CANCER. 191 



Certainly our present artificial mode of life saps the 

 vitality of the race very rapidly, and the more it be- 

 comes estranged from natural life, the more rapidly 

 will degenerations be acquired, but that, at the 

 present day, liability to cancer can be built up in 

 healthy stock in one generation, we have no proof 

 whatever. 



The last two cases of cancer I had under my care 

 were women (who are much more liable to the disease 

 than men). One was an imbecile, a poor creature 

 with squint, and evidently of a degenerate stock. 

 At first no history could; be got, but when she was 

 dying a relative came to visit her, and on being told 

 the state of affairs, said, " Ah, poor soul ! her mother 

 died of just the same thing." The other was a single 

 woman, of about forty-four years of age, several of 

 whose brothers and sisters had died of consumption. 

 This was the only family history which could at first 

 be got, but later it was discovered that her mother 

 and mother's mother had died of cancer of the womb. 

 These cases I only mention as being the last I have 

 seen ; taken alone, they would prove little. It is 

 quite possible that the occurrence of the same disease 

 in mothers and daughters and grand-daughter was 

 mere coincidence ; such, however, could hardly be 

 the explanation of the following case, which I quote 

 from Sir James Paget. A lady died of cancer of 

 the stomach ; of her children, one daughter died of 

 cancer of the stomach, and another of cancer of the 

 breast. Of her grandchildren, two died of cancer of 



