Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-02-09
RADIUM IS USED WITH SUCCESS
IN ADVANCED CASES OF CANCER
important Palliative Results Have Been Obtained but It Cannot
Be Relied Upon to Effect Permanent Cure in Late
Stages of InoperabIe Tumors Is the Message
of Science to the Public.

New York.-Although radium has
produced very important palliative re-
suits in advanced cases of cancer, and
has even, in considerable number of
( cases, apparently caused complete
disappearance of the disease, yet il
cannot be relied upon to effect a per-
manent cure in the late stages of in
operable tumOrs, and therefore the i'm
portance of early diagnosis of cancer
is again emphasized. Such is the es-
sential message from science to the
public on the present status of the
radium treatment, according to DR.
James Ewing of Cornell University
Medical college who took part in q
symposium on this disease held this
afternoon at the American Museum of
Natural History under the auspices of
Section N physiology and Expert
mental Medicine) of the American AS
ISOLATION for the Advancement of Sci
ence. Other papers of special scien'
titic interest were presented by a num-
Der of the foremost students of the
cancer problem.
Doctor Ewing spoke from his expe-
rience with the radium treatment OF
cancer ut the Memorial hospital with
which he is connected as director OF
Cancer Research and which is receiv-
ing, through the generosity of DR.
James Douglas, Il large part of the
radium now produced under improved
processes by the United States Bureau
of Mines in cooperation with the Ma,
tional Radium institute.
Remarkably Little Soaring.
According to the speaker the use of
radium in cancer has within the last
ten years established itself vs. an ex.
cellent method of dealing with benign
and malignant tumOrs of the skin
which, when properly applied, it usu'
ally removes promptly and with re-
markably little soaring. In the major
types of cancer of the accessible mu-
cous membranes radium has also
achieved considerable success. 1t has
been chiefly tested i'm uterine cancer in
ical improvement of many inoperable
cases and several apparently complete
cures as attested by pOst-mortem ex-
animation after the patients had died
from other causes. A number of for
eign surgeons state that their results
are better than with surgery and they
employ radium in both Operable and
inoperabe uterine cases. The leading
American surgeons who are using
radium obtain equally good results, but
take the opposite position that they
prefer to operate in suitable cases.
According to the speaker. much the
same situation exists in regard to many
other forms of accessible cancer, while
few authorities even report apparent
success with such difficult cases as
those of the lip, tongue, rectum, etc.
at has become apparent" said Doctor
Ewing, that success depends very
largely upon the skill and accuracy of
application, upon knowledge of the
anatomical character of the particular
tumors treated, and above all, upon
attacking the disease before it is too
far advanced"
Limitations of Radium.
Referring to the limitations of
radium therapy as numerous and for
midable." Doctor Ewing pointed out
that 1.-The supply of this metal is small
and generally restricted to a few in
situations. The requisite skill to ap-
ply it safely and effectively and to
choose suitable cases is still more re-
stricted. Beginners often do more
harm than good and it is easy to dis
credit the agent entirely. The meth
DDS are badly in need of standardiza-
ton. Underdosage may destroy super
fetal tumor cells only and leave the
deeper ones to grow in the inflamed
tissues. OverdOsage causes the de-
struction of normal or diseased It's
sues, resulting in fistulas, hemOrrhage
and severe infection. With repeated
doses tumOr cells appear to become
less and normal tissue more suscepti-
BILE. Excessive soaring often results
and prolonged exposure to large
amounts often causes a peculiar and
severe form of genera, intoxication.
Several workers have had fatal results
from their attempts to cure advanced
cases. Finally, radium has only local
effect, extending at most to depth of
six to ten csutimeters, and if it has