The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1915-01-02
CANCER OF THE BREAST.
Journal of the American Medical
ASsOciatiOn,)

(Journal of the American Medical
Association.)
| Seven thousand women die from
cancer of the breast each year in the
| United States, according to the esti-
mate of the American Society for the
Control of Cancer. In each Of these
| 1000 cases there was time WHEN the
disease was durable. Unfortunately,
| it is not always discovered in the early
stage. But Nature nearly always gives
timely warning. Alert intelligence
and prompt visit to a good surgeon
would save great proportion of the
women attacked by this disease.
1t is a pity that information and
education about cancer are not uni
versal. 1t is a pity that instead Of
knowledge that saves, we see daily
evidence of superstition that kills. 1t
is pity that a single precious move
ment after the discovery of symptoms
is ever wasted in listening to criminal
Quacks who promise cure without the
use of the knife and employ internal
stimulants and external pastes, which
are either useless, or in such hands,
dangerous. AS a result when the suf-
ferer does finally come to the surgeon
she comes as a last resort, too often
hoping or even expecting him to &C
complish the impossible.
What are the signs, then, which
should take any woman who discovers
them at once to her family physician
or to the nearest good surgeon or large
hospital?
Any lump or unnatural hardness in
any part of the breast or in the arm
pit, or any reddish or brownish dis
charge from the nipple with or without
soreness should receive instant atten-
ton and should be brought to the notice
of the family doctor or a competent
surgeon.
And especially is the painless lump
to be feared for the breast cancer in
it's earlier stages does not compel notice
by painful sensations.
When we speak of a lump or an I'M
natural hardness it means that cancer
of the breast is not at first accom-
panied by any noticeable change in the
size or shape of the breast, or in the
consistency of the remainder of it. The
disease sometimes shows itself as a
hardening or shrinking Of the breast
with indrawing of the nipple In such
cases the pores of the skin over the
location of the disease later become
very pronounced so that the appear
ance is much like that of pigskin. But
in the beginning there is no change
noticeable except the lump or hard
ness. If woman discovers this sign
she should go at once to physician
in whom she can have perfect conf
dence. He will determine the neces-
sity for further counsel. The patient
should not handle or irritate the affect
ed part, but should do exactly as the
doctor advises. No one more earnest
ly desires her to be cured than he.
Now all this does not mean that
there is more danger because some one
in the family has suffered from cancer
Nor on the other hand, is one safe just
because the disease never appeared in
the family before.
The unfounded fear of cancer will
cause many of the symptoms of the
disease. Like the baldheaded man
who caught cold from sitting under a
window which he thought was open, a
woman has been known to worry forty
pounds away on account of a lump in
her breast, which, removed by simple
operation, proved not to be cancer
land the forty pounds came back with
the relief which followed.