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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-04-01, Page 38page 8 Chemotherapy.... from page 7 avoid. No medications, in- cluding vitamins, • aspirins, and birth control pills should be taken unless approved or prescribed by the doctor. Chemotherapy is something about which the patient will have many ques- tions: Will it work? Will I get nick? How will this affect my mate and -or my family? Should I practice birth con- trol? What kind of con- traception should.I use? Pa- tients should .discuss these questions frankly and thoroughly with their doc- tors. • NEW' AND UNPROVEN DRUGS From time to time you will hear of • new drugs, Or of drugs offered in other .coun- tries and not approved by the health agencies of Canada. New drugs, as you have learned, take from one to fouf years ..to get to the general '.public. This is, necessary so that people will not be exposed to hazardous and dangerous drugs. The drugs some claim are , used with • "great success" in other countries are either be: ing tested, or have been tested and rejected by the Food and Drug Directorate. Their toxic effects may far outweigh the beneficial ef- fects. SPECIAL NOTE TO CANCER PATIENTS If you are already or about to be started on chemotherapy, talk frankly to your. physician for more detailed information. No pamphlet, magazine or book can take the place of your physician. He or she is the only one who knows you and your particular condition, and is the best person to decide .what methods of treatment may be used or' combined to help .you com- bat, c`er. No single method is best for all pa- tients. • No method of cancer treat- ment is "guaranteed" to cure cancer, but by combin- mg different types° of treat- ment, using them as in- dicated, and utilizing chemotherapy when possi- ble, the outlook • for those with cancer is much improv- ed. A WORD ABOUT SERVICE ,dancer patients and their This informative publication is brought to you with the kind -co-operation of the'foilowing McCALLUM FUNERAL HOME. CAMBRIA ROAD, AT EAST ST., GODERICH* ALVIN'S TV 162 Mary St. 524-9089 Goderich ANNE'S BEAUTY CENTRE 48 WEST STREET GODERICH 524-9632 HUROMIC METAL INDUSTRIES. LTD, families may find needed assistance through the Cana- dian Cancer Society. The service rendered through the Society's Service to Patients program vary from province to province, depending on the extent of the services covered by the various pro- vincial government health plans. For more informa- tion, call your local unit of the Canadian- Cancer Socie- ty. Lung cancer facts here are the facts about cancer of the lung —signs and sym- ptoms, - progress in diagnosis and treatment, prognosis and hope for the future. - Lung cancer strikes more than 100,000 persons in the United States each year. It is . the leading cause of cancer deaths among men, a„nd the death rate among women is steadily increasing. Although the disease is among the most lethal of cancers, more than 80 percent. of all .lung can- cers are - preventable. Why? • • Because, unlike most cancers. the causes of which continue to baffle researchers throughout the world, the major cause of . lung cancer is known. It is cigarette smoking. While somecases of lung cancer are caused by inhaling mining dusts. or chemicals, there is no question but that cigarette smoking is the major cause of the disease. This has been proved . by the .results of epidemiologic, clinical, autopsy, and ex- perimental data ac- cumulated over more than 25 years. The best safeguard against lung cancer is not to • start • smoking cigarettes. The best protection for those who do smoke ,is to stop. The risk of • lung cancer decreases after only one year of not smoking; after 10 years, the risk for the ex-smoker of developing lung- cancer approaches that of a person who has never smoked. Meet some of the members of the Huron Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society. Back row, left to right, are Russell Jervis, transportation chairman, Marg Hayer, education chairman and Helen -Davies PD&N chairman. Front row, left to right are Phyllis Pitblado, mastectomy visitor and Marg Allan, patient services chairman. Absent for photo were Harold Knisley, president, Ross McDaniel, vice-president, Tom Kelly, treasurer, Jim Remington, campaign chairman and Howard Aitken, publicity chairman. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) Cancer research requires patience and talent Patience as well as talent is ' needed by a cancer research scien- tist; it can be a frustrating occupation. Often a researcher must end his current work and start all over again from the beginning. His lifelong battle against cancer may not rate a front page newspaper story\ but his results can still be im- portant as one tiny part of the jigsaw puzzle of this disease. Th.e dedicated in- vestigator might be likened to- a small boy learning to tie his shoelaces - one of life's most , baffling un- dertakings. Success comes only after many attempts - some disap- pointments; a final struggle. Cancer is a fact of life. It still exists in spite of all the knowledge we have gained and all the progress made so far. Its secrets are slowly being unravelled through long hard hours of expensiWe research, funded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada through public donations to the Canadian Cancer Society. Many men and wotnen are involved in basic research,, the study of what happens when a norma[ cell is tran- sformed into a cancer cell. Some are working with . known animal viruses, -hormones and the body's immune system . Genetics and YOU KNOW THIS SIGN. BUT DO YOU KNOW THESE SIGNS? Life is hill of itgtts. • ',ruts that rotor~( ,Silas that wart, ',lad ;re horn. most of these sums, hoc anN1' r knoie 1111'1 re titrant to prole( t us Mid's VIII. ;.frit. 11 min's to . crofter therearr• otrporhrn1 signs V'nu should also knpu• lir( nus( the quicker scot' ran recognr;r them, the qui( her you can take at non Breast lamp persrslrttl cough. a sore lila( (1(1(9717 twirl It rot dtu•oner nate o1 thrse.srgns ser your doctor C'ha1lc es are rot dont have cancer at -all. but ;rhe rake chances Illicit 11 crones tot anc er knn;. Nor SII 17S CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY chem ical carcinogenesis claim the scientific at- tention of other resear- chers. Clinical research is an increasingly active area, covering such activities as epidemiology and clinical trials of new approaches 'to therapy. All are looking for answers. Some will find them. Only minutes The Pap . Test only takes minutes to perform, but it gives your doctor a chance to check for the early signs of cancer of the cervix. If you are a woman over 18, you should take advantage of this safeguard as often as recommended by your doc- tor, says the, Canadian Cancer Society. Get ready to give to the Canadian Cancer Society, Huron Unit