Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-12-25
A WORD ABOUT CANCER.

show that during the ten years pre-.
ceding 1911 the population Of this
country Increased 81 per cent. Dur.
Ing this period the death rate per
100000 from cancer increased 30 per
cent among males and % per cent
among females. The extraordinary
increase In the mortality due to can
Ger In this and other countries has
long since raised that malady to the
proportions of great plague" says
an authority who wrote on this sub
1ect recently. "The power Of human
resistance to this disease seems to
be steadily declining" He then pro-
ceeds to predict that at the present
rate of increase in another Is years
cancer will cause more deaths than
tuberculosis, typhoid fever and ma
laria combined.
Scientists throughout the world are
diligently searching for the cause Of
this fearful scourge of mankind, in
order that specific preventive and
cure may be found. Meanwhile ev-
cry individual should be informed
that cancer is to large degree pre-
ventable If we will but apply the
knowledge We already possess to
guard against it.
There are many theories as to the
cause Of cancer, the most logical one
being that advanced by group Of
microscopists working along biologi.
cal lines. The basis Of this theory ia
that cancer is a state Of anarchy with
in the body. To be able to grasp the
theory and also to understand why the
X-ray is at all effective in cases Of
cancer it is necessary to have a
thorough comprehension Of the prop
osition advanced by Virchow In 1853,
which have noted in a previous ar.
ticle; namely. that each one Of the
cells composing the human body 10
a distinct individual possessed Of all
the characteristics of life.. That IL
to say, every reader OF this article
is composed Of many billions Of indt
viduals, each having all the powers
and faculties that the reader is con.
scious Of possessing and differing In
no way save in degree. Every living
thing is constructed Of these same In.
dividual cells, composed Of the same
protoplasm, and differs only in organ
ization.
1t is during the first few years and
more particularly during the first year
of life that the highest human NOR
tally takes place. The newly pro-
liberated cells are not thoroughly or
ganized and the entire organism 10.
therefore weak and unstable. Ordi-
narily we do not think Of working
Young children or animals, beause we
know that their tissues are soft and
therefore that they may very easily
be broken down and ruined; but at
maturity we know there is more per.
feet organization, the cells are more
fixed, stable and adaptable and are
therefore highly resistant. This fact
forms the basis for the action of the
X-rays on cancer.
There is no remedy known to medi-
cine that has a selective influence,
there is nothing that can be put into
these bodies of ours that will drive
disease out and not touch healthy
tissues. But, depending on the state
If the individual cell vitality, tissues
react differently to the same intlu-
ence: hence tissues having marked
mower of proliferation are necessarily
composed of masses of these young or
"iuyenile" cells and are of course vast
" more susceptible to any influence
than are the more fully formed and
stable adult cells which may often
remain unchanged for years.
An anarchist cell'' finds favora-
b,e location and proceeds to prolifer.
ate: that is to say, 1t multiplies by
division. as all the somatic cells do,
and these young and weak cells form
what is technically known as "juve-
nile" tissue within the more stable.
cider or adult tissue Of the organ
n witch the cancerous process is Ia
ling place. If now the hard" very
penetrating rays Of the x-ray are
turned upon this diseased area one
of two things takes place-either the
short, sharp oscillations. which we
have noted approximate more than
en- 600 900, 900 per second, shake these
weak Juvenile" cells iato heaIthful
reaction, or they destroy them as a
do1 kills a rat by shaking 1t, and the
healthy cells are stimulated by the
light. -