The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-10-16
M. E.. TracySays:

MYTH great medical conventions IN session,
w we have been hearing quite lot about
what doctors have done for human health ana
what they expect to do in the future.
During the last two years, for instance 2o'oOo
cases of cancer have been reported as cured,
though the death rate from that disease is
admittedly increasing. DR.. Grille assures us tnaC
within another hundred years such maladles as
tuberculosis and diabetes will have disappeared
which sounds fine, except that none OF us VINO
are now alive will be here to enjoy 1t, or hold
him accountable if it should fail to turn out that
way. DR. Mayo forecasts an increase OF the life
span which seems logical, provided machinery
does not take too big a toll or lead to the IN
ception of a whole new crop of affections.
Meanwhile, would it be entirely unfair to
give plumbers engineers, chemists and even
ordinary folks some of the credit for improved
health? For one, I am willing to acknowledge
our debt to such vulgar accessories as the bath
tub soap, pure drinking water, adequate sewage
systems and well ventilated houses
Ut strikes me that the real triumph consists in
L keeping people well, rather than insuring
those who become ill., No matter how spectacu-
lar a cure may be, it is my observation that the
patient is seldom the same afterward.
OF course, we are not going to eradicate dis
| ease any more than are going to eliminate
death but if civilization has one worth while
purpose it is to so readjust conditions that nor
NAL people can enjoy normal lives in a normal
state of health.
There is not community without men who
have reached the age Of TO- 30, or even 80 years
without a severe illness or major operation.
These are the people whom we should be study
ing. not only with reference to their habits of
life but with reference to their ancestry, environ
ment and training. They furnish the real proof
of what can be done.
When I see an old man in good health, I
never fail to ask him, how come and generally
I learn something of value. He may have some
queer ideas on the subject, but that does not
mean that his constitution or way Of living is
meaningless.
VXTHEN see a man in the prime of life af-
w fcted with some dangerous ailrnent, or
obliged to undergo some major operation, ma
turally am interested in the possibility of his
recovering. because of the ever present appre-
hension that might some day face the same
peril What I really want to know, however, is
how or where he got it. so that I can be on
guard. I think that is what most people want
to know.
In all ages a small minority Of human beings
have passed through life without the torment of
disease. They have survived epidemics, have
dwelt amid what We regard as unwholesome
surroundings, have suffered from exposure and
hardship yet have come through all right. You
find them not only in civilized lands but in the
jungle not only in this good day Of radium and
violet rays, but in primitive times. How did
they do it? What is the secret of their ability
to avoid or resist disease? We DO not know
and the worst of it is, We are making compare
lively little effort to find out.
Our attention is devoted almost wholly to sick
people. On the same theory lawyers ought to
study bad laws, engineers ought to concern
themselves with fallen buildings or collapsed
dams and chemists ought to be browsing on
exploded theories.