HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-03-27, Page 28page.
ASi
ociety volunteers not experts but can help
If you- choose to work
for the Canadian Cancer
Society in their fight
against cancer, your
friends and acquain-
tances are sure to. look
upon you as an expert'on
the subject, They will ply
you with questions and it
is important that you
should be in a position to.
;reply sensibly. -
You must not -make up
answers, borrowing•
medical terms without
medical knowledge. What
you must de is to speak
the simple truth in a
matter of fact way with
sincerity and un-
derstanding.
Be serious because
cancer is a very serious
sU.bject, but da not be
mournful. Cancer is not a
sentence of death, It is
one group of diseases
among many. And it is
only ignorance and fear
which makes men speak
of it in a special voice as
if It were specially to be
feared.
You must learn to
speak_ of cancer in ,the
same tone of voice in
which you would speak of
any other seriousdisease,
truthfully and without
fear,, And you must
behave -like this not only
because it is truthful but
because it is also helpful.
Many more "people die
of cancer which could
have been cured, than of
cancer for which a cure
As members of the education committee" for the Goderich Branch of the
Canadian Cancer Society, Joan Hibbert and _LoisMcG�ll_uld ltke.ao- __
rem n everyone of the- seven stepsto health: have a medical and dental
check-up; watch for any change in your normal 'state of health; find out
about any lump or sore that does not heal; protect yourself against too much
sunlight; do not smoke; have a pap test; and do a monthly breast, self-
examination. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
Skin cancer twice as
common here now
"Melanoma, a rare and
serious type of skin
cancer, is twice as
common in Canada as it
was 15 years ago," says
Dr. J. M. Elwood, of
Vancouver.
To find out ' why this is
Office
location
The office of the Huron
Unit of the Canadian
Cancer Society is located
at 7 Albert Street in
Clinton (next to Clinton
town hall),
+++
The newly formed
Clinton branch of the
Huron Unit of the
Canadian Cancer Society
will hold a raffle -on a rug
hooked by Marg
Reynolds as their first
fund raising project.
so, the four western
provinces are co-
operating in a study of the
disease, thought to be the
first of its kind. It is
directed by Dr. Elwood,
head of the Department
of Epidemiology for the
Cancer Control Agency
of B.C. and is funded by
the National Cancer
Institute of Canada,
through public donations
to the Canadian Cancer
Society.
"We plan to obtain
information on the
causative factors of
melanoma primarily
through interviews,"
says Dr. Elwood. "We
want to identify the in-
dividual factors which
might explain why some
people get melanoma and
some people don't."
Home interviews will
be conducted with 750
people who develop
melanorina within the
has yet to be found. They
die because they delay
going to see their doctor.
They leave it too late.
Some delay because they
fail to realize that
anything serious is -the
matter with thein. But
..many more .delay
precisely because they
fear they have cancer
and they promptly
abandon all hope.
Tragically and
mistakenly they hold to
the terrifying belief that
cancer is usually, or even
inevitably, fatal. And it is
not. Many cancers are
cured. Many more
--cancers -ean-be--eured--if-
next two years and will
range over a variety of
questions such as place of
birth, occupation, history
of illness, diet and use of
medical drugs and
hormones. Exposure to
sunlight will also be
studied.
A control group of a
similar number of people
of the same age and sex,
representing the general
population, alsd-will be.
interviewed. The study
will require the
assistance of the cancer
registries in the four
western provinces and
the date will be analyzed
in Vancouver.
The study will include a
pathology review of all
tumors aswell as, sur-
vival 'and prognosis
records. This part of the
investigation is expected
to produce information on
long term outlook for
patients.
they are detected and
treated in the early
stages.
Those who delay,
therefore, need
knowledge and -
reassurance. They need
to be told, perhaps by
you, that there is nothing
to be lost and everything
to be gained by seeing a
doctor at once. If their
illness is not even serious
then their minds will be
put at rest. If it is, then
early diagnosis and
treatment is their best
hope.
To state a truth like
that, however is not
always to convince. You
will need to be armed
with a basic knowledge of
the subject, with facts to
support your advice.
....... 'And first,_.yaua.must:he.__
able to answer the simple
question; What is can-
cer?.
You must explain that
cancer is not one disease
but many. But what is
common to all cancers is
the uncontrolled
behaviour of cells of the
body. Normally the cells
of the body, divide for a
purpose - to promote
growth, to repair •
damaged parts, to
replace worn out cells.
