St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-06-16
DOCTORS ON CANCER
Admit No Remedy But The Knife
In Early Stages Is KnOwn--Is
Not Contagious or Hereditary

About so physicians gathered here
last Thursday to attend the meeting
arranged by the Vermont Medical So
ciety for the discussion of cancer and
possible methods of reducing its pre-
valence. The morning was given
over to clinics at the Brighlook Hos
pital which were attended by physi-
clans only. In the afternoon the
meetings were held in Pythian Hall
when there were papers by eminent
authorities on cancer and discussion
by the physicians.
The meeting of most interest to
the public was held in the Colonial
Thursday evening and an audience of
several hundred was present to hear
the authorities on this dread disease.
Dr. E. H. Ross presided at the
meeting and the first speaker was
DR.. C. F. Dalton, secretary of the
state board of health. He admitted
that the percentage of cancer in Yer
mont was the highest OF any state
in the Union but this he believed was
explained by the fact that cancer is
a disease found only in adults and
that the exodus of young people from
the state to the large cities left a
very large percentage of adult res
idents in the state. Vermont GER
tainIy is not careless in the dealing
with cancer or disease as is shown by
the fact that it has the lowest per-
centage of deaths from typhoid fe-
yer and diptheria of any state in the
union and the lowest in pneumonia
and tuberculosis of any of the states
of the East. Vermont is the first
state to take up a campaign of edu
cation in the matter of cancer and
the great reduction that had been eff
fected in preventable diseases show
ed the state was a leader in the pre-
servation of the public health. While
it is true there were 397 deaths in
Vermont from cancer last year the
physicians hope to instruct the peo-
pie in the symptoms of the disease
and educate them to treat it in time
to stop it's developments. The ply
sicians also hope to discover some
day methods of preventing the dis
ease.
DR.. A. Hopkins Swain of Australia,
who is in America studying Ameri-
can methods of treating the disease
was the next speaker and commend
ed Vermont very highly for this step
in advance of any community in the
world of investigating and educating
the public in the nature of the dis
ease and ways to reduce its prevail
ence.
DR.. cambridge The Expert.
DR.. William S. cambridge, profess
sor of surgery in the New York Poly
clinic Medical School and Hospital
and surgeon of the New York Skin
and Cancer Hospital was next intro
duced He first referred to the sue
cessfuI efforts of his grandmother,
who was born a few miles from here,
in getting through a medical college
in order that she be of assistance to
the girls working in American fac
tories and was the fourth woman in
America to receive a degree from a
medical college. He then spoke in
a most commendable way of the eff
forts of DR.. J. NJ Hamilton of Rut-
land, secretary of the Vermont State
Medical Board, who had made this
educational campaign possible. He
said Vermont was distinctly a leader
in this kind Of work. He then show
ed a series of pictures showing that
all kinds of beasts have cancer as we'll
as the human race. The same is true
of plants and even of fish life. A
very common cause of cancer is irri-
Continued on page 3D.