CANCER. 167 



CAN. I:K. 



Our remarks on this subject must necessarily bo brief, not because cancer is a 



<liseas< of little importance, but because, on the contrary, it is of so serious a nature 



that it is un.Miited for domestic treatment. It may, however, be of interest to 



i, r the circumstances which conduce, to the; development of this disease. As 



,\e all know, cancer, or carcinoma, as it is technically called, attacks many different 



parts of ti 'nt, however, we shall not speak of cancer of any par- 



>f cancer in general, referring to the local manifestations only 



incidentally. There is scarcely an organ or tissue in the body which is not liable to be 



'.ed l.v this terrible foe: it may be found in the brain, the eye, the lips and 



the limp*, the stomach, the bowels, the liver, the kidneys, the breast, the womb, 



-. and some other parts. The regions most frequently attacked are the 



womb, the stomach, and the female breast. 



There is a very prevalent opinion that cancer runs in families, and undoubtedly 



many cases occur which favour this view. Thus the first Napoleon died of cancer of 



the stomach, and so did his father and sister. When, however, the evidence as to 



r being hereditary is investigated on a large scale, there is found to be very 



in it. Out of 278 cases of cancer, it was found that in one instance only had 



the patient's father or mother died of that disease. Many people seem to imagine 



that because one of their parents died from cancer, they are doomed to suffer the 



same fate an opinion for which there is not the slightest foundation. 



Cancer is a disease which is common to all ranks of society, from the highest to 

 the lowest. Not only are the richest and poorest alike subject to it, but so are the 

 worst and best fed, those who are living under the most favourable atmospheric; 

 ce.nditions and those who are immured in the worst, those who are cleanly and those 

 who have a wholesome dread of soap and water, those of all temperaments and all 

 occupations, those who are apparently healthy, and those who are never well. It may 

 attack people of any age, from the baby at the breast to the nonagenarian. Shaking 

 generally, however, cancer may be said to be a disease of middle and advanced life, 

 for it comparatively rarely visits those who have any claim to be considered young. 

 (.'ancer is more common in women than in men, and it is said to occur more 

 frequently in those who are unmarried than in those who have taken upon themselves 

 the cares and pleasures of matrimony. 



Depressing mental emotions are said to give rise to, or at all events favour the 



production of, cancer. It would seem that the body weakened and its vitality 



lowered by worry of mind falls an easy prey to the invading disease. An eminent 



iin: his experience on this point says : " I have seen so many cases of 



r. more particularly of the abdominal organs, in individuals who had suffered 



from grief, anxiety, harass of mind, for years before the development of the malignant 



iiat although the doctrine is incapable of proof, I cannot but look upon it 



as probable that the cancer was the result of the antecedent, long-continued 



disquietude." The moral is " don't worry." 



( 'uriously enough, cancer appears to occur with very varying degrees of frequency 

 in different parts of the world. It is certainly more common in Europe than in any 