Bilt sometimes the'
control of this process
breaks down. The cells
multiply needlessly. They
invade adjacent tissues.
They emigrate around
the body. They multiply
in distant organs. And
this abnormal'behaviour
is cancer.
Some canters can be
prevented. Some can be
cured. Many can be
controlled. It is therefore
quite wrong to believe
that cancer is inevitably
fatal. it is not. And if it
can be detected and
treated before it travels
round the body, then
there is a greater chance
of cure. That is why it is
so important to see a
doctor at once. Delay can
mean needless death.
To speak the truth
about cancer, therefore,
is to contribute not only to
knowledge but to life, In QM nous. us e sen -
taking part in the Cancer sible.R I,et the .content Of
Society's program, that is your message b e its own
the measure of the messenger,
responsibility which you Once you have recited
have accepted. the Seven Steps to Health "'
And ifou succeed in. and repeated the advice -
getting the the when in doubt see
across-- the sooner the doctor you can turn to
treatment for cancer..
:But
better -- "then you are is medical territory
bound to be asked:
How_ ,
do people know if they 1 1 d 't ' f 1
have a cancer? Will it, for
instance, hurt?
The answer here is that
pain comes late in most.
forms of cancer. You
have to look for other.
symptoms and there is no
such thing as a specific
exc usive y an o ly
to.venture too far into it.
Instead, content
yourself with explaining •
that there- are essentially
three methods of treating
cancer - surgery,
radiotherapy and drugs.
The first two seek to -;
cure. Sur-g,er�,remoyes,,
•.•-.syr�rpten�-whie�r-•-&1•�a3�-s ,-.�-----�-.
a.
means cancer. The
warning signs of cancer
can also be those of
trivial complaints.
And that is your
dilemma,
THE SEVEN
STEPS TO HEALTH
Volunteer workers in
cancer used to be taught
to emphasize that any
persistent departure
from normal. health
should be examined by a
doctor And that is ex-
cellent advice. Then to
recite a list of seven
warning signs, explaining
that the seven are most
likely not to, signify
cancer but that they do
call for immediate
medical advice.
abnormal cells;
radiotherapy (X-rays,
Cobalt, Radium, Linear
Accelerator, , Betatron,
Cesium, etc.) destroys.
them. Both methods
work. Some cases should
be treated only with
surgery; some only by
radiotherapy; some by
both. Between them the -
surgeon and the
,radiotherapist cure
people of cancer every
The seven signs listed Drugs are used more to
hoarseness, bleeding,
lumps and a persistent
cough. But the recital of
them to unprefiared
listeners contributed to
-their fear and' en-
couraged delay rather
than prompting action.
So instead -volunteer
workers were taught a
seven safeguards ex-
plaining what preventive
measures healthy people
could take to reduce the
probability of cancer. But
this recitatkon too often
fell on deaf ears, a victim
-of-the indifference of the
healthy.
Somehow a bridge had
to be built between the
hope of early diagnosis
and treatment and the
even greater hope of
prevention. And between
them _doctors and
volunfe'er workers have
produced such a bridge
which they have called
the Seven Steys to Health.
In them you will detect
some mention both of the
symptoms of cancer and
the means of prevention.
The recital of this list is
the trickiest part of your
exercise. You have
moved from the scientific
to the clinical, from cells
to people.
It is therefore -essential
to be neither flippant nor
lengtlenlife than to cure.
They relieve the *symp-
toms. There is' no one
wonder 'drug effective
against all cancer, no
cancer is not one disease
but many.
But there are many
drugs' which ease the
patient and arrest the
cancer.
And every day
physicians report in-
creasing success in this
chemotherapy (drugs) to.
cancer. The future may
indeed belong to it and to
Immunotherapy (im-
munizing against cancer)
in which the results so far
are wholly encouraging.
It will not belong to the
cranks and the quacks.
Cancer has its charlatans
like every other field of
medicine. They claim
high rates of cure without
offering sufficient
evidence to corroborate
those claims. Be cautious
in discussing them.
Advise those who seek
your advice' to see a
doctor of prOven
professional ability.
You can exercise your
freedom of mind in
exorcising myths. In
response to the ragbag of'
folklore, you can point out
that cancer is not in -
This informative publication'is brought to you with the kind co-operation of the following
LAKEPORT STEEL
INDUSTRIES LTD.
GODERICH
HANOVER STEEL & PIPE SUPPLY
RR 3 HANOVER
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GODERICH
ELECTRIC
Goderich
524-9512
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14 THE SQUARE
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