Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-29

the 'IIaf Hour Health Talks which
members of the Army Medical Corps
have delivered before tho employees
of the War Department by order OF
SURGEON General William Crawford
Goreaa They nrc probably the most
authoritative advice upon medicine
nnd hygiene which has ever been
offered the public IN popular form
This talk was delivered by Mnlor
W / Mayo, Medical Corps, " A.,
Of Rochester, Minnesota. who IS
leadng authority ON cancer
In the United States today there are
more than 100000 persons afflicted with
cancer. and about 81 600 IF these VIII dlo
during the year.
The most tragic part of this condition
is the fact that more than bali of these
dentha are preventabr and hall ot the
rcrnainlng fatal cases might have been
cured by nm cnrly operation For whle
ar,encc tIoea not vet know tho exact ma
tnrc of cancer, II docs know the condi-
tlous which lead to It's development, aud
these conditions may m large measure he
| controlled The terrible mortality from
cancer is therefore largely due - iEn"r
ancc
Cancer an abnormal growth of tissue
within the body Certain cells m the cIn-
| bryonic stage fail 10 develop and perform
| their normal functions, and the nun iplra
! ION ~ thrse ,Isciesa cells form the titn"r
/ What curses the cclls to be checked IN
| thetr normal development ~ not y't
/ known. although there are several Ptth5
| lille THEORIES But the prediEpoFlng con
| dit lnpa whIch lead - thls abh'tiIt'
growth arr known. and may bc controlled
| Tbn,s canccr nearly always forms ~
qornc lesion upon tho body such rs "a
wart n mole, n bruised or injected spot
| Tina lesion becomes initiated. and the
growth Of abnormal cells hcgrns
plzpAar oF isrFn TRY
The nee II tho individual playe m lfn-
| parfanf part IN susceptibility = cancer, +,
| for tho common form of cpncor I7 "s@'n.
tlallV disease of Inter lifc when snrno oi
| tho iipsucs have become weakened
IN spite ~ popular opinion 70 the con
trarv. cancer Is nut an hereditary disease
| Certain famll IS NAV hive tissie9 "hi'h
deveInp cancer more readily than nfh'te,
but iha IS only small facf"r ~ nc de
| vpIouutci,t ~ the disease ~lnce one pl'
of cvcrv ninc women and nnc ont - every
H. men die - cancer. = IS not surprising
that often scvrra ca~es should occur ~
tic anrno family
Equally fnilaclous IS the b"lie' 'fat
cancer "a roufng,ors. thc Rense fh't +
ran IT, carried from one person r. anoth'T
and there ls no proof that = = con aE''''s
| under ans. circumstances
anccr Il aad by atntlsticlaus ~ be ~
tho increase Since the average human
llfc has hccn lcnRthened about - Years
sInec lAGO tie number of persons VII" trf
of thc avp most susceptible 70 c7ncrr
has been increased and Therefore ne
relative number of casrs has grown I'it
thcrq i no evidence thai rgncer - more
prryalrnt naw than ever before ~ ih'
Ecnsc hat oue i more apt io f0nftif' y
| At TITO Same ftmc he treatment 81 can
crr Il making cures constantly innrr ire
omenf Tho - of the < raw n diagnosis
was 4 great forward strp The .so-chlled
brmpn ulnnrs arc now often cured nv 2
slmple operation. whilc malignant growfh'
arc often successfully removed by mor'
thorough operations
OCCUPATIONS NAY CAUSE THE n -
Certain occupations may so th'
contraction nf cancer Workers - aHalinf
dies absorb dclctcrIous substances, wmcf
sometimes cause cancer. Cobalt wnrker'
often have canrcr IF tho lungs from ~
inhalation of irritating particles nf cobalt
and workers IN tar develop irritatons a
points where the tar comes INTO eontac
with the skin which may develop .ntf
canccr SCOT has an irritating ciiect ol
the skin and the frequency ~ canfe
among chimney sweeps Is proof o' TINS
Those who work IN arsenic and its prcpara
tIonz sometimes absorb enough 10 over
stimulate the skin. and cancer czpeciail'
~ tic hands and fecl. may develop. Per
son. working with the x-rnv often deveiol
e.i. rl- -
There arc several kinds ~ cancer
some of Whleh attack the skin mueu
membranes and secreting glands whil
others attack the bones, muscles and con
ncftIyc TISSUES 1t Is believed that IN a
Of them some Lessons that Is som
point Of irritation. Is necessary beIoT
the cancer can form It j. probable that
majority of human beings are immune =
cancer, that n lesser number possess
partial immunity. while a minority ar
without the protective agencies wmc
render the LESSONS harmless. The cond
ton Of such persons Is described as pre-
canrcronS.
CArsArIVE LEstoNs.
The LESSONS which may lead TO cancc
are classified rs Il congemtal, = trat
matte. - chronic irritatlve The hrs
class includes all sorts II muicS warts an
benign tuuors The second Includes n
lures. such as bruises, wounds and burn
The third class includes ali sorts ,
mechanical. chemical and infectious q
ritations. such "a those caused by 0ccupt
ton. and Is the greatest factor IN the pr
!. duction of cancer The potency OF chron
irritation IN producing cancer has bee
! proved in many ways. For example, !
India there are cattle which pull loads b
means of ropes passed through hol'
: bored through the base of the horl
! Cancer al the base If the horn is ver
I common among these cattle, and Is Sc
! dom seen ia others
! \ Copenhagen scientist found that RAJ
I in certain American sugar warehouse
I frequently had cancer Of the Stomacl
! He learned that these rats ate "a kind ,
! cockroach which was infected with
! parasite that irritated tho stomachs
I the rats, and he was able 70 produ,
1 cancer in other rats by feeding them q
! these eockroaches
! There is abundant evidence that Q,
1 tcrnal cancer in man Is nearly alwa,
4 caused by some sort Of an irritation, az
! scientists believe that internal cancer ma
/ often hc due To the same cause
Il III parts Of China where the head
= shaped BY the public BARRIERS the razo
III F,,n Il