The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-06-10
CAUSES or MOUTH CANCER

CAUSES 5, OF MOUTH CANCER
Ess . ..-S- 40
smokers CANON OF the mouth has
mad its proponents Il is accepted that
smoking ss one ofsthe principal causes
% cancer of the lips and tongue. There
re those syvho argue that. drinking hot
coIIee and the eating of hot feed also
are important causes of cancer OF the
1aoutns as well as stomach oNncers.a
snr. =. T.. Yield comes. forward with
pioon tnat . considerable part of the
nlouthSscanceis especially those which
ueveiop on the gums, are due to false
s.eeln. Or. Field is not a dentist, He is
nalerested IN treating cancers with RAJ
ululln, put his attention was attracted by
.ne number OF people with cancer who
attribute their trouble to plates, arches
and bridges.
VI II cases of cancer of the gums and
Jaws 81 said their first trouble appeared
nexteto artificial dentures. There were
o1 men in the list and q of them were
neaVy mok or the s. cases 10 re-
ported that their trouble started near
prldge work and 60 that it started near
plates. T~wo-thirds of the cases were in
the upper jaw. In 58 it was found that
the crowns, bridges and plates had not
ASPS SiS0A. III ldCl, liz u6uLdl WO1h
IN many cases was oun in a filthy con-
d1t'on. In many of the cases the nearby
1eeth were foul and ~decayed.
but the fault was not always with the
patient. In some cases the plates or
crowns mad been put on within a week
aIter the teeth has been Drawn. When
the gums and Ebohy processes absorbed
later on the dental work did not fit and
consequently kept the mouth constantly
1rr1tated. In some cases the dental work
had fitted when it was put in, but the
gums=and processes had shrunk or teeth
had shifted their positions, causing mis-
fits and resulting in irritation.
InsD per cent. of the cases seen the
u~lcerations and nodules on the gums
and cheeks had been neglected for
months and were almost hopelessly ad-
vanced. In some cases dentists and
physicians had seen these growths m
not recognised them as cancers. But IN
the great majority of cases the patient
was responsible for the neglect. He
noticed the sore place near his plate on
his gums, but he was afraid to find out
what the trouble was or assumed it to
be of no consequence, thought 1T would
get all right" In some cases he found
the patient had known there was an
ulcer on his gums for Is months.
DR.. Field has had fairly good success
treating cancer of the gums with ra-
dunn. Some cases too far advanced
for operation were improved by radium
treatments to the point where operation
became possible.
AILMENT OR DIPLOMACY.
Interested Reader writes: "Your re-
plies to Mrs. e. S. and to S. B. in re-
gard to sassafras remind me Of an ex-
perience l had years ago.. While teach
ing country school the good lady where
I boarded gave us ~sassafras tea regu-
larly for quite a while in the spring
AS I was fond Of it 1 drank freely with
out any thought of harm. It was said
1t was coed in the spring ;e II
tthinned the blood But aft. awhile
I began TO be rouble with nosebleec
daily, sometimes several times O day
My nose would begin to bleed without
any reason. After a%ttributing it to va
rious things n trying various remedies
I thought of the possibility OF sassaara.
tea being the cause. When l suggested
it to the good lady Of the house she said
We'll, cut it out and see.' Sure enough
after a few days the nosebleed ceased
Now, I have always wondered II 1t wa
@ happy coincidence or was there a 70
1ation Of aus and effect7"
Reply.
Probably a coincidence. There is som
ground for thinking that nosebleed !
apt to occur where there is too mucl
;bioodE sort Of safety valve. If sassa
fras thins the blood it should proven
nosebleed. In all probability it made n
difference either way. l thing o Wer
justified in ''kicktng up q noseblood t
get away from sassafras tea Boarde'
around, country school teachers have
hard time. Nobody blames them TO
working schemes to get the ZOO
changed.