Evening star., 1924-04-11
m TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL y. COLLINS

The American society for the con :
troll of cancer has interested the Dis
trict of Columbia Medical Society TO
concentrate attention this week upon
that dread disease. Accordingly every
day at noon there is q lecture at the
National Theater for the purpose OF
informing the public Of the. danger
and the means Of meeting the disease
while az the Medical Society building,
171S, M street, there is a free Clinic
together with conferences Of doctors.
The physicians and surgeons have
been gratified at the success of their
clinic in attracting sufferers from
cancer or those people who had rea-
son to fear that they were in danger
for nearly one hundred such have
presented themselves for diagnosis
and advice within the first three or
four days.
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The population of the United
States numbers about 100000. OF
these, according to the medical pro-
fession, eleven million are going TO
die OF cancer, provided they live to
be thirty-five years old. Cancer Kills
twice as many victims as even the
most deadly modern war, with all Its
weapons and gas. While the world
war was Staying $4,000 American
soldiers cancer was killing 10000
Americans in their prime of life.
1t is the most insidious disease that
affiicts manity-releAtless, in early
stages painless, in later development
often extremely painful. 1t is swift
in striking down the otherwise
healthy victim, and bringing the end
usually within two or three years
from the time the first symptom ap-
skilled physician, while in it's first
stages. II is durable; if neglected
until 1t has gained a foothold in the
tissues, there 10 no remedy. That
is why the doctors feel it their duty
to sound a warning>to the public. so
that the scratch which refuses to
heal the strange lump which refuses
to go away, the wart or mole which
changes its form and becomes sore,
the liberation about the lips or inside
the mouth sometimes caused by a
| broken tooth or in case of smoker
by the burning from a pipe or cigar,
the indigestion which fails to respond
10 ordinary treatment, any of these
may be announcements that cancer
has appeared and that the patient
has but few more ysars TO live
unless treatment by q physician Is
begun at once.
There is no surer way of suicide
says the Cancer Society, than TO tenn
porize with salves and ointments In
self-treatmsnt. or by permitting
Guacks TO apply their "sure cures for
cancer" Nature cannot overcome
cancer; the roots of the disease must
De removed with skill or destroyed by
the mysterious power of radium or
the Roentgen ray. and as the layman
has no means Of Judging fakes In the
use, or alleged use, Of the precious
radiun, there Is more murderous
fraud committed by quacks IN handling
this disease than in any other form OF
charlaIanism.
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In q pamphlet Issued by this So
ciety, the so-cailed Serum cure" is
condemned as worthless, and the fol-
lowing summing up OF fake cancer
cures appears:
Drugs OF all kinds have been en-
pioyed, both for local administration
by injection or as Caustic pastes and for
general constitutional effect In some
the active agent is known as creosotet
in others the remedy is secret and the
compound is sold at high price to
physicians or to Iaymen who are siif-
ficiently credulous to purchase No
series Of authentic cures of cancer
has yet been demonstrated by any OF
these methods"
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The society warns the profession:
Most of the physicians of this
country have been taught in their
medical schools and their textbooks
Of surgery the distinctive and typical
symptoms of cancer which is no long
er early, but has already progressed
to the inoperable stage It is the
early and uncertain cases that must