The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-11-03

In men, cancer OF the stomach OF
of the bowels is the most frequent.
If man steadily loses weight--twen-
ty, thirty, forty pounds-and has in
digestion, internal cancer of the stom-
ach or bowels should be suspected.
If he does not soon get better, say
within two months, the abdomen
should be opened and any necessary
operation be done. The disease sec
tion of the stomach or bowel is re-
moved; but too often the exploratory
operation is done too late and the
disease returns after a while. If no
cancer is found, the abdomen is closed
and he is practically sure to get well
within ten to fourteen days.
Warts and moles-not such as come
and go on the hands of young people,
but those which remain apparently
harmless for years without any change
are serious sources of danger,
more particularly those which are dis
colored, brown or black. After many
years of quiet existence, for some
unknown reason suddenly they begin
to grow. Very soon the glands in
the neck, armpit or groin begin to
enlarge, at first always quite painless
ly. When these glands become en-
larged the whole system is often in
volved and the possibility of saving
life is very doubtful.
All such permanent, pigmcnted
moles and warts should be removed
before to grow together with the
whole thickness Of the skin. To tie
woman's long hair around them is
the very worst thing to do. 1t only
stimulates them to grow more rapidly.
Appalling Statistics
The deaths from cancer are contin-
ually increasing, and have reached a
most alarming total. In the World
War, from April, 1917, to July, 1919,
76,433 of our gallant soldiers lost
their lives by wounds and disease.
In the same length of time, about
10000 of our population died from
cancer-over 100000 more than the
total military deaths! Of our total
annual deaths of persons over forty
years of age, one person in every ten
"es of cancer. Of all deaths among
v omen over forty, one out of every
eight is caused by cancer. Do not
these figures startle you, my reader?
Is it not all-important that you should
recognize the red flag of danger"
when you discover the first recogniz-
able sign of possible cancer-a lump"
anywhere, or an abnormal discharge
of blood?
"What is the cause of cancer?"
you ask; "and why aren't you busy
finding out?" l answer that no one
problem of disease is being attacked
as is the cause of cancer. If we find
the cause, we will be at the halfway
house on the road to prevention to
cure.
There are special laboratories of
research on cancer alone in Boston,
New York City, Buffalo, London,
Paris, Heidelberg, and other cities,
and also not a few personal investi-
gators in other places, all laboring to
discover the cause, and how to prevent
cancer and thus to avoid the dread
full alternative of surgical operation.
from the surgical, the pathological,
the microscopical, the chemical, the
biological, and the experimental side.
We have learned great deal; for
instance, that cancer is always a
strictly local disease at the beginning,
so that, if you remove this small
lump early enough, cure is almost
certain. If you wait, the disease
spreads by an absorbent vessels and
the blood vessels to the neighboring
glands (under the jaw, in the armpit
or the groin, or in internal glands
or to distant parts, and then the case
is hopeless for cure. All we can do
is palliate. Early operation before
the disease has thus spread is the
sine qua non for success.
Ultimate Success Certain
The X-rays and radium are being
very extensively experimental with,
and most hopefully in certain forms
of cancer. 1t is with this in view that
the fine women of America presented
Madame Curie with one gram Is
grains) of radium, costing one hun
dred thousand dollars. I have per-
sonally known of some remarkable
cures by the X-rays and radium. But
they should be used only by experts,
OF they may do irreparable damage.
Even if they do no damage, in case
they do not cure, their use not seldom
delays operation until it is too late.
Wa bove also learned bv these