The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-01-01
PREVENTION OF CANCER.

lower organisms. including fish rats
, mice, dogs. rabbits and the like, and
these Investigations have developed
| many highly Illuminating facts OF in
, tense interest and significance TO the
! human family.
Bonnet in 1888 was probably the
hrst to note and describe a species OF
, cancerous disease OF the thyroid gland
| among trout. Following this sugges'
ton, investigators have found that
trout and other fish quite generally
all over the world are afflicted with
what appears TO be carcinoma begin.
ming in the thyroid gland and from
there spreading to the adjoining bones
and muscles. The disease attacks
chiefly fish over two years old and the
general trend OF opinion appears TO
be that its origin is in some way con.
nected with the food supply.
Gaylord found the disease to be con.
stantly present or endemic In not less
imam 40 per cent OF the hatcheries con-
tanning salmonoids ehrough0ut the
United States, and that II becara. opt
demic and attacked all classes OF fish
in general from time TO time. He also
observed marked variations in the gen
eral severity and characteristics OF
the disease in different epidemics.
In one hatchery more than 80 per
cent Of the tumors showed the struc-
ture OF carcinoma, while in an cpl
demic encountered In another locality
the growth was in general more like a
| simple goter.
Marine and Lenhart endeavored, by
a comprehensive series OF expert
ments, to discover any possible con.
nection between the ordinary goiter Of
fish and animals and the so-called can.
cerous affections of the thyroid gland.
They discovered that young fish were
more affected than the old, that the
glandular engagements were checked
by the addition Of iodine 10 the water
Of the pool and that the removal OF |
the fish to an. open brook .s9dei~sle
ffum IS to be directly related to the
water supply, but do not accept the
prevailing opinion that the disease Is
true cancer.
They consider that there are three
factors which, in some way still OBJ
scure, influence thyroid enlargement,
namely, limited water supply, over
crowding, and overlooking with high
" artificial and incomplete food They
found the water of the hatchery was
not intrinsically goiter-producing. be-
cause fish did not develop the disease
unless one of these other factors was
also in operation. That Is to say, the
fish must either be fed with an In
complete food, or the pool must be
overcrowded with fish, which in the
end amounts to practically the same
thing, in order to produce the disease.
And IL the incomplete food was re-
placed by a complete food or the over
crowding was corrected, then recovery
took place even though the ~
NAMED in the ampsfhe above to hui
The Hest Hes in the fact that so far as
dsh are concerned the water OF the
stream is synonymous with food, be-
cause normally fish derive their oxy-
gen and all other food matter directly
from the water in which they live;
hence, il too many individuals are
crowded into given pool or the water
normally does not carry sufficient ma
terial to maintain the group the weak
er and less alert must inevitably suffer
a deficiency of necessary elements
Whether these glandular enlarge
ments resulting from food deficiencies
are or are not true cancer Is not ma
} terial at this time, because we do not
. vet know whether cancer begins as q
J. malignant growth or whether a simple
q hypertrophy or enlargement is, II
9 some way not yet understood, convert
Q ed into malignant disease. But
: granting that they begin as simple be
, nign engagements, as they undoubted
n ly do, we do not know and are gen
q orally quite unable to determine a
q what stage an enlargement change
from the benign into the malignan
y type. Every enlargement should b
N viewed with suspicion and concer
1t and should receive prompt attentio
10 at the hands of some competent PEI
TX son. This care should also extend
g. all hypertrophies; that is to say,
IN all and any engagements or thicker
Id ings Of tissues anywhere In the bod
o. whether 1t be a gland or only the h
Is sues of the nose, because these h
Is pertrophies or chickering's indicate
b. tendency to overgrowth or hyperplas
IT. from a disturbance in metabolism
a lack Of nutritive balance usually d,
n to some deficiency and quite certa
fe ir time to have grave consequences
'ts the development Of some one Of q
lie deficiency diseases II not Of cancer.
I'm A reasonable regulation of one
ne habits and indulgences will easily p'
ed nit of the maintenance of the spirit
IN. youth to the ends of ones days, a
aw 70 far toward insuring one again
ais cancer and many other undesirai
zee diseases