Word: cancerous
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1930-1939
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...doctors, research problem No. 1 is cancer. No. 1 sleuth organization is the recently established National Advisory Cancer Council, a branch of the U. S. Public Health Service. Several months ago Surgeon General Thomas Parran appointed a committee of five eminent researchers* to correlate all the facts discovered about the cause and growth of cancer in the last 30 years. Last week the U. S. Public Health Service released the scientists' report. Significant facts...
...There is practically no difference in chemical make-up or physical structure between normal cells and cancer cells. Nor are cancer cells more sensitive to heat, cold, X-ray or radium than normal cells. Main difference between cancer cells and normal cells is that cancer cells are not subject to the body's discipline, but grow like wildfire...
...Cancer may be started by syphilis germs, certain viruses and tapeworms, or by application to the skin of simple chemicals (arsenic, chloride of zinc) and coal tar substances. But continued irritation does not cause cancer...
Fortnight ago the Journal of the A. M. A. printed Dr. Matz's conclusions. He found that: 1) almost 40% of the cancer victims had been engaged in occupations which irritated their lungs, such as certain types of mining and metal grinding; 2) almost 60% of the patients had suffered from influenza or pneumonia before the onset of cancer...
Influenza, said Dr. Matz, inflames the delicate lining of the lungs, causes erratic growth of new cells. Thus the widespread increase of lung cancers in the U. S. may be a result of the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. If this hypothesis is true, said Dr. Matz, "the increase should be transitory." But. he warned, if the increase is due primarily to "industrial expansion and irritation of the respiratory tract by noxious chemicals and gases," cancer of the lung is here to stay...