Clinton News-Record, 1984-03-28, Page 29HOPE page 6
Clinton volunteers active in the work of the Canadian Cancer Society are, left to right,
Wendy Tremeer, Huron County Unit secretary and Clinton Branch treasurer; Steve Biskup,
Unit treasurer; Rita Flynn, Branch transportation chairman; and Gayle Brownridge, Unit
relief secretary. Absent for photo . were the. following Branch members; Freda Slade -
president; Helen Davies -past president and PD&N; Marion Peck -secretary; Gerry Holmes -
campaign chairman; Steve Brown -special events chairmen; Elaine Blair -patient services;
and Hazel Brown-P.S. convener. (Photo by Jeanne Buchanan)
Who is the Cancer Society
Who is the Canadian Cancer Society? distribute Society materials.
It is you and millionsof other Canadians.
The Society is made up of volunteers frotn SERVICE TO PATIENTS
every._corner Q a d&1 terglly millions
of _. contribute money and time A more recent activity of the Society is - .
everyyear toe-Societyy,
The Society is headed -by a
Service %patients: Vohunteers-frono across
_ headed National Office the countr-yshelp eancer'patients .tope with ._
and has Divisional Offices in each of the ten their illness. There are a number of dif-
provinces. Each Division in turn is divided ferent programs individually suited to pro -
into smaller groups finally resulting in the vincial needs. Several provinces ..have
local units in your area to which you and/or established lodge accommodation for out -of -
your neighbour may belong. About 5000 town `patients attending the hospital for
communities in Canada are served by the treatment. Services offerd by the Society
Society. can vary from the provision of dressings,
Internationally, the Society is a leading prostheses and pain -killing drugs to such
ineiiii er oftheeTnternational Union Against personal services as- driving- patients to:--. —7
Cancer. People from the Society work clinics for periodic treatments or check-up -
through this and other ° international and home visiting. A number of provinces
organizations to share ideas with. people have programs in which former and current
around the world. Because of its highly sue- cancer patients can talk with each other for
cessful and innovative programs and emotional support. There is the Mastectomy
materials the Society's expertise is called Visitors Program, aimed. at helping the
upon by many nations. mastectomy patient resume her normal life,
both physically and emotionally. Free tem -
Nobody in the Society is paid with the ex- porary prostheses are available to mastec-
ception of a small professional staff to serve tomees, and there is even material for
the volunteer committees and boards that
conduct the affairs of the Society. Most of husbands to help them deal with their wives'
cancers. The Society believes that often
the daily person-to-person contact that is at
the heart of the Society's activities is done emotional and psychological support is as
by individual volunteers in every part of the important as medical treatment in helping
nation people deal with cancer.
•
There are four main activities of e RESEARCH
a Society: Public Education, Service to Pa-
tients, Research and Fund Raising. The The Society is the major source of funds`
Faets
oskin cancer Society's funds for cancer research are ad- for cancer research in Canada. The money
Here are the facts about cancer of the skin CAUSES OF SKIN CANCER of Canada, the medical -scientific sister stitute of Canada (NCIC), a medical -
ministered by the National Cancer Institute is administered by the National Cancer In-
- signs and symptoms, progress in diagnosis organization of theSociety.
and treatment, hope for recovery and for Repeated exposure over many years to
the future. the ultraviolet rays of the skin is the grin- PUBLIC EDUCATION
Cancer of the skin is the most common of cipal known cause of skin cancer. No one is The Society was founded in 1938 as a
all cancers. With the exception of malignant . immune, but those at higher risk are men
melanoma, a rare form of the disease, the , and women who continuously work in the voluntary charitable organization. Doctors
overall cure rate for skin cancer is higher sun or seek it out to swim, ski, play tennis, were concerned about patients with cancer
than 90 percent:. About 16,000 new cases of boat, golf, fish, or simply stretch out to get a who delayed a long time before seeking
skin cancer are detected each year in tan. Farmers, fishermen and sailors as well medical treatment. An original goal of the
Canada. There are approximately 400 as other outdoor workers are at a high risk.Society was the education of the public to in-
,
rotect-Ourselves . .
