CANCER 



1152 



CANDLEBERRY 



protected against dirt and injuries are almost 

 entirely free from cancerous growths, while 

 these growths do attack those parts not pro- 

 tected by clothing and therefore exposed to 

 dirt and injuries. Preventive measures would 

 therefore include the avoidance of all possible 

 irritation of the tissues; eating only those foods 

 which are absolutely clean or have been ster- 

 ilized by cooking; practicing moderation in 

 choosing one's diet, and observing hygienic rules 

 of living. 



Treatment. Statistics show that cancer is 

 one of the most frequent causes of death 

 among persons over forty years of age, and 

 that beyond a certain stage the disease is in- 

 curable. Institutions for the study and treat- 

 ment of this scourge of humanity are found 

 in every civilized country, and the problem is 

 engaging the attention of the most skilled in- 

 vestigators in the medical and scientific world. 

 The most common method of treatment is 

 removal by knife, and as yet, so far as known, 

 this is the most reliable method. 



In recent years the X-rays and radium 

 forms of treatment have been attracting wide 

 attention. Within certain limits both have 

 been found of value in checking cancerous 

 growths, but the ultimate cure is still an unat- 

 tained goal. In regard to their use, about 

 which many false hopes have been cherished, 

 the following points should be remembered: 

 their curative effects are practically limited 

 to superficial cancers of the skin, to superficial 

 growths of mucous membrane which are not 

 true cancers and to some deeper-lying tumors 

 not very malignant. That large group of can- 

 cers known as generalized, that is, dissem- 

 inated through the body, cannot be benefited 

 by radium or the X-ray, nor can those which 

 are not accessible to these methods of treat- 

 ment. Others which are accessible sometimes 

 grow so rapidly they offset the curative effects. 

 It should also be remembered that the supply 

 of radium is limited, and its fabulous cost 

 puts it out of the reach of the great majority 

 (see RADIUM). 



If the victims of cancer could be brought to 

 a realization of the fatal danger that lies in 

 delay, death statistics for this disease would 

 tell a different story. Any lesions on the lips, 

 sores in the mouth, lumps on the breast and 

 other irritations liable to lead to cancer that 

 do not disappear in a few weeks should have 

 the attention of a physician and be removed. 

 Thorough . examination and proper treatment 

 at an early stage of the disease are absolutely 



essential. Patent medicines that deaden pain 

 without affecting the cause of the irritation 

 are worse than useless, for the temporary relief 

 they afford deceives the victim and permits 

 the incipient cancer to make dangerous head- 

 way. W.A.E. 



CANCER (the crab), the fourth sign of the 

 zodiac, entered by the sun on or about the 

 twenty-first of June and quitted a month later. 



The symbol is 



The constellation of Can- 



cer is no longer in the sign of Cancer, but at 

 present occupies the place of the sign of Leo 

 (see ZODIAC; PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES). 

 The Tropic of Cancer is the name given to 

 the northern tropic (see TROPICS). According 

 to mythology Cancer is the crab that attacked 

 Hercules when he was destroying the Hydra, 

 a monster with a hundred heads. 



CANDELABRUM, kande la'brum, from the 

 Latin candela, properly refers to a candle 

 holder, but in late years the name has also 

 been given to any ornamental support of a 

 lamp. Workers in metals since the ancient era 

 have displayed their genius in devising graceful 

 forms. The Etruscans probably excelled in the 

 art. The most beautiful examples have been 

 found in the buried cities of Herculaneum and 

 Pompeii. 



CANDIA, kan'dia, the capital of the island 

 of Crete (which see) before it became the pos- 

 session of Greece in 1912. It is an ancient city; 

 it is on the site of the ancient Heracleum, 

 which was the seaport of Cnosus. The modern 

 Candia dates from the ninth century, when it 

 was founded by the Saracens. Genoa owned it 

 and fortified it in the twelfth century, and later 

 it was an outpost of Venice. For later history, 

 see CRETE. Population in 1910, 22,683. 



CAN'DLEBERRY, or BAY 'BERRY, or WAX 

 MYRTLE, mer't'l, a shrub from whose wax- 

 covered berries the popular bayberry candles 

 are made. These burn with a pleasant, piny 

 odor, and are connected by tradition with 

 Christmas, the old belief being that on that 

 day 



A bayberry candle burned to the socket 

 Brings health to the body, joy to the heart, 

 And gold to the pocket. 



The candleberry shrub, which grows from 

 four to eighteen feet in height, is to be found 

 all along the eastern coast of North America, 

 but is much more abundant in the South. The 

 berries with their coating of wax are boiled, 

 and the greenish-white tallow is skimmed from 

 the surface. From a bushel of berries four or 

 five pounds of wax may be obtained. 



