The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-06-02
EXPLGDES MYTHS
REGARDING CANCER
Facts About Disease Given
By Science Academy
Lecturer.

hNNnbtOh, ny, way OtdllbllCS
used in cancer propaganda to show
the supposed SERIOUS spread" of the
trouble mean nothing, DR.. II. Gideon
Wells, of the University Of Chicago,
told members of the Kentucky AGA.
deny of Science in delivering the
principal address at the ninth annual
meeting of that body held in the
physics lecture room of the Univer-
sity of Kentucky campus. With the
exception of removal Of the tumors by
means of the X-ray and other aids,
no definite leads to the control Of
cancer have as yet been established,
he added.
He addressed the seventy-five or
more scientists who were here for the
meeting of the academy on the sub
ject 1.-THE Present Status Of the Can
Ger Problem"
At the close of the principal ad-
dress the annual meeting of the or
ganization was concluded with the
election of Lucien Beckner, Winches-
ter, and prominent oil geologist as
president for the coming year; John
f. Gunton, Pennsylvania College, was
elected vice president, while DR.. A..
M. Porter and w. S. Anderson, both
of the Kentucky Agricultural Expert
ment Station, were reelected secre-
tary and treasurer respectively.
Statistics Are Misleading.
In showing the fallacy of statistics
commonly used to point out the grow
ing menace that cancer represents,
DR.. Wells used characteristic set
which showed large decrease in the
number of deaths from child diseases
and a striking increase for deaths
from cancer.
"In view OF the fact that cancer
is a disease of old age, 1t is logical
that as deaths from child diseases
decrease, those from cancer should
increase, he pointed out. I'VE have
to die OF something" he added.
"The biggest advances toward dis
covering a means of controlling can
Ger have been made in the past six
years." the speaker continued.
among the things which have been
more or less definitely established in
connection with this disease are the
facts that, in all probability, cancer
Is not caused by specific parasite,
in no reasonable sense is 1t con-
tagious, Il is not possible to isolate
the causative agent of cancer, and 1t
is not necessarily hereditary dis
ease. That is. II father and mother
have cancer, II does not necessarily
follow that the offspring will. IL
also has been established by expert
ments with mice that some strains
are less susceptible to 1t than 9TH
ers."
Unnatural Cell Growth.
DR.. Wells opened his lecture with
n series of lantern slide views In
which he showed the nature of can
GERS. which he described as con-
tinued unnatural growth of cells.
This growth shuts off the source OF
nourishment of other cells, the chief
trouble arising from the fact that
bacteria thus are given an oppor-
tunity to infect the tissues around
the affected area.
Cancer may be caused by the ap-
plication of heat over long period
of time, by ill-fitting dental plates
n broken tooth or any number of 9TH
er causes that result in unnatural and
continued stimulation OF cell growth.
As for cures, hope in this direction |
lies in educating people to recognize
cancers and have them
removed before they boone serious,
the speaker concluded. Drugs are |
useless in that they kill the cells OF
the organ on which the. cancer is
found as we'll as the cancer, while
the hope for the development OF
serum which will control the dis
ease is almost hopeless, he said.
Twenty papers were read ON the
morning program Of the academy, !,
which was preceded by a business
session in which number of routine !
business matters were taken care OF.