reported. deaths from skit- cancer every However; we alk:need to -_p creaseWknowledge about the early detection,
year but at least 80 percent of them result from the direct rays of the sun. Although of cancer. That is still a major theme of the
from the melanoma variety, some sun exposure cannot be avoided, the Society: early detection and treatment can
North American habit of getting a tan a save lives:
FUNCTIONS OF THE SKIN should be • discouraged' vigourously, In the late 1950s, the Society developed
especially in teenagers and young adults anomer.major theme:
The skin protects the body from injury. It since it is exposure over time which is cancers can publiccally education prevented. :
also receives sensory impulses, excretes dangerous. manyexample is the nymeer ofv cancersd
A
waste substances and regulates body Fair -Ahmed people, notably redheads striking p
and blonds, are most susceptible to skin caused by cigarette smoking. We estimate
ed structuresture. h is done through and nails,ai� that today more than 7500 cancer' deaths
ed such as nerves, hair and cancer: -Their problem is they lack sufficient each year, one in five, are by
pores and various types of glands. quantities of melanin, the pigment cigarette eand thereforearecaused eld by
Skin is constantly exposed to sun, wind, in- substance that filters out the rays of the sun. A smoking and more about e
dustrial elements and other causes of exter- The wide range of skin tones is deterinined. ' prevented.causingsubstanceswlr them re about , cancer-
nal -
and internal injury. Although abnor- . by the amount of melanin in the skin; the eludingtlace, v of diett, in -
malities resulting from these conditions are darker brown the skin, the greater the health nd workplace,
ease, ite andis the roleet will
in
usually not cancerous, some can lead to amount of melanin. Blacks, among whom discover even. more ways tok preventhacancan
cancer skin cancer is rare, have sufficient melanin Most things, of don't cancer,
The most common pre -cancerous condi- to protect their skin from ultraviolet rays. butt• things,
og the course,edon' few cause dances
tion is senile or actinic (sun -ray) keratosis, The albino has no melanin. that doe will put us onre the road to avoiding or
a scaly skin -thickening that develops in a Those who are out in the sun either eliminating thein.
small area, usually the face, neck or hands. because of occupation or sport interests g
This type of keratosis most often develops in should use one of the many readily- The Public Education program of the
older persons whose skin has been exposed available sun block preparations,. and, if Society has grown to the point where it is
for many years to the ultra -violet rays of the possible, a protective hat and long-sleeved now the most important source of informa-
sunshirts should tie worn. tion about cancer in Canada. Films, poster
WHAT IS SKIN CANCER? Other less common but important risk pamphlets, TV messages, radio promos,
a . factors, usually found in an industrialset- window streamers, transit cards and but -
There are three main types of skin cancer, ting, are prolonged contacts with coal, tar, tons are just some of the media employed.
paraffin oil and p
pitch,arsenic compounds, p There are school kits, breast self -
basal
according to the cells_nvolved �._ � ,.,�
basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma. examination -clinics, workplace visits, club
More than 95 percent of all skin cancers fall DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS - presentations, special events, mall displays,
into the first two classifications. Most skin programs with health professionals and
cancers invade only local adjacent tissues People should be alert to any, unusual skin public forums. Thousands and thousands of
but some, including malignant melanoma, Turn to page 7 • volunteers conduct and
the rarest type of skin cancer, may spread
in the blood or lymphatic system. Because
melanoma has some very different
characteristics from the other two types Of
- skin cancer, it is described separately near
the end of this article.
Basal cell cancer occurs most frequently,
but grows slowly and rarely spreads.
However, if left untreated, the cancer can
extend to underlying bone or adjacent skin
tissue, causing considerable problems.
Squamous cell cancer occurs less often, and
occasionally can spread rapidly. Since both
types are easily cured but potentially fatal if
ignored, early detection and treatment are
very important.
Although the§e skin cancers can appear
on almost any area of theskin, they most
commonly develop on exposed parts of the
body - face, neck, forearms and back of
hands. They generally show up on the skin in
one of two forms - either as a pale, waxlike,
pearly nodule that may eventually ulcerate
and crust, or as a red, scaly, sharply outlin-
ed patch. These two types of skin cancer
may look similar to the eye, but are dif-
ferent under the microscope.
these
programs
scientific voluntary agency which is in-
terlinked with the Canadian. Cancer Society.
The NCIC screens applicants from scien-
tists and doctors in Canada who are experts
in the fields of cancer research and cancer
treatment. It then grants moneys to their
associated institutions which in turn ad-
minister the funds for research. The staff of
the NCIC is extremely small, relying. on
panels of experts from Canada and
elsewhere to review -the:. applications... The-
small overhead and the process of peer
review ensure the greatest benefit for the
money spent. In 1980, the NCIC awarded
over 15.6 million dollars. -This represented
more than half 'of all the money spent on
cancer research in Canada. And it came
from you.
FUND RAISING
To support all these programs we need
money. Fortunately Canadians are among
the most generous people in the world. Most
of the Society's money comes from the April
fund raising campaign. Hundreds of
thousands of volunteers visit their
neighbours each spring on behalf of the
Society. Additional funds are raised through
bequests, deferred giving • and "In
Memoriam" donations. Although a number
of corporations and other large organiza-
tions donate to the Society, the bulk of the
funds comes from you, the extraordinary
Canadian. With a few minor exceptions,
none is from government. In fact, on a per
capita basis, the Society is one of the most
succesful, single -cause, non -religious
charities in the world.
For more information en the materials,
programs and services offered by the Cana-
dian Cancer Society, or on how you can
volunteer, consult your local office of the
Society.
This information is brought to you with the kind co-operation of the following:
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