect that no
serum had been injected was true.
Prof. Ewing's Statement.
Prof Ewing, who has charge of the
Cornell laboratories at 18th street and LIST
avenue, was loath to discuss the part his
institution has played in DR.. Bulls treat
ment, but when these facts were put be-
fore him he made this statement in or
der to correct some erroneous impressions
recently circulated.
"One Of several methods now being
tested experimentally for the treatment
of cancer has been used in DR.. Bulls
case. AS to the results attained 1 am
unable to offer any opinion"
1t may be stated on the best authority
that these results have been little less
than marvellous. At the same time there
is no assurance that permanent cure
will be effected.
One reason for this is that the surgeons
general condition is not the best: another
that he is no longer a young man. Fur
thermOre, the thyroid fluid reduces the
weight and enervates the patient. Long
before the extract was known to have a
medicinal value it was used in anu-fat