Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1913-06-26
THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1913.
Cancer Durable If Disc0v.
cred Early.
Two Organizations Are Now
Trying To Teach The
Public This.

Several well known Baltimore sur
geons, among them DR.. Joseph Z.
Bloodgood and DR.. Thomas S. Cullen,
are taking an active part in the ma
ton wide fight against cancer.
Both DR.. Bloodgood and DR.. Cullen
attended the convention of the Amer
lean Medical Association in Minncap-
oils last week, DR.. Bloodgood having
made an address on the anti-cancrr
movement. He did not return to Bal
timore, but went directly to New
York, where he will be one OF the
leading figures at meeting at which
the movement will be further dis
cussed.
DR.. Cullen, who is chairman of the
cancer campaigns committee OF the
Congress of Surgeons of North Amer
ica, will be unable to attend the meet
ing, owing to an engagement IN the
North. He returned to Baltimore at
the close of the National Medical AS
ISOLATION S convention.
When asked to express his opinion
as to the effect of the agitation now
on foot to prevent the spread of can
Ger, DR.. Cullen said he felt confident
that great deal of good would come
of it.
In addition to the work done
by the Cancer Campaign Committed
he said, another organization, the
American Association for the Control
of Cancer, is engaged in the effort,
the two bodies acting in complete
harmony.
THE object is to educate the pub
lie az to the necessity for early dag
nosis Of the disease. The trouble to
a large extent lies in the fact that
cancer patients put off having their
cases properly diagnosed too long, 1t
is safe to say that all cancer cases
eventually come to the surgeon; if
they came earlier a great many could
be cured. A parallel might be drawn
in the case of house that has caught
fire. If the fire is discovered at once,
before it has had a chance to spread,
nine chances out of ten it can be put
out. But let it get good start and
nine chances out of ten no human
agency can stop the flames.
THE spread of cancer in America
is alarming and something must be
done to stop it. | think there is no
better way than informing the public
rs to the exact and enormous fatality
due to the disease and of making it
perfectly plain that early diagnosis is
the only procedure which, at present,
can be at all hopefully relied upon.
''The cause for the rapid increase
Of the disease in this country is puz-
cling. Doubtless the greater number
of accurate diagnoses of recent years
has something to do with the statisti-
cal revelations, though the real cause
is still unknown. That is one of the
things that those engaged in the anti
cancer fight will carefully study"
In an editorial on The Education
of the Public Regarding the Cancer
Cure" the current issue of the Medi-
cal Record states that the increase of
the disease is real and not merely ap-
parent.
In 1910 it appears there were 49,
557 more deaths from cancer than
from tuberculosis, hitherto consider
cd the greatest national disease men
ace. The approximate number OF
deaths in the United States from can
Ger during a single year is $4,000.
1t is a disease, the writer points out,
that is comparatively rarely found
among young people, but which be-
gins it's greatest ravages with persons
of 40 years and over.
In letter to the editor of the La
dies Home Journal indorsing an ar
ticle that appeared in recent num-
Der of the Journal, DR.. Cullen said,
in part: Surgeons are heartsick to
see the many cancer patients begging
for operations when the disease is SO
far advanced that nothing can be
done. Cancer is the beginning of
local process and not blood disease,